Image: Cara Marie Piazza, Calyx
Each week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community asking simple and complex questions that we thought might be worth sharing. Here are a handful from this week answered by natural dyer in chief, Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors:
I keep reading about people dyeing their hair with natural dyes, have you heard of this or heard of people having any success with this?
Natural dyes such as henna have been used to dye and condition hair since antiquity. There are a number of natural hair dyes on the market and most of them contain henna but be aware that some may still contain chemicals in their formulations. Our dyes are for textile use only and not recommended for dyeing hair, skin or food.
Image: Botanical Colors for EILEEN FISHER
What are some fashion brands you know of or are working with right now that I should check out? I want to start phasing in healthier clothing into my wardrobe!
It is an exciting time to wear naturally dyed clothing. Brands such as Patagonia and EILEEN FISHER have natural dye collections. Colorant in New York, Tinctoria Designs in Portland Oregon, Sustain by Kat and Last Chance Textiles in Los Angeles feature natural dyes. Brooklyn based knitwear designers Spratters & Jayne unveiled a naturally dyed line of home textiles and dyer artisans such as Cara Marie Piazza and The Dogwood Dyer create one-of-a-kind naturally dyed pieces. There’s a large group of naturally dyed yarns out there, too for all the hand knitters. Local Color from Bainbridge Island, Washington, Sincere Sheep in Napa, California, Tidal Yarns, SLO Yarns and Swans Island Company in Maine are just a few that work with natural dyes.
Don’t forget to shop our “Blue Bazaar” from Kathy’s trip to India!