The Dreamers #82 - With Jamie and Van Han from Ssweatshop

October 13, 2023

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Written by

The Dreamers #82 - With Jamie and Van Han from Ssweatshop

October 13, 2023

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Written by

Jamie and Van are the dynamic duo behind SS WEATSHOP. A Marrickville based garment printing business where many of our infamous rad dad tees are brought to life.

WELCOME TO THE DREAMERS.

COME INSIDE THE HOMES OF EVERYDAY FAMILIES AND BUSINESS OWNERS DOING LIFE THEIR WAY.

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Far from it’s tounge in cheek name, things at the Ssweatshop factory headquarters run like a dream and are not at all sweaty. Join us as we tag along for a day at work with Jamie, Van and their adorable rad kid Miles.

Hey Jamie and van! Tell us about yourself?

I (Jamie) was born in Australia and spent my childhood in Indonesia for my father’s work. Van was born in China and moved here as an adult to study Graphic Design. We met just over 10 years ago and have been inseparable since. We live in Sydney’s inner west with our son Miles and two Boston Terriers – Bronx & Memphis. We started our business SSWEATSHOP together in 2016, we offer screen printing, digital hybrid printing, embroidery, blank garments and garment finishing.

How did SSWEATSHOP come to life?

Van was working for his families embroidery business and myself in fashion. We decided to combine our learnt skills/degrees and try something new - screen printing. We jumped in the deep end by teaching ourselves on a hand printing carousel, we had this setup in our terrace house in Petersham. Within 3 months we quickly outgrew the space and rented our first warehouse in Marrickville. 6 years later we’re in a much larger warehouse in Marrickville with 4 automated screen printing presses, plus the old trusty hand printing carousel.

You and Van are partners in life and business. Is that difficult?

We It took a lot of stepping on each others toes to find a rhythm and respect for each other. We have very different strengths and weaknesses that make for a good balance. That means you’re running a businesses with someone who has just as much to lose/gain as yourself - you grow together.

The name SSWEATSHOP is very bold! Can you shed some light on the inspiration and meaning behind the name?

We both grew up in Asia, seeing the diversity of manufacturing and hardships of workers. We acknowledge the negative connotations of the word, but using this as a way to promote the positives of manufacturing in Australia — by paying workers well above the award wage, and providing a safe and healthy workplace while supporting a racially diverse team. We know fast fashion and cheap labour are easily accessible around the world so we strongly believe in supporting local businesses. Keeping manufacturing in Australia has greater benefits for making positive changes in fashion globally.

We love that your all about sustainability, Can you elaborate on some of the unique ways your business approaches sustainability?

While manufacturing contributes to plenty of environmental problems, we do what’s within our control to minimise this. We’re a community-conscious and climate-positive company, committed to offsetting our carbon emissions. We donate monthly to Greening Australia in an attempt to reduce our impact on the environment. Our water-based inks are eco-friendly, and we use compostable bags in our production process. Our screen making and reclaim equipment uses no single plastic or toxic chemical run off – these small changes do make a big difference long term.

Any exciting projects or plans on the horizon for SSWEATSHOP?

Plenty! We both don’t settle and always have new projects we’re working on. Currently we are working on a lot of music touring merch and developing Made in Australia products – watch this space!