Summer vacation, what many students often look forward to all throughout the school year. Longer days, shorter nights, and more importantly no school. With not having to commit to school during the weekdays students find time to focus on other hobbies such as hanging out with friends, working out, and even finding ways to make money. For junior Simon Hodge, this meant the opportunity to start his very own tie-dye business.

Hodge sells tie-dye t-shirts, masks, and other articles of clothing made out of cotton. He learned how to dye things from the internet and his older brother, who owned the business before he did.

“My brother originally started a tie dye business over the summer and when he left to KU I continued it,” Hodge said. “I also made a different name for it. ”

With spirit week for fall Homecoming including a 1960s tie-dye theme, Hodge took the opportunity to promote his business to his classmates and make some extra cash.

“I didn’t have any tie dye shirts and Simon’s are pretty cool,” junior Kayla Wong said. “He also pressured me into buying one.”

Although Wong was pressured into buying one of the shirts Hodge created, she still emphasized how important it is to support businesses your classmates run. 

 “I do think we should support our classmate’s businesses because they’re trying to make money like the rest of us,” Wong said. “Also thank you for putting the shirt in my mailbox Simon.”

Even with classmates supporting the business Hodge runs, not everything is easy and enjoyable for the tie-dye maestro. Not only does Hodge have to invest in his own business by buying shirts, he also has to deliver his finished products.

“It’s not difficult, but it is pretty time consuming,” Hodge said. “You have to do a lot of stuff, spend a lot of money on white shirts and drive everywhere.”

Negatives aside, Hodge still very much enjoys spending time working on products for others and seeing how his products turn out. He has even gone as far as reducing the price on his shirts from 20 dollars to 15. Hodge did this as a way to express his gratitude to all of his classmates who voted him to be a student council representative. 

“It’s really fun and whenever I look at the finished product and it looks dope, I get really friggin’ excited,” Hodge said. “It makes me proud of all of my work.”