Daily Inspiration: Meet Stephanie Dickey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Dickey. 

Hi Stephanie, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am Stephanie Dickey, a designer and maker of unique hats for mostly women and some men. The company name is Stef-n-Ty, as I work with my husband Tyrone Dickey who is a visual artist, and also does the marketing for our company. 

I am originally from Annapolis, Maryland where I learned sewing and fashion design from my seamstress great-grandmother at an early age. 

I opened my first dressmaker’s shop at the age of 21 and did custom sewing for several years, before meeting my husband. We then moved to New York where I went on to design my own line of clothing and work in the fashion industry in Brooklyn. 

We have owned boutiques in Annapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and now Detroit. 

Although I started out doing a line of clothing, it morphed into just hats when I realized there was a need for hats that could accommodate natural hair, wigs, weaves, etc. 

That became my focus and my niche market. I have been focused primarily on hats now for about 25 years. I work in upcycled and recycled textiles including decorator samples, denim jeans, and burlap coffee bags. 

This makes each hat a unique creation. I rarely duplicate hats which makes my collectors very happy and also keeps me engaged with constantly exercising my creativity. 

My husband is a visual artist who paints “poles” upcycled cardboard tubing that is used to wrap textiles on. 

His work has shown been in several galleries around the country. 

We are now a home-based business as we, unfortunately, had to permanently close our brick-and-mortar location in Detroit after being shut down due to the COVID pandemic. 

We are currently selling thru social media online and thru occasional Popups and Art events. 

We will be showing at the NOBO ARTS Festival in Columbus, OH on June 11th and 12th. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The journey has had many ups and downs over our 30 years in business. We had to deal with building a brand and creating a customer base for what we do. 

We have had challenges with figuring out how to produce our product locally or at best, in America, in an environment where sewing is becoming a dying art. 

There have always been the financial challenges of having a niche business in a world where most folks like to look the same. 

And of course, our most recent challenge has been how to pivot when faced with a global pandemic that has changed how things are done in the world as we knew it to be. 

For about the first 8 months of the pandemic, we stopped making our hats and we just made face masks. 

We started making them for free for local frontline workers and hospitals and police. Then we began to make them to sell, locally thru word of mouth, and online thru social media. 

This actually increased our business by about 60% and introduced us to many folks who had not ever seen our hats. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a hat designer, what sets me apart is the creative use of upcycled textiles. I work with decorator sample memos, recycled jeans, recycled coffee bags, and other textiles. I am proud of many things, from being featured on the cover of the New York Times Style section, back in 1992 in my New York days, to having my work worn by celebrities like Stevie Wonder and Erykah Badu. 

I am proud every day though, to see my work worn by thousands of women, “everyday” people who are the ones who support us by shopping with us regularly and rocking my work with their creative styles. 

Ty’s work as a visual artist is unique in that he also upcycles by painting designs on the heavy cardboard tubes used for textiles that would normally get tossed away. 

His work has been shown in local galleries and even as far away as Upstate New York. He has shipped them to clients in many states and as far away as Spain. 

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
As we are not from Columbus, we have only been here to participate in arts events. We have found the city to be very welcoming and fun during our times here. We generally stay at Airbnbs and we have met some awesome folks who have directed us to great restaurants and events to visit during our stay. The art scene seems to be very vibrant here, and we always feel very welcomed and are well supported. 

Pricing:

• Women’s Hats $90 – $250
• Women’s Skullies $40
• Ty’s Painted Poles $60

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com@stefofstefnty
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Stef-n-Ty 

Image Credits
James Mosley Photography
Matt Conrads Photography
Starpointe Photography