Before I met George Dickerson, of Richmond, Virginia, I had met his handmade t-shirt. My stepson came bounding into the room I happened to be in at the time to show me his new blue shirt with the guitar batik design. I asked him who made it and was introduced to one of the most friendly, happy couples I’ve ever met, George and his wife Tori.
George began his craft as a way to save one of his favorite fading shirts. “Screen printed was too costly and not original enough and I had always like the look of the crackling wax and the dyes intermingled so it seemed an appropriate medium.” The batik work certainly makes what could have been a normal screen printed shirt a handmade, one of a kind piece of art. He experiments with designs from the favorite guitars and dragons to peacocks, art nouveau style, and even humorous. “The mermaid I think is my favorite, though,” he says of the gorgeous wavy haired dame with an ornate, curving tail.
The art of batik isn’t necessarily the most consistent or convenient, but George enjoys the process as much as the finished product. “Each design [has] such a small run that made them kind of special,” he says of the wax that he must drip onto the shirt. While many people may become frustrated or inconvenienced by the unpredictable, hands-on process, George takes it as a challenge. “Each step is a challenge,” he says, “and you never know exactly what you’re gonna get til it’s done.
After his initial creative attempt at saving an old t-shirt, Starr Hill is selling them in the tasting room. They have certainly caught the eye of everyone they’ve come across. George, ever benevolent, claims he has already given all of the shirts away that he wanted to reproduce. He enjoys to just see someone’s smile when he gives them away. Every shirt is made with love and it certainly emanates through their fibers.
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