Stained to success
It’s a familiar feeling in the Southeast — coming in from an outdoor adventure only to find a red dirt stain. But where some might see a lost cause after rounds of unsuccessful washes, two Vestavia Hills residents see the beginnings of art.
About 20 years ago, Joy Maples — now Joy Maples Ledvina — was on a bike ride, and an encounter with a muddy puddle left her with a red clay stain on her clothes. Her now-husband, Martin Ledvina, was intrigued by the stain and started looking at it as a way to sustainably dye clothing, Joy Ledvina said.
“I said, ‘No one’s going to buy that in Alabama. We get in trouble for getting dirty,’” she said.
As a chemical engineer, Martin Ledvina looked for the perfect formulation for a sustainable dye. Once he found it, the first Alabama Dirt Shirt was created, and Earth Creations was born.
Now, 20 years later, they’ve expanded past basic T-shirts and added more color options, but Earth Creations remains dedicated to its environmentally-friendly beginnings, Joy Ledvina said.
“For years, all we did were the earthy colors, and then we decided that we would expand to include more,” she said. All of the shirts start with a white clay base, then they use low-impact dyes to get the color.
The white clay, she said, connects back to those first dirt shirts while creating other benefits in the clothing line.
“There’s two reasons for the clay. One is if I just used the dyes, the colors would be really, really bright, so it kind of tones down the colors,” Ledvina said. “And two, it gives UPF 50 sun protection.”
UPF, which stands for ultraviolet protection factor, is a rating designating the percent of UV rays that can penetrate fabric. UPF 50 protects against about 98 percent of rays.
When they started Earth Creations, Ledvina said she created the business model around a local market — selling in the Birmingham area, then looking to the rest of the Southeast.
She soon saw, however, there was a chance to expand the company’s reach farther.
The couple had a cart at the Riverchase Galleria, where individuals from out of town would stop by and show an interest. They progressed to create other state Dirt Shirts, and after being in business for four years, Joy Ledvina started designing additional fashion items.
Earth Creations has fashion tops for men and women, skirts, pants and, of course, their T-shirts, with all items sewn locally.
“Our tagline is ‘real clothes for real people,’” Joy Ledvina said. “I feel like I hope people say that’s what we are — that they can find something they can wear as a casual lifestyle, day-to-day [piece]. Something they’ll grab out of their closet and think, ‘It’s so comfortable, and it’s so cute.’”
While at one point Earth Creations sold items around the world, she said the company has re-centered its focus on local in the last several years. And in doing that, she said, they have seen growing support in Birmingham.
“There’s kind of a local movement in the Birmingham area,” she said. “In the south, [shopping local] seems very trendy.”
That local support has led to their success in the last two decades, Joy Ledvina said, and they work to stay involved locally at art shows and other markets. This month, they will be at the Pepper Place Market in downtown Birmingham, and will have a booth at Art in the Hills at Vestavia Hills City Hall on May 5.
For more information, go to earthcreations.net.