With the school summer holidays looming just a few days away, we've just launched some new and exciting workshops to keep your children occupied.

Our 'Family Summer Sessions' will take place from Wednesday 24th to Friday 26th August with three very different creative activities to get your kids inspired by sustainable, ethical crafts.

Wednesday 24th August: Drop-in Friendship Bracelet Workshop £2

We’re living in an exciting era when, after years of glamourised mass consumption and disassociation from natural resources people are reconnecting with nature. We know we can go to a retailer and buy cheap products yet are starting to ask why it’s cheap, who made it and at what cost to the environment?

Many people are inspired by nature as observers; like an artist reproducing the beauty of a flower with pen and paper. Occasionally however, people develop deep connections with the natural world and rather than merely copying or even exploiting its resources, they allow the unique expression of the material to take the lead during the making process.

Marcus...

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...

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...