Far out, (wo)man: Pelham resident ties and dyes

By Phyllis Lehrer
Staff Writer

Published on July 06, 2007

Jodi Levine doesn't have any problem with finding something to wear. She can enter her studio and pick out any number of dresses, shirts or tops in bright vibrant colors that she has made.

Levine, who established the Wild Child Tie-Dye business in 1989, is a walking ad for her creations.

She and her clothes and accessories can be seen be at the 27th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County Craft Fair on the Common that will be held July 14, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Amherst Town Common. The United Way agency offers a companion program serving 200 children with 200 volunteers and has a waiting list of 190. Admission is free to the event, which features 110 vendors, a silent auction music and food.

Sitting in her Pelham backyard wearing a colorful red and purple flared skirt, Levine explained that her tie dying began with beaded jewelry.

'When I was in college, I sold beaded jewelry downtown for pizza money,' said Levine, who came to Amherst to attend Hampshire College, where she concentrated on biology and environmental education. Levine, who grew up in Maryland, graduated in 1989.

The adjacent vendor sold tie-dye clothing for adults. 'People would ask him to make children's clothes and he said, 'No.' He taught me some techniques and I made them. I've always been a kid person.'

When she took over the spot, she continued to sell jewelry and clothing but eventually dropped the beaded jewelry line. 'It's not cost effective.'

After graduation she moved west, 'But it never felt like home.' She returned because, 'It's a creative fun vibrant place to be.'

She also obtained master's in elementary education from the University of Massachusetts.

Levine worked part-time, teaching nature studies to preschoolers at the Acadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton.

When her first child was born, she left teaching and focused on tie dye.

'It lets me stay home with the kids, be creative and keeps me busy. It was a way to synthesize my arts and crafts thing and my environmental bent,' she said. She and her husband, Bruce Klotz, have two children Adin, 7, and Nora, 4.

The family has lived in Pelham since 1997. He does theater lighting and helps with her Web site. 'Between my husband and I, we're not getting rich but we're not losing the house either.'

The blank canvas that Levine uses for her creations is 100 percent white cotton that meets fair-trade standards. 'I put my money where my mouth is and am socially conscious.'

She buys pre-sewn T-shirts, dresses, scarves, skirts, socks and rompers that come in large boxes from Dharma Trading Co. 'I buy two dozen of each,' she said, adding that T-shirt sizes range from infant to 6XL.

Bright colors are her thing. She has done some earth tones and pastels, but she said they are difficult to sell next to the bright rainbow of blues and purples.

The process of turning the white into a vibrant burst of color involves several steps. She first pretreats the fabric by washing it in a mild alkaline solution. The damp material is gathered with rubber bands. She prefers the rubber bands to the traditional string since rubber bands can be reused.

The dye she uses is fiber reactive, forming a covalent bond with the cellulose to become part of the fiber. The dye is squirted to create bursts of color, a flower, star, spirals. 'I wash the material a zillion times so the dye doesn't bleed anymore,' she said.

The inventory is hung on racks with graduated sizes of T-shirts, while tapestries and scarves are hung on lines that crisscross the ceiling of her basement studio.

She sells her creations at 20 to 25 fairs a year.

'I do well at folk festivals and I enjoy them. I go where it's fun so the children can have a good time. The big sellers are children's T-shirts and dresses.'

Besides fairs, she sells via a Web site, www.wildchildtiedyes.com, that includes photos of her children in her clothes and her list of fairs, such as the Green River Festival in Greenfield and the Apple Harvest Festival in Amherst in the fall.

She also sells unique items on eBay that can be linked from her Web site. She does custom orders, such as matching crib sheets, dust ruffles, curtains or bath ensembles.

'It's a big challenge to keep it fresh and creative. Certain designs are staples such as rainbow and spirals. I introduce ruffled outfits and different colors combinations some work, some don't.'