At The Rust Belt Market: Stef-n-Ty

The offers a unique experience for patrons as well as vendors. The new art market is host to more than 60 artists every weekend. Each week, Patch will feature one artist and get a closer view of what the heck they do.

Ferndale Patch: Who are you and what do you do?

Stephanie Dickey: I am Stephanie Dickey.

Tyrone Dickey: And I’m Tyrone Dickey

Stephanie Dickey: We have a company called Stef-n-Ty. We make hats and funky clothing like jackets. All of our hats are one of a kind. They are made out of recycled textiles, decorators and sample cuts. They all have elastic in them, so they will stretch to fit anyone’s head.

Ferndale Patch: How did you get your start?

S. Dickey: Originally, we started because I used to have locks and I could never find a hat to fit over my hair. But when you have a lot of hair, that doesn’t mean your head doesn’t get cold so I started making hats with elastic in the back so they would fit pretty much any type of hair style. When we were living in New York, Ty used to sell them on the streets in Harlem. He’d leave the house with a bag full of hats and that’s how we’d pay our rent.

T. Dickey: We started in 1992 in Washington D.C. We left D.C and went in to New York. From there, we landed in Baltimore then Philadelphia. From Philly, to Chicago, then back to Baltimore and now we’re here. We have lived in eight cities.

Ferndale Patch: What inspires you?

S. Dickey: I love textiles. I am definitely a textile person. I get inspired by a lot of fabrics. The fun thing about the hats is that it allows me to play with a lot of different fabrics and I work with many textiles.

T. Dickey: I love funky clothes. I just love art, period. Not just clothing, but anything creative --you name it – if it’s creative, I love it.

Ferndale Patch: What is it about the Rust Belt that attracted you to it?

T. Dickey: Well, we were told about the Rust Belt from a friend of ours. The concept sounded really cool. We were very familiar with the concept, coming from New York and Chicago. There are a couple of artist markets in some of the major cities that we’ve lived in. When we were told about it, it sounded like something up our alley. At the Rust Belt, there are a lot of creative people that are just doing their thing. It’s great to see all of the art and meet all of these funky people. It’s been a really good and fun experience.

S. Dickey: It’s a really great place to start your business off, especially for people that are new to Detroit; it’s a good incubator for us to really start our market in this area. 

Ferndale Patch: Tell us one thing about your work that would surprise us.

S. Dickey: Most of the sewing I do myself, I don’t know if that is surprising or not. Part of that is because we haven’t quite found someone to hire to help with the sewing.

I tend to use some unusual things for decorative features, like suspenders and different buckles. I like using a variety of tchotchkes on the hats.

Stef-n-Ty is in need of a part-time seamstress to help with their upcoming holiday season. If you are interested, stop by their Facebook Page.

Stef-n-Ty plan to be at Rust Belt Market every weekend, through the holiday season. They also take orders through their Facebook Page.