This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was on the famous 1-2-3 indigo vat! Presenting this week? The best of the best, Botanical Colors Founder/President Kathy Hattori joined by Botanical Colors’ team member Kate Rosendale.
Watch the video recording here:
We get more questions about indigo than any other dye, so we decided to update our online information and also do a deep dive into the variations of the recipe based on Michel Garcia’s 1-2-3 indigo vat. we did some pretty extensive experiments with fructose, henna and iron that you won’t want to miss. Botanical Colors’ team member Kate Rosendale and Kathy tested the 1-2-3 indigo vats and had some very interesting and surprising results to share with you. Seriously, like an aged vat versus a new vat? The results are dramatic!
We have lots we will be adding here including a new section on the site with these results as well as all the questions answered we didn’t get to. Stay tuned.
For now check out our How-To pages featuring indigo instructions on the 1-2-3 vat, facts on indigo, and so many old FEEDBACK FRIDAY posts back when they were boring and just living on a blog page and not all live and fun as they are now.
Take for instance this oldie but goodie:
Do you sell a type of indigo that works best to get that real dark blue I see on vintage Japanese workwear?
Getting a dark blue is the result of skill and multiple dips in the vat. Most indigo varieties will produce a similar color and according to research, the very inky, blackened blue from Japan is often the product of many, many indigo dips over many days, careful aging and finishing. It was so precious that it was rarely used for work clothing but more from ceremonial and special occasion pieces.
Join us this week, November 20th, 9am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern for a live Zoom FEEDBACK FRIDAY with weaver and climate activist Tali Weinberg. Tali is an artist who utilizes weaving, sculpture, thread drawing, and works on paper to visualize climate data.
Tali will be presenting her recent work responding to intertwined climate and health crises. Join us for a conversation about grief, water, oil, place, and weaving as text.
RSVP here.
FEEDBACK FRIDAY
If you are not familiar with FEEDBACK FRIDAY, every week, we speak with dyers, artists, scientists and scholars about our favorite topic, natural dyeing and color. Curated by Amy DuFault, Botanical Colors’ Sustainability and Social Media Director and presented by Botanical Colors’ Founder Kathy Hattori. We even have our own original Zoom song. It’s true!