Bright, forgiving, and abundant: marigolds are the workhorses of the natural dye garden. After rapid germination in 5 days at my Startup Barreiro studio, these plants took off the moment they hit the soil at Jardim dos Franceses. Placed right next to the madder and in the center of another garden bed, they quickly established roots and bushy foliage. Once they started to flower,...

I think of shipping as a thread connecting my hands to yours, a folded cardboard box, skeins of threads, natural fabrics, a postcard, and a packing slip. It is an immense joy when I pack an order from my studio and watch it travel across a continent to so many of you. There is a great deal of bureaucracy involved in preparing every parcel...

Starting a natural dye garden begins long before the first dip into a bubbling vat. It starts in late winter with trays of seeds indoors and the patience required to germinate plants slowly from the earth.

I had the great pleasure of teaching a 3 Day Ajrak (Natural Dyeing & Printing) workshop at the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, organised by the Crafts Council Nederland

I am so incredibly happy to finally offer these at the shop. To me, they are the perfect mix of historic craftsmanship, ergonomic design, and daily utility. I hope you fall in love with them just like I did in Shanghai a decade ago.

Locally, the word gindi often refers to a ralli quilt itself, but I keep returning to the question: is gindi a regional variation of ginti (counting), reflecting the counted nature of the stitch, or simply a vernacular term for the same craft? I’ve updated the blog post with some new thoughts.