Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Nienke Hoogvliet

This week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY we had Nienke Hoogvliet talking about our new favorite topic: seaweed dye. Studio Nienke Hoogvliet, is a design studio for material research, experimental and conceptual design. The studio engages in freelance projects for different companies and institutions but also continues research in self-initiated design projects. The studio is based in The Hague, The Netherlands. We are pretty obsessed with their seaweed dye research. Watch the video here. Seaweed Re-Search By Studio Nienke Hoogvliet Studio Nienke Hoogvliet website Nienke’s NEW website that is officially selling products dyed with seaweed Both Instagram feeds she is running for … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Claire Wellesley-Smith

This week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY we had artist, researcher and author based in West Yorkshire, UK, Claire Wellesley-Smith. Claire specializes in projects that use local, natural color, created from home-grown and locally foraged plants. She talked about her practice and some of her community-based projects; including an ongoing Stitch Journal now into its eighth year as well as recent work around textiles and resilience. Claire’s two books: Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art and Resilient Stitch: Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Art (published in April) Check out the Claire Wellesley-Smith website here Instagram is @cwellesleysmith Watch the video here. … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Sally Fox

This week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY we had organic cotton guru SALLY FOX. Sally Fox is a cotton breeder who breeds naturally colored varieties of cotton. She created Foxfibre®️ and founded the company Natural Cotton Colours Inc. Sally developed the first species of environmentally friendly colored cotton that could be spun into thread on a machine and has been called a “cotton pioneer” for her efforts regarding organic, colored cotton and heirloom wheat. Watch the video below: Sally has been breeding and growing organic naturally colored cottons since 1982 and has spent decades breeding naturally colored cotton. She recently noted that … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Threads of Life

This week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY we had Threads of Life Co-Founders William Ingram and Jean Howe. After the presentation, we had a virtual trunk show with Jean that was amazing and showcased all the artisans they work with. Watch the video below: About Threads of Life: Threads of Life, a Bali-based social enterprise that has worked with over 1000 traditional weavers and their families in 50 communities on 12 Indonesian islands since 1997. As co-director of the Bebali Foundation since 2002 he has led the organization’s support for sustainable use of natural dyes and other non-timber forest products by these … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Climate Crisis & Color

Last week we had such a powerful FEEDBACK FRIDAY on color and climate crisis with Madelaine Corbin. Madelaine is a multidisciplinary artist living in Detroit, Michigan. Her research-based practice moves fluidly between drawing, writing, sculpture, textiles and natural dyeing. Watch the recording here. “Through the lens of blue, this talk will consider the many origins of color to propose a few destinations. I will offer pieces of the research and experiments that inspired my artworks concerning the imminent loss of the color blue from our surrounding ecologies. This constellation of ideas will traverse the language of color, view artistic experiments … Read more

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: 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