Every Sunday for Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learning about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits here. This week we sit down with Indigo Doula and aficionado, Brittany Boles of Indigo Fest.
Today, we’re taking a look at Ceriops Tagal, a “red” tannin from Indonesia, and a color that is rich in history and traditional use. At Botanical Colors, we recognize that the mangrove species is threatened due to widespread clearing of mangrove forests for timber, fish farming and other coastal activities. Ceriops Tagal is a product derived from tree bark that would otherwise be discarded. It is harvested and produced under conservation guidelines from the Forest Stewardship Council and provides income for remote villages. Indonesia is home to some of the largest mangrove forests in the world, and the Indonesian government … Read more
Taking a little time to work more closely with tannins has been incredibly interesting! This week’s tannin exploration focuses on Sumac. Sumac is from the Rhus genus and its scientific name is Rhus coriaria. It’s native to southern Europe and western Asia where it is commonly known as Tanner’s Sumac or Sicilian Sumac. We are fortunate to have number of North American native sumac including Rhus glaubra, sometimes called Smooth Sumac, and Rhus typhina or Staghorn Sumac, known for its dramatic bright red berry clusters. The staghorn berries were used by indigenous people as a tea, and the bark, branches, … Read more
Black Walnut Juglans nigra is one of our most interesting tannins and it’s a color that’s native to the North American continent. The entire tree contains color but it is in the green hulls that we find a strong concentration of dark tannins yield light beige to golden brown on cellulose. On wool, black walnut really shines and makes a rich brown shade. Walnut Hull Powder from black walnut (Juglans nigra) is a common source of brown dye throughout North America. The fleshy hulls are full of tannin, juglone and other pigments and are the primary source of the dye. … Read more
This week’s Mordant Monday focuses on Gallo Tannin, also known as Oak Gall tannin, or Oak Galls. We used the extract made from Oak Galls in our gradation, but a similar result comes from oak galls that have been crushed or pulverized. Gallo Tannin is one of the ancient tannins with many uses, including making black ink, leather tanning, and in traditional Asian medicine. It is the most commonly used tannin when mordanting with tannin + alum, as the color it imparts is very light, and it doesn’t show a strong undertone, like sumac or walnut or other tannins with … Read more
Today in our tannin series we move on to Quebracho Moreno. Quebracho (Schinopsis balansae and Schinopsis lorentzii) is an evergreen tree that grows wild in South America. It grows mainly in Argentina and Paraguay in dense sub-tropical forests which also include a variety of other trees and vegetation. The name is due to its hardness, and comes from two Spanish words, quebrar and hacha, meaning “axe breaker”. In fact, quebracho has been used locally for posts, telegraph poles, bridge timbers, railway ties, paving blocks and for any construction where great durability is desired. Quebracho Moreno (we used to carry a Quebracho Rojo, so we called this one … Read more
In 2009 and 2010 I had the opportunity to study with natural dye master Michel Garcia. He is a marvelous and knowledgeable teacher, fascinated with using the chemistry of simple ingredients to create natural colors. One of the things that he demonstrated to us was to be fearless about the indigo fermentation vat. What a gift! For me, the indigo fermentation vat has always been a mystery and I could never quite figure out all the details so I never pursued it. I was getting great and consistent color with my lye and soda ash and chemical reducing agents, so why … Read more
We get lots of emails from customers about challenges with dyeing and needing Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori’s help. Why not share the learning so we can all benefit? From our inboxes to you, it’s simple: You Asked, Kathy Answered. Email [email protected] with your plea for help! YOU ASKED: I’ve moved to a new place and don’t have room to bring my buckets of indigo indoors for the winter (Seattle area). I’m pretty sure that I will need to re-start any ferment in the spring, but will my indigo vat survive otherwise? Somewhat of a beginner here. KATHY ANSWERED: Survivability … Read more
Indigo gradation from Aboubakar Fofana’s workshop on indigo. The vat is a 7gpl fructose vat. Diving into indigo blue We have been working with the 1-2-3 indigo vat for nearly 10 years and over time made some adjustments to the original recipe from Michel Garcia. Here we share a recent experiment where we set up 4 different types of 1-2-3 vats and present the results. New instructions are linked below for each vat type with hints for a successful indigo vat! You can also search our blog posts for information on indigo vats and answers to your many questions. Our … Read more
There’s a holiday for everything so all hail National Tie-Dye Day! According to Vox, did you know that historians’ knowledge of early techniques similar to tie-dye is limited by the fact that textiles decay faster than most other artistic mediums? This means surviving samples aren’t easy to come by. “‘Some of the earliest examples come from Peru, but tie-dye seems to have originated independently all over the world,’ says Lee Talbot, curator of George Washington University’s Textile Museum.” We’ve created this National Tie-Dye Day how-to just for you to celebrate this sacred day to continue the tradition. Not sure which … Read more
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