Where to make & buy handmade candles and ceramics in London

So I stumbled on Bonds of London unexpectedly. A couple of weekends back I did a food photography and styling course with Just Roy Photography and it happened to take place inside this hip two floor ‘creative studio-coffee-shop-lifestyle store’ (yep it’s a mouthful; but then it is located in trendy Hackney!)

Upstairs you’ll find ceramic studio Kana London while downstairs is where British candlemakers Earl of East London make their gorgeous smelling luxury candles. Only open to public Fridays-Sundays it’s a modern menagerie of carefully curated luxury gift items, most of which are made in the UK.

Though the shop near London Fields station itself is modest, it has a welcoming, light and airy Scandi feel and it’s the kind of place you can pick up a gift for a friend who appreciates indie brands and modern design.

Earl of East London currently run candle-making workshops on Sundays and at Kana London there are numerous clay classes; or you can opt for both in one of their unique collaborative sessions. I’ve not come across anywhere else in London where you can make candles and pottery at the same time so this is one to bookmark for a practical, creative activity.

Incase you can’t get to East London, you can also order Kana London’s rustic clay crockery (really thick, hardwearing and a pleasure to use) from their online store and check out Earl of East London stockists here.

Happy Shopping & crafting!

Find Earl of East London and Kana London at Granden Road, Hackney, E8

All images: CraftandTravel.com

DIY POMPOM CHARM NECKLACE TO WEAR AT GLASTONBURY (& OTHER SUMMER FESTIVALS)

With less than a week to go until Glastonbury gets the UK festival season kick-started there’s a deluge of articles about what to wear, buy and what beauty looks to create for Glastonbury across the blogosphere. Now I for one am not in a position to buy clothes every season and for every occasion, my trick is changing up my accessories to make it look like I have a never-ending wardrobe. Truth is if you make just one change like swapping a necklace or scarf, it automatically looks like you have a new outfit.

Glastonbury like many festivals has become one giant moneyfest. Once you’ve added up your ticket price, travel, food and expenses you’re looking at spending around £500 and that’s without you even starting on your wardrobe. Save a few pennies instead because you’ll need them, by making DIY accessories that look awesome and keep with the original roots of the festival which was never about commercialisation.

Pompoms & smoothie bowl

As I said it’s less that a week away so you clearly won’t have much time to spend on making, so here’s a super simple idea that doubles up as fun jewellery while being super useful and best of all, it can be knocked out in less than an hour.

POMPOM Chain necklace

You will need:

Pompom maker (I used a medium and a small one from Fabrications you’ll find in most craft shops)
Yarn
Chain
Scissors

To make pompoms
Pompom makers vary slightly so these instructions are for the most common type.

Start by opening up the pompom maker by separating the two sides.
Wrap yarn across the full surface of one side.

Ensure there are no gaps. The more you build it up, the fluffier your pompom will be.

When you get to the end, cut the yarn and repeat winding yarn on at the other end.

When you’ve done both ends, close up the pompom maker.

Take your scissors and cut through the yarn in the centre where you’ll feel a slight ridge in the pompom maker.

Cut a separate piece of yarn and tie it around the centre of the pompom maker, tying it really tightly, then wrap around and tie up a couple more times.

Pull the pompom maker apart to release the pompom and gently whack it on a table to help it fluff up into shape.

Attaching the pompoms

You’ll be left with the two ends of yarn which you tied around the centre. Feed these through the chain and tie up so that you’ve got a ‘pompom charm’ and continue all the way around tying on as many as you want – use a mirror as a reference point to ensure the balance and pompom positioning is right.

Finishing touches
Go full swing with the charm potential. The chain allows you to attach anything you want onto your necklace so as well as pompoms you could attach small charms, beads, ribbons and tassels. You can also sparkle up the pompoms by gluing gemstones and sequins directly onto the pompoms and of course during the initial pompom making stage you can also mix up colours so your pompoms are multi-tone.

You can also double it up into something super useful like dangling keys off your chain and any other small things you might need which in my case is usually lipgloss.

About the pictures…

Earlier this week I went along to Palm Vaults, the hip East London vegetarian eatery which has been named the most Instagrammable café in London (and is in the running as the pinkest!)

Design is everything inside this mint and pink themed pastel heaven so here’s a few more photos and yes the food and drinks are pink too…

If you can get to Palm Vaults in the week you’ll have a more relaxing experience, at weekends you’ll need to book ahead.

Expect yummy concoctions like lavender latte, dragon fruit breakfast bowls and pink wafer sponge cake.

I am most definitely going to be coming back here, it’s a great place to photograph crafts projects and there’s plenty more on the menu I still want to try!

Festival fashion shopping
If you are doing some festival shopping then forget the high street. Check out online store Purple Mayhem instead which specialises in handmade festival fashion…their tassel shrugs are about as perfect as festival fashion gets.

Visit Purple Mayhem. 

The Truth About London Craft Week

I had my reservations about London Craft Week which I aired  on my personal Twitter account a few days before it got under way. I had a lot of interactions too from other appreciators of craft, professional and hobbycrafters, some who shared my concerns and others whose concerns were even stronger than mine.

There’s no doubt that I am supporter of crafts…I wouldn’t have called this blog CraftandTravel  if it wasn’t something I’m passionate about but it’s because of this passion that I feel so protective and sensitive about the subject.

What are crafts? How do you distinguish between art and craft, and craft that is amateur and professional? Does one have more value than the other? This is a topic I have been faced with many times and it’s one I’ve previously written about too, but the answer is not clear-cut. The truth is if one was to look at ‘crafts’ as a discipline, it is one that’s divided. At one end it’s an extremely high-end product that requires incredible skills which results in the finished product having a high value. The average person will never be able to afford it, just like they can’t afford work by major artists and they will never afford to buy anything that appears on the runways of London and other fashion weeks. In that respect there is a whole world of crafts that is incredibly elitist and for the large part that’s what London Craft Week represents.

For me as a crafts lover it’s a chance to experience this side of crafts, as on an ordinary day I can’t walk into a luxury craft store they probably wouldn’t even let me in! Yet at the same time, I worry that in London there is a huge crafts community which sit outside the remit of London Craft Week.

Those that sell their handmade wares on websites like Etsy, have stalls at craft markets, write craft blogs, love making handmade gifts….they too are Crafters but they aren’t represented in the London Craft Week programme so that’s my dilemma: why can’t both of these creative worlds be united under this umbrella event?

I went to London Craft Week with an open mind and chose to focus on the free events which is what you’ll get a taste of in the video above  but I also went to a couple of the paid ones to get an idea of how they differed. Both were at opposite ends of the scale.

Inside The Charlotte Street Hotel

For the first event I went along to The Charlotte Street Hotel to hear Interior Designer Kit Kemp speak. Earlier this year I stayed at the Haymarket Hotel and loved the décor so much I immediately became incredibly fond of Kit’s work so the chance to hear her speak at an event was one I couldn’t miss. 90% of those attending were women on their own which fascinated me. They all had an interest and eye for colour, pattern and design and I got speaking to several, it was a wonderful evening.

The second of the paid events I chose to attend was a discussion entitled ‘Can Crafts Make Britain Great Again?,’ held inside a high-end crafts store. I’ve never felt more out of place. Here’s me, my colourful positive craft living self at a craft event at London Craft Week, I should have felt in my element – when in fact I’ve never felt more like an outsider. I felt like how it may feel for a common working class student to turn up to Oxford University in its earliest days – you’d feel so different to anyone else and inadequate.

There was a panel led discussion at the end of which I asked a question which the chair chose not to answer. I felt deflated and unimportant and left with a tear in my eye realising that I’d learnt about a new side of an industry which I considered to me by own… that it’s not actually what I think it is.

Craft is an industry that is divided and very much so by class, at least in the UK. In a way this reinforces my reasons for why I write this blog it’s beyond my home country – it’s about crafts on a global scale and in particular the communities who make handmade possible. So though I’m currently feeling a bit disheartened about crafts in the UK right now, I’m excited as ever about the opportunities there are to celebrate the creativity of crafts, by professionals and amateurs around the world and on my journey I’ll be keeping an eye out for whether and how this ‘divide’ exists elsewhere.

Did you attend London Craft Week? What are your thoughts on it?

DIY POMPOM Slippers

 

When it comes to hoarding the free white slippers you get in hotel rooms I am as guilty as they get. At home I’m a sock girl but away I have to make use of the slippers. I especially love that moment of returning to my room and seeing that a lovely person has strategically placed them on a mat by my bed as part of the evening turn-down service. Hotel slippers are what makes a holiday in my books so it seems a real shame to throw them away afterwards when they still have some wear in them, so I like to bring mine home.

Trouble is I now have a ridiculous number of said white slippers and of course I never wear them. So I decided rather than letting them go to waste and take up space in my wardrobe I’d fashion them into something more appealing so here goes… introducing the pompom slippers. See how to make them in the quick video above or check out below for the details.

WHAT YOU NEED:
Free hotel slippers
Pompoms
Glue gun
A ball (I used a cricket one, a tennis ball would be fine too)

GET CRAFTING!
Place the ball inside the slipper, this gives it shape and stops the slipper from getting stuck to the sole while you’re glueing.

Apply a line of glue and then press your pompoms into place. Keep them nicely close together as the effect of full coverage looks so much more impressive when there are no gaps.

Slip out the ball, leave to dry and get ready to lounge at home in the coolest slippers of anyone on your street.

Indian Clay Bangle Making

 

A mesmerising watch.

I feel naked without bangles. They are the one accessory I have to wear and on the rare occasions I’ve accidently left my house without wearing any, I’ve gone to the nearest shop and bought some: that’s how bad my addiction is.

This demonstration of clay bangles was filmed in Jaipur. Every single bangle in the set is different but made in the same way by melting and moulding clay and tree gum. The colours are so vivid but the result is very delicate. I bought this set but shortly after, dropped a few on the floor and they broke into small pieces, so if you are going to buy clay bangles wear them and handle them with caution.

The great thing about buying direct from a demonstration is that you’re giving money directly to the maker and with that in mind, because I saw him at work these are currently the most precious bangles I own. I’m so shamed I broke some of them so early on but the ones I still have are very special.

Given a choice I encourage you to shop similarly – why give money to a store when it’s the maker who’s done the work? I know it’s not always possible but it beats buying something quickly from a shop which may not even have been made in the country you’re purchasing it from, even though it’s labelled a ‘handicraft.’

Don’t worry about price either because in actual fact it’s cheaper to buy direct. These clay bangles were a complete bargain!

Have you bought anything from your travels that you watched being made? Share your story in the comments, we’d love to know. 

Stitch & The City: Interview with Tapestry Artist Hannah Bass

Put down Google Maps and start appreciating the beauty of a real one. Contemporary Tapestry Artist Hannah Bass has a lifelong appreciation for maps and colour, so after a decade spent in a day job being surrounded by neutral shades, she gave into her passion and launched a tapestry kit company where she designs colourful kits based on maps of the world’s major cities. Each one is accurately drawn and can be turned into a cushion, allowing you to bring some crafty city chic into your home.
Hannah tells CraftandTravel about her how she got into this stitchuation…

What are your earliest memories of stitching?
I come from a big family and I remember stitching away with my cousins one summer. It was a way to keep us quiet and occupied. My first ever kit was of a teddy bear holding a big, bright yellow sunflower.

How did you make the move into becoming a tapestry artist?
I love colour and I love making things with my hands. I spent 10 years as an Interior Designer but found that my clients mainly opted for neutral colours, which wasn’t really me. I thought that if I started designing tapestries, I could be as colourful as I liked, just like when I did my student projects. I pondered with the idea for a while, then I just decided to take the leap, I quit my job and started designing tapestries.

What is tapestry and how does it differ to other types of embroidery?
It’s the simplest form of needlepoint. It is ‘half’ a cross-stitch. So basically a running stitch – you make just a single diagonal line. With tapestry you mostly work with chunky 4-ply wool rather than cotton or silk, so it is not as fiddly or straining on the eyes. The simplicity of the stitch is the joy to me, it’s incredibly relaxing. Just like in yoga, you turn your brain off and let the flow of the stitch take over.

Sounds perfect, how can we try it out?
I design tapestry kits based on city maps which you can buy from my online shop or my stand at craft fairs. I love to travel and I love maps because they are both a functional tool and a piece of art. They can look quite abstract as patterns so I thought they leant themselves well to tapestry. I’m from London, so for my first design, I created a tapestry map of the capital. It was a success and people asked for other cities. Initially I sold my kits at a very small local market. The first market wasn’t a great success, but I had confidence in the product, so I went back the next weekend and tried again.

How may tapestry kits do you currently have? 
25 at present. I hope to make another 10 this year. Everyone has a connection with a different city. I get a lot of requests for different cities.

How accurate are the designs in terms of geography?
Very. I couldn’t have them inaccurate, they wouldn’t be maps then. They do take quite a while to design for this reason, but it’s worth it. I love it when customers look at my tapestries and work out where they travelled and stayed from them. They get so excited if they fit on the map, as do I.

The designs are very colourful how do you choose the colour schemes? 
Each design has a theme. Some are more obvious than others, i.e. Moscow is Soviet, San Francisco is the Rainbow.The colouring is very important though. Some people won’t buy the city they want because they can’t relate to the colours and others buy a city they have no connection to just because they want to stitch those colours.

Have you visited all the cities you have made kits for and what cities are still in the pipeline that you’d like to design?
I’ve been to most of them. Not Moscow though, and oddly not to Barcelona – I must fit that in this year. I’d love to see the Gaudi buildings. This year will be Cardiff, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Melbourne, Toronto, Hong Kong, Stockholm and Copenhagen. I always choose the most requested cities.

Where do you like to do your stitching?
It’s usually one of three places; in front of the TV, in the conservatory listening to Radio 4, or in my bedroom listening to an audio book. They are a good holiday activity too!

How long would it take for someone to make one of your tapestry for cushions kits?
Well mastering the stitch is very easy anyone can do it. If I’m in rush to finish a design, it will take me five working days to complete one but the kits aren’t designed to be stitched like this – they are relaxing hobbies to pick and a put down like a book.

 What has been the highlight so far in your journey of selling your tapestry kits?
Gosh, that’s a tricky one. I don’t think there is one specific moment, rather an inward feeling of self satisfaction of coming up with a concept and having the determination to see it through to fruition, and that from my own efforts and creativity I can financially support myself. It’s not been easy, but it has definitely been worth it.

Fancy stitching a city? Check out Hannah’s website to order one and follow her on social media to see kit creation stories.

www.hannahbass.com
Facebook: hannahbasscontemporaryneedlepoint
Instagram: @hannahbassneedlepoint
Twitter: @hbneedlepoint
Pinterest: hbneedlepoint

 

Fairtrade & Fabulous: Sri Lankan Woven Accessories

The Founders of HAS Partnership tell us more about their colourful Sri Lankan accessories…  

Tell us more about HAS Partnership, we’re guessing the title comes from your initials?
Yes it does! The company was set up and is entirely run by us, Heshika, Ayomi and Sabina, and a huge part of what gave us the confidence to set up a company was the that we are three friends working together as a team; it also helps that among the three of us we have experience related to the skills required to set up and run a company. We deliberately chose a name that reflects the fact that it’s three components that come together and make a whole.

How did it come about that the three of you decided to set it up?
We used to frequently joke about how good a team we would be if we worked together but occasionally this would become a serious discussion when we would say ‘actually, we really should do something together because it would be a great experience to go to work with your best friends – it also gives us an excuse to spend more time together’.

Our love of eating meant that we would constantly be talking about owning our own cafe or running a catering business that would bring our favourite Sri Lankan savoury pastries to the UK. That is until we were once discussing our respective holidays in Sri Lanka and realised we had all returned with our favourite handloom items for ourselves, and also gifts for friends. It felt like a no-brainer after that, as we were clearly going back to Sri Lanka for our accessories because handloom of this quality, and in bright colours, isn’t widely available in the UK. This chimed with discussions we’d had about admiring and being inspired by the people who work to sustain the industry and support Sri Lankan workers with fair wages, so we were really excited to combine what we’re passionate about into one idea.

What types of items do you sell?

We sell home and fashion accessories. This includes necklaces, scarves, aprons, purses, tote bags, cushion covers, napkins, coasters and table mats. We’d like to widen our range to include other complementary items but thought we would start small and then expand in time. All products are woven on handlooms in Sri Lanka, which is a cottage industry. The work is made by artisans and then distributed by our suppliers.

How did you source your initial stock?
We currently have a single supplier; a company whose ethical policies in all areas, from having a minimum impact on the environment to fair pay to supporting families and women’s careers and much more, are exactly the policies we wanted to adopt for any business we ran. They have done a stellar job in working to address the decline in the handloom industry, due to competition from cheaper, mass- and machine-produced products. In fact, their company was set up to support artisans and prevent the disappearance of a heritage industry. We decided to approach them and ask whether we can set up a company which will widen the market for the products made by the artisans who work for them by popularising and selling them in the UK.

Are there particular parts of Sri Lanka you mainly get the pieces made in?
Our supplier recognises that a ‘head factory’ model undermines the fact that handloom is a cottage industry, so encourages their artisans to work locally. As a result artisans aren’t based in just one area of the country, which is great as it allows families to stay together and communities to thrive organically.

What kinds of arts and crafts is Sri Lanka usually associated with?

Sri Lanka is known for its carved wood, items made from coconut by-products (ranging from toys to kitchen utensils), batik clothing and accessories, hand-made lace and much more. Many of these products are the results of specialist skills and expertise that have been handed down over many generations and are rooted in our history. Handloom is also one of these heritage industries and shares another characteristic with many of these industries in that many are historically cottage industries.

How do you ensure the fair trade aspects of your business?
Our supplier is Fair Trade Certified, which was one of the key reasons we chose to work with them.

What are people’s reaction when they discover they are buying Sri Lankan crafts?
They’re really excited! And they’re also always amazed by, and comment on, the colours. We’ve noticed a pattern that if they’ve visited Sri Lanka they say the colours remind them of the country’s natural environment, and if they haven’t been to Sri Lanka they ask whether everything in Sri Lanka is of such vibrant hues and express a desire to visit for themselves.

It’s not that easy to find Sri Lankan crafts for sale in the UK, how do you hope to change that?

We would like to be featured in small stores in London that share our values to start with and then, hopefully, spread demand more widely across the UK. We feel our products have a strong asset in being so distinct in look and style, so are instantly recognisable and very memorable. Hopefully that will help to spread the word among those who want to buy beautiful, unique and ethically-produced home and fashion accessories.

Where would you like to take the business in coming years?
In the short term, we would like to sell more widely in stores and, of course, regularly in one of London’s wonderful markets. In the long term, we would love to have our own store, in which we can sell our current range of products but also much more besides, including textiles for those who want to make their own clothes, or similar, using handwoven material. Who knows, we may one day come back to our original plan by also including a cafe as part of the shop…

A selection of products from the HAS Partnership range is currently available online and instore at Danaqa, Portobello Road and at the East London Design Store, on Church Street in Stoke Newington, in the run up to Christmas. 

www.has-design.com

Twitter: @HASdesignUK
Facebook: HASdesignUK
Instagram: HASdesignUK

 

My Find: Parasol from Bali

Vena Ramphal shares her find…
I bought this parasol in September 2012 in the beach town of Seminyak, Bali. It was a fun all girl trip before I went on to run a luxury retreat for women on the island. This was our pre-retreat shopping and eating spree and we had a wonderful time. I like parasols because they are so elegant and feminine. They are a great flirting tool – you can hide your face or part of it to wonderful effect. I especially liked this one as its small which makes it very easy to manoeuvre and play with. I really enjoy the effect of the handmade lace – it’s so delicate, and in white it has a enchanting innocence about it. I couldn’t resist.

Follow Vena Rampal on Twitter. 

Share you My Find by emailing editor@craftandtravel.com with an image of it and description of when and where you bought it and what you love about it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Durga Puja preparations: visiting Kumartuli, the Idol-Making district in Kolkata, India

One of the reasons I wanted to go to Kolkata was to visit Kurmartuli, a clay workers district, where you can observe Hindu sculptures being made by hand. The Idol Makers of Kumartuli are the talented artisans who make the incredible deities and idols for the famous Durga Puga held annually around the world. Part of the Hindu festival of Navaratri, which is taking place now (October 2016), these sculptures are an important part of the festivities and in Kumartuli they work year long in preparations, making thousands of clay works.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. Whether it was acceptable for a woman to go alone, whether there was a need to make an appointment, or whether one can simply turn up; but in the end I did just that.

It can take hours to get across Kolkata because of the traffic so instead of a bus or taxi, I boarded a boat which took me straight to Kumartuli.

After getting off the boat I had no idea how on earth I would find the exact area but as I headed into the main part of the neighbourhood, I began to spy a store selling clay gods, and saw statues of clay horses left out on the roadsides to dry.

I turned a corner into an alley way and there it is before my eyes. I felt like I had properly uncovered the real City Of Joy, although perhaps it should be renamed the City of Grey?

I made my way through the labyrinth of workshops and artisans moulding, sculpting, slipping, painting and sketching away. It was so quiet as the workers, all men, worked diligently away.

I spied heads, bodies, animals, masks, giant beings, mythical creatures and humans, all created from clay and straw. Every so often I turned a corner to see photographers snapping up the world of the idol maker; it’s certainly an image-maker’s paradise.

The skills of these artisans is exceptional. There is so much detail and consistency in their designs and it’s so fascinating to see the various parts of sculptures come together in different stages. If you have any interest at all in clay, pottery or sculpture, Kumartuli is worthy of making a pilgrimage to.

Some of the workers were based inside workshops while other seem to be just sprawled out onto streets.

Stages I saw included building the base model, covering it in slip, then straw ,then more slip before seeing them painted and adorned with embellishments.

It’s estimated that for the Durga Puja festival, deities and sculptures are created here in Kumartuli for 100 countries. The artisans also take private orders, such as the man I met who was working on a commission.

Again, I was blown away by the creativity and craftsmanship.

To get the most out of a visit to Kurmatuli it’s worth taking a guide who can explain a bit  more about the stages and the history of the area, but wondering alone as I did, gives you the freedom to simply enjoy the atmosphere, and there’s something very satisfying in wondering amidst a labyrinth of clay; you’re not sure what you’ll witness next.

Visiting Kumartuli was a highlight of my travels in the West Bengal region, whether you have a spare hour, or an entire day, it’s worth every minute of your time being here. Here’s a few more snaps from my explorations…

Momtaz Begum-Hossain
Images: CraftandTravel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indigo – The Art Of Natural Dyeing in Thailand

I first tried tie-dye crafts when I was at school. I customised my trousers by applying elastic bands onto a pair of white jeans and then put them in a washing machine with purple dye, which transformed them into the perfect ‘festival chic’ fashion item.

At that time I had always associated ‘tie-dye’ with alternative hippy culture and when I went to the markets of Panjam in Goa, India, this was confirmed as I saw endless rainbow tie dye bedspreads, the quintessential ‘tie-dyed’ textile.

But these were all made with unnatural dyes: bold, bright hues that were made from synthetic colours. It was later that I learnt about the existence of natural dyes and how they are used so commonly around the world – many of which originate from plants.

Indigo-dyeing

View of Kram Sakon Centre

Used for thousands of years, indigo dye is a natural blue colour that is extracted from indigo plants and has been used in India and South East Asian countries for textiles for centuries. Although I’ve seen classes in the UK advertised about trying out indigo dyeing, I’ve never had the chance before, so on a trip to Sakhon Nakon, in NE Thailand, I stopped by Kram Sakon, a centre that specialises in Thai indigo dyeing where it’s possible to have a go at this traditional technique.

So many options!

To start with we were shown the possibilities: the types of patterns that can be achieved, and the implements required to create them, which were wooden blocs, lollipop stick and elastic bands.

I was drawn to this particular shape and as I was decorating a scarf, decided to make it into a feature shape.

Creating my pattern

To create the main circular design the scarf was folded concertina style into a long triangle. The shapes where then placed at three intervals.

Dyeing the scarf

My group dyeing their scarves

Much more labour intensive than I expected, it wasn’t just a matter of leaving it in a bucket and allowing the dye to absorb. Much agitation was needed and it was tiring work.

Initially it was put in the bucket of dye and them moved around for five minutes. It was then hung up to dry for five minutes and then dyed again and repeated several times. There’s also an intensive rinsing process.

The dye itself runs out. There gets to a point where you can’t dye anything else as it’s all been absorbed so you need to get a new bucket but that wouldn’t be necessary for a scarf, that’s more if you’re dyeing several garments.

Indigo dye

To get an understanding of how the actual dye is created, check out this blog post which goes through in detail, how the plants are harvested, leaves picked and soaked and pigment extraction. In fact the blog SlowStitchCraft has some good explanations about natural dyeing in general and the authors are based in North East Thailand.

The finished results

You never really know if your methods will work until you finally unravel your work and see the results. I was actually amazed when I saw the final result.

OOH that’s mine!

The scarf needed to dry naturally in the air and is then ready to start using. There’s no need to fix it with an iron like synthetic shop bought dyes, another bonus!

Ooh what a lovely scarf!

 Want to have a go yourself?

There’s quite a few tutorials online about how to try indigo dyeing in your own home, but I particularly like this one as it uses actual indigo dye and is straight forward. It’s also worth looking out for Shibori dyeing classes, this is a Japanese form of indigo dyeing and will give you similar results.

I recently met Susie, based in Cambridge, UK who makes and sells indigo dyed products in her Easy shop EcoMeCreative and runs workshops in London in indigo and other natural dyes. Visit her website for dates and contact details. She also sells indigo dyed products in her Etsy store. 

Kram Sakon has a factory outlet selling indigo items and also a small guesthouse. It’s also possible to arrange a complete immersive experience like this one. 

Kram Sakon Address: 212 หมู่ 2, Huai Yang, Mueang Sakon Nakhon District, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand Phone: +66 91 562 1671

Momtaz Begum-Hossain
Images: CraftandTravel.com