Blog - Page 31 of 67 - Botanical Colors

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: The Botanical Reclamation Project

Today, June 18th, we had such a special FEEDBACK FRIDAY treat with Guelph, Ontario based artist Anita Cazzola. Anita not only played banjo and sang our FEEDBACK FRIDAY theme song with her partner Sam, we got to hear her talk about her Botanical Reclamation project. Anita just launched her project which celebrates the resiliency of wild plants through naturally dyed textiles. The project also offers the community a chance to learn about local plant life, and the natural dye process through self-guided walks, weekly scavenger hunts, project livestreams, workshops, question and answer sessions, and artist talks with the help of … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Weaving Hand

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with Weaving Hand Founder, Cynthia Alberto. An artist, designer, and founder of the Brooklyn-based Weaving and Healing arts studio Weaving Hand, Cynthia Alberto seeks to bridge traditional and contemporary weaving techniques, drawing inspiration from ancient communities of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Her artwork, performances, and public weaving projects honor traditional and artisanal techniques while also incorporating unconventional materials and a zero-waste philosophy. Throughout her artwork and teaching, Alberto continuously explores the many intersections between weaving and healing, as well as craft and sustainability. Watch the video here. NEXT WEEK: Join us June 18th, … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Mixed Color

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with Mixed Color Founder Christi Johnson. Christi’s textile studio is based in the foothills of the Catskills in New York. The studio provides functional pieces that are thoughtfully made, as well as serves as a platform to teach skills in sewing, embroidery, and natural dyeing so that others may do so themselves. Her book, Mystical Stitches, explores embroidery as a tool for personal empowerment and magical embellishment. Her online workshops explore stitching, clothing, and fibers as an opportunity for creative expansion and expression. Watch the video below: Check out the Mixed Color website here. And … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Kim Eichler-Messmer

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with quilt artist Kim Eichler-Messmer. Kim has been hand-dyeing fabric for nearly 20 years. In 2015 she made the decision to switch from using synthetic dyes to natural dyes and began a journey of learning and discovery, guided by experts in the field such as Catharine Ellis and Michel Garcia. Kim shared her beautiful work, talked about how the learning process influences her, and discussed how her work has evolved since making the switch to natural dyes. Watch the video recording here: Kim’s favorite things on our site: “I think Botanical Colors has an amazing … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Dogwood Dyer

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with Liz Spencer also known as The Dogwood Dyer. As a mother to three young children, Liz talked about the evolution and adaptation of her natural dye practice, her insatiable thirst for a deeper understanding of natural dyes and the fine balance of caring for others while carving out time to continue on the endless path of natural dye learning. Watch the video below. Liz is an artist, maker, natural dyer, gardener, educator and mother. She has grown and foraged plants for color in various environments including urban and suburban. Her most recent experience of … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Alabama Chanin

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with Alabama Chanin founder and creative director, the amazing Natalie Chanin. We talked about Natalie’s design journey, a sense of place and Alabama Chanin’s seed to shelf/cottage industry business model, the design process and working with natural dyes, as well as thoughts on the future of making. Watch the video: With a background in environmental and industrial design, Natalie has worked for 20 years building sustainable practices and community values into the design and making process through her business. You can follow along with the storytelling behind all of this on the Alabama Chanin Journal … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Keith Recker

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY had us all captivated by the storytelling of color (and how we perceive it), with Keith Recker. In addition to sharing some of the natural dye and pigment stories included in his book True Colors: World Masters of Natural Dyes, Keith talked about how the human eye perceives color, and how color terms enter human languages around the world. Watch the video recording below: Keith Recker is President and co-founder of HAND/EYE magazine, a multidisciplinary journal of global handmade creativity. He is also a board member and Creative Director of the International Folk Art Market in … Read more

10 Tannins That Don’t Need a Mordant

There are so many mordant variations and we urge you to experiment and find the one that works best for you. If you’re not familiar with the term, mordanting is the most important process of preparing fibers to accept color. Mordanting prepares fibers to bond with natural dyes and is typically a separate immersion bath for the fibers. Many natural dyes require the use of a mordant to achieve the most durable and long lasting colors. Though you might start with the tried and true aluminum mordants, consider trying tannin-rich extracts that not only offer a base color, they prep … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: EILEEN FISHER Renew

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with Lilah Horwitz, Creative Director at EILEEN FISHER Renew about their amazing take back program. Did you know they have rescued over 1.5 million pieces of clothing since 2009, to be resold, donated or remade into new designs? We’re proud to have partnered with EILEEN FISHER Renew every Earth Day since 2014 on an indigo collection. This collection helps to support our business that uses nontoxic, biodegradable dyes and responsible dyeing practices and partners us with another sustainable business working to do good for both people and planet. It’s a win win. We were so … Read more

Fabric with concentric shapes in blue and white

For National Tie-Dye Day, Resist With An Indigo Vat

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