I Habitually Dyed and Went to Heaven.

In my last blog post, I spoke about my love for natural dying - a simple process that you can easily do from home, with very little equipment. My real heaven though, is when I have access to a modern dye lab. When I was at CSM, I spent a lot of time in the dye lab, experimenting with recipes, fibres and ikat dyeing techniques, there I was introduced to direct and acid dyes. However, the dye lab was always quite hazardous, with fashion students waltzing all over the place, splashing dye over every surface, picking up other work, and swanning back out again- I was always careful to go on days when they were scheduled elsewhere, and go very early in the morning - so that I could prance around like a magician, perfecting my colour palettes.

It was really at university that I was aware of my emotion and spirit for colour. I savoured over every aspect of dyeing's unpredictability, with the true colour only perceived once 100% dry - it requires a degree of faith and imagination. I always achieved the exact tone I required, and enjoyed translating my research into colour collections. The real joy came from the ability to be fearless with colour- embracing it whole heartedly, and welcoming in the perhaps unexpected hues - the brown, yellow and olive in the pink that give it it's dustiness - these are the unsung components that truly give colour its depth and beauty.

Dyed Hanks

Dyed yarn

Dye testers

Dye testers