The 8-year-old who put John Fetterman in tie-dye

Comedian and actress Wanda Sykes — Curb Your Enthusiasm, Black-ish, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — lives part-time in Pennsylvania. True or false?

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Tuukka Saari got a tie-dye kit for his sixth birthday. Acutally, he got several of them, all from family members unaware of the seed being planted. 

Tuukka had never dabbled in the artform with roots in ancient Asia before, but he was soon making technicolor shirts by the bundle. 

"We bought some shirts, and he made them all their own," mom Tiffany Saari said. "Then it progressed to friends wanting some and so on."

Two years later, Tuukka, now 8, is still going and working with his mother and grandfather, Tom, to soak, fold, color, and package at least 15-20 shirts a week for his Tie Dye by Tuukka business.

He counts U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) among his fans. 

“I think we can all agree he helped me step up my wardrobe,” Fetterman tweeted alongside a photo of a tie-dye shirt Tuukka made as a get-well gift for Fetterman, who checked himself into a hospital for treatment for clinical depression earlier this year. 

Tuukka did not envision turning the craft into a business venture until his designs caught the eyes of others who wanted their own color-splashed tops. Fetterman's tweet, for example, resulted in tons more orders coming in for the young entrepreneur. He even got the opportunity to teach a sold-out tie-dye class at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier.

“Dyeing the shirt is my favorite process,” Tuukka said softly by phone.

He also enjoys riding his dirt bike, playing baseball and soccer, and immersing himself in video games.

Tie Dye by Tuukka sells a variety of products: shirts, hoodies, bandanas, animal shirts, tote bags, and more. He hopes to sell hats and socks soon.

His tie-dye timing was good as the throwback fashion has been making a comeback of late, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Business Insider reported in July of 2020 that purchases jumped 75% for women and 100% for men compared to the prior year.

Kits also became a hot commodity for craftspeople looking for things to do during the downtime lockdown provided.

Tiffany said once Tuukka started receiving money for his products, he wanted to use some of it to support charities. Another portion of the money is set aside for his dream car — a Lamborghini.

“He has a passion for helping," she added.

Customers can see the charities Tuukka donates to on his website. He plans to donate to an organization helping the homeless next.

All of his efforts were noticed by a family friend who earlier this year asked if he could make the get-well shirt for Fetterman, and Tuukkaa presented it to the first-term senator at a Penn Ag Democrats' picnic in August.

“It went really well,” Tuukka said of the meeting.

Tiffany jokes that she serves as personal assistant to her son when she's not at her day job as a veterinary receptionist. Her pride is palpable.

“Although he doesn’t totally understand the ins and outs of the actual business side of things, his passion to want to help others really shows in his different ideas and thoughts about who to help next,” she said.

—Tanisha Thomas, Newsletter writer / reporter

“He told me that we built this, and that this is our legacy, and we are champions.”

—Angel Magwood on her husband, Eddie Barnz, encouraging her to rebrand and reopen their Pittsburgh restaurant, formerly Back to the Foodture, after the name drew legal threats from Universal Studios; they reopen this weekend

True.

A recent New Yorker profile of Wanda Sykes mentions she lives in Philadelphia — nearby Media, actually — when she isn't in Los Angeles. 

Her Netflix special "I'm an Entertainer" was also filmed in Philly.

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