Botanical Colors Archives - Page 6 of 39

Video From FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Textile Artist Youngmin Lee

Last FEEDBACK FRIDAY we welcomed textile artist, Youngmin Lee. Youngmin talked about her practice using Korean textile traditions that include bojagi and her ultimate journey to find happiness. It was one of those magical presentations that we got lots of messages about that it was “one of our best.” Watch the recording below. About Youngmin Lee Website Facebook Instagram: @youngminlee_bojagi & @koreantextiletour Email: [email protected] Youngmin Lee is a textile artist using bojagi tradition and techniques to create her work. Her interest in textiles led her to study clothing and textile in college and she received an MFA in Fashion Design in South … Read more

Sunday Visit: Hannah Regier’s Vermont Landcestors

For this week on Sunday Visit, we spend some time with Vermont-based fiber artist/land conservationist Hannah Regier. Hannah is a second generation professional craftsperson, a small scale homesteader, and “a third or more generation fiber worker.” She says her work is not about any “virtuosity of technique or adherence to current fashions” but more towards exploring how she can be of service to the natural materials she works with and the environment. Hannah will be sharing her practice and the evolution of her work this week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY focusing on her latest project, Landcestors which was supported by a creation … Read more

You Asked, Kathy Answered: Ceriops Mold?

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 questions@botanicalcolors with your plea for help! YOU ASKED: I’ve prepared my Ceriops and it is currently maturing in the storage vat (soon it will be a month!) It has some mold forming on the top of the liquid. Should I keep checking and removing it during the month, or leave it and scoop it all off at the end … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Will Mordant Affect Indigo Dyeing?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: I use aluminum triformate as my mordant for cellulose and silk. I am planning to dye linen with weld and was told that I didn’t need to use a tannin before dyeing if using potassium triformate.If I do need to use a tannin and have already mordanted the linen, do I go back and use tannin and remordant? KATHY ANSWERED: I have concentrated on using a tannin pretreat with aluminum sulfate and haven’t done so as frequently … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Using Alum Sulfate For Plant & Protein Fibers?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: I’m confused about the different types of aluminum mordants. I want to do some dyeing of fabric (silk, cotton) and also some wool. Do I need to use different aluminum mordants for these different fibers? I was told that I needed aluminum acetate for plant fibers and aluminum sulfate for protein fibers. Is that true? I have alum sulfate and would love to use it for both if that is workable. KATHY ANSWERED: Mordanting provides lots of … Read more

Video For FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Tannin Dyeing With Sari Monroy Solis

Last week we had a special presentation of FEEDBACK FRIDAY, this time with Sari Monroy Solis. Sari is a Mayan Kaqchikel backstrap weaver,natural dyer, and fiber enthusiast. Sari will be zooming in live from Guatemala and will be doing natural dyeing with local coffee fruits and other foraged tannins. She has been practicing tannin dyeing with foraged materials in Coastal California and is excited to share a little about the work she does with her elders in San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala. Watch the recording below. Sari’s Instagram @theblueweaver What is she excited about right now? “One, sharing my weaving … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Exhausted Mordant Baths + Sumac Tannin

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: After watching your video about aluminum triformate I decided to order it and started using it. I work with large quantities and large pieces, so I prepared a bucket with 50 liters of water and 500 grams of aluminum triformate. I used it to mordant approximately 5 kg of yarn/pieces. The water was white at the beginning, I suppose because I just mixed the powder, but after the first load, it was just like regular water. I … Read more

Botanical Colors Awarded Grant From Fibers Fund!

We are so excited to announce that Botanical Colors was awarded one of five technical assistance grants from Fibers Fund, a project of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) and Fibershed with Mission Driven Finance. All five grants were given to support and grow U.S. fiber, textile, and dye businesses. Botanical Colors joins Oregon-based Fibrevolution profiled in the SAFSF Fibers Roadmap Case Studies. Both businesses have helped inform the development of the Fibers Fund from the beginning. The next set of grants supports a critical new group of businesses for the Fibers Fund, the Black Fiber Cohort. This … Read more

You Asked, Kathy Answered: A Strange Result With Logwood

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 questions@botanicalcolors with your plea for help! Thanks to Amy Tucker Studio for this week’s questions! YOU ASKED: I was instructing an eco printing workshop this weekend, and I was using logwood for the carrier blankets and I had a strange occurrence. I attached some photos to show what it looked like and what happened. I extracted the color from … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: If It’s Tannin Rich Do You Need Mordant?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: I’ve read that natural dye materials with a high tannin level don’t need a mordant to dye wool. I have a rain barrel that collects run-off from the roof. The roof is under a huge maple tree, which over the course of the seasons, drops flower clusters, seeds, leaves and sticks onto the roof. This turns the runoff water in the rain barrel a brownish color. I believe this is due to the tannin in these items? … Read more