THE
MAGIC
OF
NATURAL
DYEING
Natural dyes are our response to major concerns about fast fashion, synthetic dyes and environmental pollution of our mother nature. Contrasting synthetic dyes, plant-based dyes have positive impacts on our environment and on our body during the production process and within their ultimate results. The process needs less water than conventional dyes and does not harm any river, lake or ocean with toxic runoff.
Furthermore plant dyed clothes are nontoxic and nonallergic, making sure our skin - being our largest and most sensitive organ - can breathe continuously.
Reducing exposure to toxins can seem like a hopeless and arduous task at times, but so is any change in life. Every big change starts with your small personal changes.
By changing your life, you change the world.
ADORATION
OF
DYE
PLANTS
All our dye materials are passionately hand-selected by us during long walks and hikes through local forests, parks or backyards in and around Berlin as well as sourced from various local kitchens.
We love to get into direct contact with mother nature and its different appearances through the process of selection, harvest and thanksgiving.
With our bare hands we feel the energy of the plants and try to transfer it onto our linen fabrics throughout the elaborate and vernacular processes of color extraction.
During the dye bath the original earth shaded color and the unique healing power of every leaf, flower, seed, bark and peel is submerging into the linen fabric.
THE
SECRETS
OF
NATURAL
COLOR
The color palette of our textiles reflects the cycle of flowers, bushes, trees and vegetables guided by the seasons of our latitude. In Spring we dye with the first delicate green and the first soft flowers, in summer with bright and intense color from different berries, in autumn with fallen down leaves and in winter with dark seeds and fruits from the ground.
The results of each individual color extraction are enormously complex and can never be reproduced. Our individual pieces are all characterized by the uniqueness, unrepeatability and perfection of nature.
ANCESTRAL
DYEING
TECHNIQUES
BUNDLE DYE
Within this technique the dyes are placed directly on the fiber and then bundled between two layers of fabric. In this way they connect directly to the fabric and are permanently transferred to textiles by steam, instead of first being dissolved in water. We love this technique because like this, countless colors in the form of free patterns, dots, and prints can be created similarly on just on textile.
DYEING BREW
When dyeing in a dyeing stock, fabrics can be dyed uniformly in one color. For this, hard dyeing materials such as barks, roots or shells have to be soaked beforehand, while soft materials such as leaves or food scraps can be boiled directly with water. The exact boiling time depends on the dyeing materials used. The fabrics then lie in the dyeing brew for up to several days so the color pigments can settle regularly around the fabric fibers.
SHIBORI
This technique is really common in many countries around the world and goes by various names: in India it’s known as Banfhana, Plangi in South America and in Japan Shibori. The technique has different characteristics in every region but what they all have in common is the creation of patterns by making knots and typically involving folding, twisting or bunching cloth and binding it. Right now we are using this technique mainly to create a jagged pattern.
PAINTING WITH INK
With our homemade ink we draw different patterns on the previously dyed fabrics with curved, straight, thick or thin black lines. Especially well-suited for this are fabrics that were previously dyed with tannin-containing materials such as onion skins - by adding tannin it is also possible to paint on all other fabrics.
There are no limits to creativity when drawing - we love to create new pictures again and again in nightly creative sessions.
Impressum
Terms