Indigo Archives - Page 13 of 13

For Tiina Laakkonen and the Elder Statesman, Blue Is the Warmest Color

“As anyone familiar with her styling work, her Amagansett, N.Y., boutique, Tiina, or her nearby home already knows, Tiina Laakkonen really, really loves indigo. “Blue is my favorite color and indigo is the most natural, alive version of it,” she says. “I used to live in black clothes when I lived in New York, but they seem too hard in both the light and the life out East.” Now, Laakkonen has teamed up with one of the designers whose work she carries in her store, Greg Chait of the Elder Statesman, to create limited editions of four Elder Statesman styles in her signature … Read more

A VIP Indigo Dye Party with Sustainable Powerhouses

Last weekend we decided to get some of our favorite Seattle folks together for a private dyeing party and show them how much fun one can have putting color to cloth. In attendance were Sarah Menzies filmmaker, director and general mind-blower of Let Media, model, activist and humanitarian Kate Dillon who works for forestry protection through Code REDD, business coach Tara Wefers as well as Leslie Ross who is keeping Seattle in proper planetary alignment. There were lots of “Oooohs” and Aaahhhhs” and fun new tricks happened upon by accident but the one thing we loved most? Getting a fantastic … Read more

Social Change Through Indigo, Shibori and EILEEN FISHER

This past weekend we had the pleasure of collaborating with EILEEN FISHER’S GREEN EILEEN team at a workshop in Seattle at the Hillman City Collaboratory. The Collaboratory is a center for the arts and an incubator for social change with a mission to create a space of transformation including the built environment and the programming specifically designed to create community and equip change-makers. The Collaboratory is housed in a multi-use complex that incorporates four unique spaces: the mixing chamber, the coworking office, the learning kitchen, and the community park & garden. Attendees learned the Japanese art of shibori and natural … Read more

Madison Wool and Wildwood Farm Host a Natural Dye Weekend

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 such as cochineal, madder roots, walnut hulls and weld flowers. The group also learned about the secrets to obtaining the best color through chopping, simmering and carefully extracting natural dye tinctures. As an added bonus, we took a step outdoors to gather dyestuffs from the … Read more

DIY: Indigo Dye with Cara Marie Piazza

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 in nature. It’s been found in ancient Egyptian mummy wrappings and was so valued by the Romans as a luxury product, the story goes, that the only people who knew how to dye with indigo were hidden away in the forest,” says Moreno-Bunge. “Because of … Read more

Botanical Colors’ Shawls Debut on Wantful!

Hints & Tips for Natural Dyers: How to Minimize Indigo Crocking

1. It’s supposed to rub off. That’s why blue jeans fade. 2. Certain cultures attribute indigo crocking to its authenticity and prize the way that excess indigo comes off on the hands or body. I found a description from Duncan Clarke of Adire African Textiles on how West African cultures dye and prepare indigo cloth: “After the dyed cloth had dried it was customary to beat the fabric repeatedly with wooden beaters, which both pressed the fabric and imparted a shiny glaze. In some areas additional indigo paste was beaten into the cloth at this stage, subsequently rubbing off on … Read more