liz spencer Archives - Botanical Colors

The Dogwood Dyer: Dyeing with Thanksgiving Leftovers!

The Dogwood Dyer knows food waste and is a master at turning what most would throw away, into things of beauty. We asked Liz Spencer, the driving force behind The Dogwood Dyer, if she could put together a how-to for us using onion skins. She came back to us with this Dyeing with Thanksgiving Leftovers: An Artful Approach to Onion Skins tutorial.If you follow Liz, you know she offers an amazing subscription called A Year In Natural Dyes. This month it’s all about food waste and what you see below is just the tip of the iceberg! Sign up to … Read more

Video From FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Liz Spencer + Katrina Rodabaugh

Our last FEEDBACK FRIDAY was a huge milestone for us as we prepared for our second to last ever FEEDBACK FRIDAY, featuring dear friends as well as alumnae, Katrina Rodabaugh and Liz Spencer. Watch the video recording below. The two shared mini presentations and then had a conversation together and with attendees on being caretakers as well as creatives. What are the challenges and successes to following our creative journey in natural dyes? When does a passion become work and what are some of the boundaries that we need to set to keep balance? Katrina and Liz tackled all these … Read more

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: 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

Studio Time with Brooklyn’s Dogwood Dyer

Studio time is always inspiring and we were more than happy to welcome Liz Spencer of The Dogwood Dyer from Brooklyn a few weeks ago. Liz creates hand made accessories and garments from ethically sourced fibers and dyestuffs from the country and along roadsides surrounding New York City. She also grows some of her dyes in her urban Brooklyn street-side planters completely free of chemicals. Cataloging madder in the studio To reduce the impact of the water intensive dyeing process, 80% of her dye water is recycled back into her garden and she uses fibers like alpaca, mohair and Cormo … Read more