Folkling Shop Update: Naturally Dyed

One of my main ethos’ in selling vintage is encouraging a more sustainable and ethically responsible lifestyle in myself and in others. It goes along with my five year pursuit of the art of slow living.

These pieces are a collection of vintage that I’ve held onto over the years because, despite stains or perceived plainness or lack of wear, I believed their bones were just too good to not be given a second life.
(See some of the before photos here!)

I have had various adventures in natural dyeing in the past, primarily with yarn and knitwear (see more here), but it was so much fun experimenting with clothing this time and some natural and simpler ways of dyeing that I hadn’t used before.

I had so much fun working on this collection and I hope you all find a little bit of inspiration to perhaps repurpose or recycle something in your own closet vs. throwing it out.

Sometimes we just need the chance to look at something through a different lens to fall in love with it all over again.

Suggested listen: Shades of Man by Khruangbin

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Natural Dyeing

I have been working on natural dyeing some vintage pieces for Folkling over the last few weeks. Pieces that I have been collecting that were otherwise unused, unworn, stained or just needed some new life.
I thought it would be fun to show a few before photos!

The after will be revealed and available in the shop later this week. Follow Folkling on Instagram and turn on post notifications to be the first to see!

It’s been a long while since I’ve experimented with natural dyeing, but I thought I would share some fun 35mm film photos of when I did it for a knitwear collection I had at a Quirk Gallery Trunk Show back in the day!

When I lived in Richmond, this was how I would dye my knitwear and yarn.
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I’d set the dyes in my tiny kitchen on the stove and then I’d rinse the pieces in the alley next to my apartment and dry them on the roof of my building (where I wasn’t really allowed to be… but I digress….)

This time in my life and chapter in my creation process is such a special one to me.

I have always been proud of my tenacity and resourcefulness in not allowing limitations to stop me from achieving my goals.
This is something I’ve learned partially because I’ve had to, but also because I learned early on that out of limitations creativity and some of my best art is born.
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First two portraits of me were taken by my fellow natural dye/fiber artist friend, Emily.

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A New Venture

I shared over the weekend that I will be having a trunk show at Quirk Gallery on October 1st.
I wanted to share a little more about what this trunk show represents for me.

I've been working intentionally over the past year or so on my education in regards to my knitwear designing and being more involved in the process and construction of a garment.
I've been going on various visits and tours of farms (which you can read more about in Farm Days posts More coming soon!) and learning about shearing, processing, and spinning wool into the end product (yarn) that I'm used to working with.  
It's been such en enlightening and gratifying experience. 
To know that I'm able to take a natural and God given resource and within my own abilities and resources, turn it into something that's able to be enjoyed and used by others for (hopefully) generations to come is really satisfying. 

The idea for this new venture into this kind of knitwear came from my pursuits and interest in recent years into the art of slow, mindful and intentional living. 

What was I consuming? What was I allowing into my life? What was I saying, unknowingly or otherwise, with the things that I used and wore and bought on a daily basis?
I not only wanted to practice more mindfulness in these areas in my every day life, but also find a way to embody that in my art. 

I’ve been knitting for about 17 years, and designing collections for a living for four of those years. However it wasn’t until I started pursuing a more ethical and sustainable lifestyle as well as educating myself on fast fashion, that I thought about how my knitwear played into that. I realized I had no idea how the yarn I used for my collections was made, where it came from, what effect it had on the environment or even whose pocket my dollar was going into when I bought it. 
That, along with attending a local fiber festival and learning how to spin yarn, set into motion my pursuit of being involved in every phase possible of the construction of a piece of my knitwear.
If I don’t personally source the wool from a farm I’ve visited during my travels or built a relationship with, take it to the mill to be processed, process it in my own home or spin it into yarn myself, I take great lengths to make sure the yarn is sourced and made by a similar minded fiber artist.

While it’s my dream to one day learn how to shear sheep myself and maybe even own a few, I am content with being as much involved in the process of the “sheep to shawl” idea of my knitwear as I can be in this current season of my life as I live in the city. 

I’ve also been experimenting and learning about the incredible art of natural dying and will occasionally add that as an element to a special piece. Collecting flowers, lichen, moss, plants, and other found materials to form dyes that only add to the beauty that can be created when using natural resources.

As a result of this process, each piece is one-of-a-kind and a work of art in and of itself. 
Each carries with it a story that has many chapters, each of which is very much apart of me and my journey as not only a knitwear designer but a traveler, photographer, and an artist.

I'm excited to share this next phase with you guys. So many of you, my dear family and friends, have been such a huge part of this becoming and evolution in these pursuits and passions of mine.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I couldn't do it without you.

xo

P.s. I've been working on a video to showcase the story of processing a fleece start to finish at the fiber mill so keep an eye out for that coming soon!