Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Buchanan.
Andrea, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
How does one begin to tell the story of themselves? I’m only 32, but it feels like I have already been many women in this life.
To start at the beginning is to tell the story of a little hippie girl with stars in her eyes and wildflowers in her hair. I’ve always loved nature, art, crafts, and expression of all sorts. My childhood was filled with camping trips, swimming in the springs, dance, horseback riding, sharks tooth hunting, dream-catcher making, sand castle building, and political activism. I was fortunate to grow up with “cool parents” who encouraged me to blaze my own path, parents who introduced me to music that still inspires my life and brings me annually to music festivals where I meet friends old and new to dance under the magical live oak trees beside the Suwannee River. In high school, I was very politically active, driven by a deep sense of social justice. I thought my career path might be in law or some other type of advocacy work.
My college education started with attendance at Agnes Scott College. Tired of living in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida where everyone seemed to dress in orange and blue, I was seeking new experiences and more space to grow. As fate would have it, I returned to Florida after just a year to help my family as my grandmother fought late-stage cancer. Women’s Studies – which was fascinating and opened my eyes to a world of concepts – became my major as requirements and prerequisites combined to create this path. I graduated in a quick three years at 21 years old uncertain of my big picture goals but armed with a vision of a career that would light a fire within me.
Graduating in 2008 was a tough start professionally. I struggled to secure employment in many fields of interest. However, always the pragmatic, I headed to Starbucks to secure health insurance – these were the days where your parents’ plan kicked you off upon college graduation. Starbucks was like a second college education, informing me of legendary customer service, sense of urgency, corporate culture principles, and a strong sense of tangible branding practices. I transferred within the company from Gainesville, Florida to Atlanta in 2009, seeking greater opportunities to help me form a compelling career.
Despite ample applications, it was actually a customer that offered me my first position outside Starbucks. Corporate meetings and events had never crossed my mind before, but this was finally an opportunity after years of searching and I wasn’t going to waste it. Five years after entering this industry, I felt creatively stifled and limited by my scope of work and a brand that felt stagnate and uninspired.
I left corporate events in 2016 and in between freelancing opportunities began exploring personal creative projects and pursuits. However, it was only a few short weeks before I was faced with very personal betrayal. I needed a divorce and was going to have to reimagine my path in light of events.
In a juncture of a total refresh and reimagining, I discovered SCAD’s Masters of Business Design and Arts Leadership program. The combination of business and strategy with creative design, development, and arts spoke to me immediately. It was while pursuing this degree that I finally decided to give dying a try. I had a vision and a strong desire to do it, but it was the need to develop a unique thesis project that actually got me to explore hand dying seriously. And, of course, I. LOVED. IT.
I successfully completed my degree program in March of this year In addition to running my thesis project turned company — Multidyemensional Goods — I’m now job hunting for a full-time opportunity in business innovation.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Personally, there have been so many challenges to getting where I am today. I am extremely fortunate in so many ways — I am able-bodied, grew up without wanting for anything, and have had the privilege of attending fantastic schools. However, I suffer from an illness that can’t be seen. Suicidal depression and anxiety have been a weight for me to carry and cope with for more than half my life. Much of my successes from the first 30 years of my life were fueled by an unhealthy drive for perfection. Learning to live with and excel alongside my mental illness, no longer hiding from my diagnoses, but instead standing in the light of my truth has been a radical and beautiful change in my life.
Of course, that change, that step into the light, came as the result of an extremely dark low. It was 2016, I had quite the best job I’d ever had with the support of my then husband, to just weeks later find out about his betrayal. It was only in the rock bottom of what felt like my entire life falling apart, on the verge of attempting suicide, that I finally asked for the help I needed.
It was not pretty being checked into a hospital. After stabilizing, I spent a month in an amazing facility out west that changed everything. I learned how to move past the trauma accumulated in my life and how to better understand and counteract my depression and anxiety. Asking for help was the best thing I could have done.
In treatment, I was able to reach a deep understanding of my illness, seeing it in a new light that didn’t cast it as a personal failure. I began to recognize the way my illness provides me with a different perspective than others have, how I have deep empathy and sensitivity that is truly a superpower and not a weakness at all. I left with a sense of self-love and the knowledge to care for myself in ways I hadn’t been equipped to do before. It was learning to live with and shine in spite of my illness that made it possible for me to undertake my master’s program and the challenges of entrepreneurship.
The first obstacle with my venture came with the question of where I could do my dying. Studio spaces in Atlanta are not cheap. I needed good access to water, space that I could get messy in, a nearby washer and dryer, and readily-available ice (a key component to getting my dye textures right). On a tight graduate student budget, I did what any millennial would do and set up shop in my parent’s garage. Oh, but my parents don’t live locally to Atlanta… they live in Gainesville, Florida, a solid 5-hour drive from the city. I started out doing these week-long hauls to their house where I’d drive down, jump straight into dying and rinsing, working 12 hour days for five straight days, then drive back to the city. My first collections were all dyed in my parents’ garage with a lot of help from my mom and sister.
Once I had an initial bank of clothing completed, it was time to execute my project. The thesis project was planned the previous quarter with an extensive timeline and flow of activities. The project had to be completed within 10 weeks per the guidelines — content, marketing, website, etc had to happen within that time frame. This was obviously an extremely busy time, as I was not only doing the necessary things to launch and run my business, but also continue doing behind-the-scenes research and write-ups around my business model for the project.
The challenge of finding the right space to dye it continues. I moved my stock of clothing and office to the Goat Farm in April, and am now dying in what should be the dining room of my apartment. It’s not ideal, but its the solution that works right now. Another ongoing challenge has been finding “blanks” (the white, un-dyed goods) that meet the fabric requirements for use with procion dyes, are affordable, and also have silhouettes that are comfortable, fresh, and unique. I am ALWAYS on the lookout for great silhouettes, feverishly checking the tag for fabric content whenever I see something that might fit the bill.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Multidyemensional Goods – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I started Multidyemensional Goods (MDMG — because I know its a mouthful) with a vision of a “quieter” dye. Traditional spirals and highly contrasting color combinations might work at a music festival, but always feel way too loud for my everyday persona. Plus, the silhouettes and fabrics of many of the dyes on the market just didn’t work for me. I imagined there had to be a way to soften the lines, the hues, something…
As the deadline approached to declare a thesis project for my Business Design & Arts Leadership Masters program at SCAD, I was in my parents’ garage testing out colors, clothing styles, and dying techniques. Somehow I found very true expression in this art, an aesthetic I love, and that I hadn’t seen much of anything like.
Every time I’d rinse a shirt my family would gather around for the “reveal.” “I see a goat!” my sister would shout. My dad swore he saw an alien. To me, it looked like an insect. There were crazy images beyond the larger design of the dye, depending on how you looked.
In the shower one day, the word hit me: multidimensional. It’s about seeing more than what is there at first glance. About recognizing all the pieces of self, and others. Multidyemensional Goods is about more than perception, more than meets the eye. It is about showing up with your whole being. Showing your colors, through wearable one of a kind art piece. I want to break stereotypes about what it means to wear “tie-dye” and foster positivity around authenticity and showing up as our whole selves in our lives.
My official launch was on February 3rd of this year. Sitting here four-ish months in I’m still working just as hard as ever. Today, I am still learning and working on gaining exposure so I can break those tie-dye stereotypes! It’s still early in MDMG’s story.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am focused on continuing to gain exposure for MDMG and spreading the love of hand-dyed goods! I continue my search for the best blanks in fashionable silhouettes that haven’t been hand dyed traditionally, while forever hunting for new and exciting color stories and dying techniques, perfecting my craft.
I’m also currently on the hunt for a full-time position in business innovation or human-centered design. I am especially inspired by design research and hope to make a career of finding and refining solutions that help people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://multidyemensionalgoods.com
- Email: andrea@multidyemensionalgoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/multidyemensional_goods/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Multidyemensional
Image Credit:
My personal photo (sitting in the wide leg crops), the one blowing the dandelion with the disco ball, and the girl leaning against the wall in the white leggings and crop top are all credit to Erik Scherb with SageCat studio – https://www.sagecatstudio.com
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
