Actually, I've been hoarding champagne since my 40th (not that long ago btw!) so if you time your arrival right you may end up with a glass of the real stuff.

I'm thrilled to invite you to the 'Grand' Opening of The Wild Dyery on Bank Holiday Monday 30th May from 12pm - 4pm.

The new studio is in the courtyard of Carr Farm Garden Centre, Birkenhead Road, Great Meols, Wirral, CH47 9RE, UK.

I'll be there showcasing my own new work along with a really exciting selection of other artisans all working with sustainable materials.

Hope to see you there and as people have been asking whether I'd like studio warming gifts can I just say that's very kind but not necessary. If you really feel inclined then can I instead suggest donations of:-

* onion skins
* avocado pits and skins
* eucalyptus leaves and small branches
* oak galls
* dark coloured dried flowers e.g. old bunches of roses
* unwanted vintage white tablecloths or doilies (natural fibres...

No sooner had I said out loud that I wanted to run a centre of excellence for natural fabric dyeing, a studio come shop come workshop space, than I found one, rented it and within a week found myself decorating and moving in!

It's timely really because if I spill dye down our cream painted kitchen cupboards again I'll probably find myself divorced! Things have got so busy lately that there are dye pans all over our garden decking and drain pipes stacked by the dining table. We won't talk about the indigo drops on our wooden work top because I don't think anyone's noticed them yet.

So, perfect that I should walk into Carr Farm Garden Centre to visit Christine at Voirrey Embroidery and happen to notice an empty unit. The Courtyard at Carr Farm is really quaint with lots of little sandstone cottages and outbuildings that are currently being renovated. I had a quick word with the boss, had a minor panic attack and rush of...

India Flint is a world renowned textile artist from Australia, famous for her discovery of the eucalyptus leaf eco-printing technique. She travels the world (or whirled as she prefers to spell it!) exhibiting and teaching about sustainable fabric dyeing options which venerate rather than exploit our Earth.

The image above illustrates so many things that I love about her work. She kindly allowed me to photograph the amazing apron she was wearing during a workshop I attended at Big Cat Textiles in Newburgh, Scotland last August.

Apart from the fact that an apron is already a garment evocative of seemingly slower, gentler times passed (how many of us regularly need to wear an apron these days?) this particular example expresses so much about India's philosophy on textiles and life.

According to India, this apron will be a life-long creation that she started 15 years ago. It has been infused with...

I'm thrilled to announce that The Wild Dyery has it's first stockist, the Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool. Not only is the Bluecoat the oldest building in Liverpool but they only stock a carefully curated selection of the finest arts and crafts in the U.K. so I'm flattered that my work has been chosen.

You can find the Bluecoat on School Lane in Liverpool or College Lane for the Display Centre entrance.

James Wood is a recent graduate now working on ‘The Foraged Book Project’ a collaboration with 30 artists who are creating a unique handcrafted book entirely from wild and foraged materials. He runs foraging, natural dyeing and paint making workshops in North West England.

I attended his “Dye and Paint Making” workshop on 9th May where we collected local dye plants, extracted and modified their colours on fabric samples and then created pigment and paints to take home. It was a fun and educational day and James kindly agreed to being interviewed afterwards.

How did you get into natural dyeing?

I got into natural dyeing through foraging which I started during my second year at University. The main reason was because I was producing art work. I was painting, making artwork about sustainability but at the time I was using store bought paints which were made from synthetic colours and petroleum based...

Our events page is rapidly filling up with international events teaching natural dyeing.

Our hope is that The Wild Dyery will become the 'go-to' resource for anyone interested in training in this heritage craft.

If you are an artist or designer specialising in botanical colour etc. and you'd like your event listed (this service is currently free but we would appreciate a link back to our site http://www.thewilddyery.com using our logo image) all you need to do is first:-

* Join our Facebook group
* Look for the 'events' page
* Upload your event including details of venue, date, location, details, price and an image
* Look in the 'photos' section. Right click and save one of our link back images
* Display our logo image with link back to http://www.thewilddyery.com on your website or blog

This information will then be used to create your own event page on TWD website PLUS your image will be pinned to our 'events' board on ...

Welcome to this new site dedicated to the celebration of botanical colour, natural dyeing and the beautiful arts and crafts created using these ancient, sustainable techniques.

My name is Justine Aldersey-Williams. I'm a surface pattern and textile designer specialising in wild dyeing. During my recent MA studies, I realised that there didn't seem to be a central place online that galvanised and promoted plant-based textile dyeing, so I decided to create one!

This site is in its infancy but intends to feature artists and designers using organic dyes in their work, along with listing forthcoming events and resources. I already have a number of inspirational people lined up to interview in 2015, so do follow this blog using Bloglovin and join our Facebook group for discussions and suggestions.