Botanical Studio in Allansford, Victoria | Commercial and industrial

Botanical Studio

Locality: Allansford, Victoria

Phone: +61 3 5565 1882

Address: 29 Brown St 3277 Allansford, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.beautifulsilks.com

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25.01.2022 Jenai Hooke from Alchemist Inside and Barbara Wheeler from Every Thread Counts have commenced our summer natural dye workshop series. In January 2019 we are again hosting the tutor Jenai Hooke, for 2 workshops, one is natural dyeing for Silk, wool and naturals, and our final dye workshop for summer, is the Indigo vat, both are 3 day workshops, please visit the website for dates. Some places available.

23.01.2022 2 days ago I was watering plants as it was very hot about 37c in the garden area. Today we have ice and rain.

21.01.2022 Our natural dyeing and mordented transfer printing workshop was a small group - which made it fun with loads of experiments - just a few visual treats for you. And tomorrow we start the 3 day fermented vat workshop....Thankyou Jenai Hooke for wonderful tuition.

20.01.2022 Watered early this morning, the garden does not get a lot of irrigation, to toughen the plants, as days like today, when it will get to at least 39 - and probably even hotter in my warm little garden - they cook! But here are some dye plant pictures, let's know if you want to know names etc.

20.01.2022 Botanical Studio gardens are producing plants here thanks to a lot of help from a few friuends, in particular Tarla Elward who visited and weeded and de snailed at a critical time! The heritage carrot flowers seem to make a good love nest for the lady birds, and the chamomile flowers trap the sun - black hollyhocks are showing their splendour, we will be trialling dyes from many of these plants in our upcoming workshop which happens this month! And also seed wil be available in March.

20.01.2022 Autumn and harvesting of dye plants and seeds is happening. I stopped offering seeds on my website due to people from offshore and interstate ignoring the rules about where I can send them - leaving me with the issue of fiddly refunds and explanations. However I do collect seeds and can send them to NSW and QLD VIC also of course. But the do not come with a growing or processing workshop.

19.01.2022 Thankyou Jenai Hooke for wonderful teaching and good use of the plants!

17.01.2022 Autumn is delightful, some rain and seeds happening everywhere. I am now on my final year of holding public workshops at the Botanical Studio, after many years of holding workshops, and enjoying most of them immensley, time has come to focus on other things. Our last workshop will be in May 2020. Our last summer natural dye camp will be in February/March 2020. This week, Shingo Sato is holding his TR cutting workshop, and we will say adieu as well. Such a big chunk of my life, but everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. The flowers, though, will carry on.

16.01.2022 In the next week, I will be preparing the soil for the summer crop of indigo. Very excited to have Tarla Elward coming to workshop on how to extract the colour, make powder and blocks from the plants. Expressions of interest taken from now on. 10 attendees maximum. https://beautifulsilks.com//fresh-indigo-powder-making-wor

14.01.2022 Preparation for this year's crop of indigo bearing plants, persicaria tinctoria...prep started about 2 months ago.

13.01.2022 A few pics of the dye garden from last summer....seeds are available now

12.01.2022 Washing should be so fun!

08.01.2022 I am no botanist, my interest is captivated with promoting ideas and things that do no harm to land nor beast. Many years ago, on reading an article featuring India Flint I immediately saw that this was a woman with great knowledge to share. Knowledge worth pursuing! Cheekily, I contacted India who was gracious enough to respond to my message. Inspired by India, I had a good critical look at my own dye practice and slowly started to move away from chemical dye making, and ...Continue reading

01.01.2022 Preparation for our indigo powder making workshop is progressing. You can register your interest online at www.beautifulsilks.com - no charge until later in the year....Spring is here, it is cool but we have been preparing a new planting area for persicaria tinctoria. (a type of indigo producing plant). In June, after the ground was saturated, we mowed a strip of paddock very low, then laid some very well rotted compost on to the strip. Then we laid some food grade agricu...ltural black plastic that we had on top, and weighed it down. Now we have placed clean cardboard around the potential bed, to create a barrier. The next step is to erect a rabbit proof and swamp hen fence around the bed. Seedlings will be raised from our own seed stock, in the hothouse. They'll be planted into the prepared bed in October once danger of frost is less. See more

01.01.2022 Indigo progressing nicely enough to make some powder from the plants in the picture - at our workshop on 29 February 1&2 of March. We will be dyeing from 2 vats as well.