About Me
Prior to March of 2020, I was a freelance theatre maker. Like so many, I woke up one morning and found myself out of work. With sudden ample free time and a healthy reevaluation of life’s priorities, I took the chance to explore and revisit an old passion I’d always wanted to pursue full-time: Natural Dyeing. Paired with some sewing skills I’d picked up in theatre costume shops, a sweet little business was born.
In an effort toward sustainable and eco-friendly fashion, I hand dye natural fibers using only plants, bugs, bark, seeds, nuts and any items found in nature – the way our ancestors dyed fibers thousands of years ago. There’s something magical and humbling about going back to these old-world roots and re-imaging slow fashion, where every garment is made naturally with intent, beauty and an interest in longevity. Each item in my shop is uniquely and carefully slow-crafted by me in my San Francisco Bay Area garage-turned-studio and tiny kitchen. I primarily use silk and only botanically or naturally based dyes to make intentionally crafted silks for your home and body.
I’m inspired by the changes of the seasons and what plants are available to forage, grow and source. I love bright yellows from oxalis flowers in early Spring paired with Easter pinks; bold Summer colors from bright flowers like marigolds, cosmos and dahlias, purples from cochineal, hot pink from quebracho rojo and burnt orange from eucalyptus; neutrals and tans, rusty reds and browns from cutch, redwood pine cones and sycamore leaves in the Fall; leaf prints from geraniums and unique textures from dried summer flowers in the Winter. I love creating intuitively: gently coaxing natural colors out of plants, bugs and minerals, putting on good music and creating pieces of wearable art for you, my darlings. One evening as a young girl, I stood in the kitchen and pronounced to everyone, after easily solving the ever present problem of the missing Tupperware lid, that I would become a professional “Figure-Outer.” Thirty years later, I have realized that I became just that. While what I “DO” is natural dyeing, that makes up a mere 10% of what it takes to be a small business owner. The other 90% is one set of issues to “Figure Out” after another… and I love it! From booth set up, to displays, to customer relations, to taxes, to branding and design: my hands have carefully crafted every aspect of my business to make it what it is today. If my business grows that will change and I’ll welcome it, but I’ll always have and appreciate this experience of being a One Woman Show. So, thank you for letting me be what I’ve always wanted to be: a Professional Figure-Outer. I couldn’t have done it without your support.
Love, Alice
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