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Colossal writes: “In 1692 an artist known only as “A. Boogert” sat down to write a book in Dutch about mixing watercolors. Not only would he begin the book with a bit about the use of color in painting, but would go on to explain how to create certain hues and change the tone by […]

Celeste Malvar-Stewart, the designer of Columbus, Ohio based MALVAR=STEWART creates “non-seasonal lines of women’s clothing,” using salvaged fabrics and local natural dyes that do not follow the standard fashion concept of “this season’s color palette.” They also focus on unconventional design that is thoughtful towards the environment at every stage of the garment’s life cycle, without […]

Carrie Crawford, a new Botanical Colors customer wrote to us: “My husband, Jonathan contacted you in October for some basic indigo information and we shortly thereafter ordered supplies for a 1-2-3 vat. I have been experimenting and having a wonderful time with my vat…what a beautiful experience….I am forever in love with indigo…. I will […]

Working for a natural dye guru can give a social media director and consultant (that’s me) an inferiority complex. In fact, when people ask me who I work for and I tell them, Kathy Hattori, a “natural dye guru,” and they say “Oh, you must be really good at dyeing,” all I can do is […]

We had so much fun this past weekend in Madison, Connecticut at Madison Wool and Wildwood Farm’s natural dye weekend! Participants had their own personal natural dye journeys using both the classical, historical dyes and some surprising new ones (think walnut sludge and pokeberries).  We also worked with some of Botanical  Colors’ ancient raw dyestuffs […]

GREEN EILEEN is an initiative of the EILEEN FISHER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, a non-profit organization that supports systematic changes that positively impact women and girls around the world. The branch is a recycled clothing program that extends the life of timeless EILEEN FISHER garments which are re-sold at both the Seattle and Irvington, New York GREEN […]

Our good friend and Botanical Colors customer, textile artist Cara Marie Piazza, was recently featured in Gardenista using our rich indigo. Writer Sophia Moreno-Bunge caught up with Cara in her studio and wrote: “Indigo is an ancient color, a natural dye extracted from a plant of the same name, and the only true blue dye […]

It’s so easy to brighten up your underthings with lush natural dye colors like cochineal, lac and madder. Materials Any natural fiber underthings – socks, camisoles or panties.  Look for 100% cotton, Modal, Tencel, silk or bamboo fiber content. Fiber blends like wool/cotton or silk/cotton or nylon also work well.  Microfiber, polyester and acrylic will […]

  This year, we chose twelve natural dye colors as our countdown to Christmas Day and received a number of requests to list them all in one place.  The original post is linked to the dye name so click in order to see the information. Have as much fun with them as we did! Day […]

Last week at New York Fashion Week, Botanical Colors customer Titania Inglis, showcased her collection “Tessellation,” at the Standard hotel in Manhattan. For her S/S 14 collection, Inglis says she was particularly inspired by both the Danish-Icelandic installation artist Olafur Eliasson and renowned American architect and futurist Bucky Fuller. Botanical Colors was at the show […]