Natural Dyes Archives - Page 24 of 31

Ecotextile News Reports: Eucalyptus Waste Used to Dye Cotton

Ecotextile New reports that “waste from the eucalyptus wood steaming process could potentially provide a natural dye source for dyeing cotton according to new research from South America. Researchers claim to have successfully used the coloured liquid waste produced in the steam treatment of eucalyptus wood as a natural dyestuff to colour cotton in an exhaust dyeing process without the addition of traditional mordants. The findings represent an interesting breakthrough, not least because Tencel, made by Austrian company Lenzing, is also made from extracted eucalyptus wood pulp. According to the research findings, the resulting dyed fabrics were evaluated for colour … Read more

The Reinvention of the Color Black (A Historical Perspective)

Nautilus writes: “Black is technically an absence: the visual experience of a lack of light. A perfect black dye absorbs all of the light that impinges on it, leaving nothing behind. This ideal is remarkably difficult to manufacture. The industrialization of the 18th and 19th centuries made it easier, providing chemists and paint-makers with a growing palette of black—and altering the subjects that the color would come to represent. “These things are intimately connected,” says science writer Philip Ball, author of Bright Earth: The Invention of Color. The reinvention of black, in other words, went far beyond the color.” From … Read more

Lazlo Launches an Heirloom Tee on Kickstarter (With Our Indigo!)

Lazlo, an apparel brand run by a sibling duo in Detroit is taking the most familiar items in a man’s wardrobe and rethinking each step of the manufacturing process to consider its impact on local economies and the environment. The result is a premium t-shirt with a lifetime guarantee. Brother/sister duo Christian and Kathryn Birky just launched their Kickstarter campaign this week and are already a third of the way funded. The two chose to set up production in Detroit, the heart of American manufacturing and operating under the belief that everyone deserves access to living wage jobs, they will … Read more

Brooklyn Fashion+Design Accelerator Workshop (In Pictures!)

At our Easy Printing Techniques Using Natural Dyes workshop at the Brooklyn Fashion+Design Accelerator, attendees learned how to print with non-toxic and food-grade ingredients and how to explore simple screen printing and surface effects. Our final project was printing on a California Cloth Foundry t-shirt and wow the results were pretty amazing. Check out the results below!

Botanical Colors Featured on Maker’s Row for Eco-Friendly Factories

Maker’s Row is a Brooklyn-based, world respected young company that works with large corporations to first time designers, by providing unparalleled access to industry-specific factories and suppliers across the United States. We were recently interviewed for an article on “Eco-Friendly Factories: How Do You Know Your Manufacturer is Green?” The site reads: “As consumers increasingly look for transparency around the making and sourcing of the products they purchase, designers are striving to meet that need not only the conception of the product, but the manufacturing. While finding the perfect, environmentally-friendly fabric poses a challenge that’s equal parts fun and gratifying, … Read more

Scattergood Friends School Workshop a Success!

Our 2 day natural dye class called Colors of the Prairie at Scattergood Friends School, a Quaker boarding school in West Branch, Iowa was so much fun. We walked with naturalists, did some prairie crawls, played in the classroom with indigo dipping and swam in the sweetest little pond every night. Here are some shots of our time there. If ever in West Branch, go say hello! Seriously, these are the nicest people ever.

Amazonian Biodiversity Protects Health & Livelihoods With Natural Dyes

National Geographic writes: “Striding along an overgrown path in the woods, Micaela Fachín stops beside an ishpingo tree (Amburana cearensis), strokes the bark and squints up the tall, straight trunk. ‘I planted this years ago,’ she says. ‘I won’t see it grow to maturity, but it will be here for my children or their children.’ Her grove of banana trees — for family consumption and for sale — is not far away, and there are some papaya trees here and there. But all around are forest species that have particular and, in some cases, peculiar uses. Some sprouted naturally, while … Read more

NEW CLASS! Colors of the Prairie at Scattergood Friends School

Our 2 day class Colors of the Prairie at Scattergood Friends School, a Quaker boarding school in West Branch, Iowa on June 27 and 28 is coming up! Scattergood is about 3.5 hours outside of Chicago, 1.5 hours from Des Moines and 15 minutes from Iowa City. Using low water and sustainable methods, we will be roaming Scattergood’s restored prairie and farm in search of interesting dye materials to create pieces that evoke a time and place. An organic indigo vat will add layers and complexity to our pieces. Lodging and meals are available for a song – $50 in addition … Read more

Stunning Applications of Indigo Dye to Wood Products

Design Made in Japan came out with this amazing article on indigo dye as they relate to wood products for the home. They write: “Thanks to contemporary Japanese craftsmen and a growing interest in more ‘naturally’ produced goods, a renewed interest in aizome is taking place due to the quality it yields and sensitivity to the environment… Japanese indigo dyeing, known as aizome in Japanese, yields a rich chroma known as ‘Japan blue’. Used in Japan for centuries in textile applications, traditional aizome had seen a sharp decline in the last 100 years due to synthetic blue dyes becoming readily … Read more

Herman de Vries Catalogs Nature at the Venice Art Biennale

Designboom writes: “Dutch artist Herman de Vries represents the Netherlands at the Dutch pavilion for the 2015 Venice Art Biennale. De Vries’ background as a horticulturist and natural scientist offers visitors to the exhibition ‘to be all ways to be’ a look at both the unity and diversity of the world around us, presented through sculptures, works on paper, photography and an expansive range of objects.” “From Earth: Everywhere” is a wall sized tableau comprising 84 earth rubbings on paper. Designboom says that De Vries collected soil samples from different locations all over the world on his many travels, forming … Read more