Plant Colour Rituals
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Starting on the March New Moon we began a new offering here at Botanical Inks
Each month we will gather online to meet and learn about a dye plant.
The first month is with Nettle
Journal
SOIL: SOMERSET HOUSE
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Find Botanical Inks natural dyed goods in the SOIL Exhibition marketplace at Somerset House, Embankment, London.
We are thrilled to be commissioned by Somerset House, to provide a range of soil-to-soil products, using local, organic and 100% biodegradable materials and packaging. To compliment the “SOIL: The World At Our Feet” Exhibition.
All items are packaged in 100% biodegradable materials and we are proud to say that all printed swing tags, labels and printing uses our in house 100% natural plant inks, hand printed with natural rubber stamps. To complete the soil-to-soil cycle of each product. Meaning the whole package and contents can be safely returned to the soil as biological nutrients at teh end of their “useful” lifecycle.
We see plant inks as the future of honest biological- materials based sustainable packaging and merchandising.
Tell us what you think in the comments.
To celebrate World Soil Day, Somerset House announces new artists, additional details of contributing works, new digital programme, and an expansive public programme as part of its landmark exhibition, SOIL: The World at Our Feet, which opens on 23 January 2025 in the Embankment Galleries. Inviting the audience to think about soil as much more than just dirt, this exhibition seeks to unlock the secrets of soil, emphasising how it is the priceless foundation of all life on Earth, and celebrating the everyday encounters that most of us don’t typically realise come from the soil.
This exhibition will also mark the launch of Somerset House at 25 – a milestone year as we mark our coming of age as the home of cultural innovators.
SOIL is co-curated by The Land Gardeners, Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy; curator and writer May Rosenthal Sloan and Claire Catterall, Senior Curator at Somerset House.
Bringing together thinkers, filmmakers, global and local artists, scientists and activists, SOIL is presented across three main sections: Life Below Ground, Life Above Ground and Hope. Topics around climate change, waste, land, justice, coupled with beauty and wonder, are all woven into the presented works and installations.
NOURISH
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Creative Tropical Retreat
Koh Phagnan, Thailand, March 2025
Immerse yourself in a programe of inspiring creative practices & soulful experiences
The retreat is held at a relaxing sanctuary
within in a beautiful verdant island & soft Thai culture,
to a melodic chorus of exotic birdsong
Expect spaciousness to rest & reconnect with yourself
& to leave feeling enlivened and nourished
Enjoy a balanced daily flow of natural colour workshops, wellness activities & nutritious communal meals
with personal space for resting or exploration
HIGHLIGHTS:
Tropical retreat experience
Daily natural dye workshops & rituals with Natural Dyer/Artist/Intuitive Herbalist Babs Behan, Founder of Botanical Inks
A beautiful set of complimentary blank handmade spa items will be included in your package, for you to dye during the retreat. These include a kimono robe, meditation/sleep eye mask and other items. All made with the best organic natural cottons & peace silks.
Pick & choose from a daily schedule of activities such as breathwork, singing, movement, dance, cacao ceremonies, beach trips & hiking.
Excursion to a natural dye artisan initiative for a leaf printing workshop and organic farm-to-table lunch
Herbal steam dome and cold plunge pool available mornings and evenings
Incredible vegan catering
Optional morning and afternoon yoga sessions
Evening wellbeing activities for example sound baths, yin yoga, bedtime meditation, heart-opening dance etc.
Swimming pool accessible 24/7
Comfortable beds and choice of ensuite private rooms or affordable luxury dormitories
Relaxed and friendly community - easy to meet others and make friends
Closing ceremony & ecstatic dance celebration
NEW SCARVES!
botanical inks
It is with great pleasure that I can announce that we have a new collection of Bristol Cloth scarves!
Back in 2017 when I took the Bristol Cloth project from concept into business, and made the first 200 metres of cloth, I pre-sold the entire production with your incredible support, through a brilliantly successful crowdfunder, raising £18k to produce the first 200 metres of locally grown and made soil-to-soil fabric in England in about 200 years.
It later turned out that the mill had overproduced an additional 30 metres of cloth beyond our crowdfunder order, which I happily took and paid for.
I’ve been waiting for the right moment to create somthing new with this precious roll of cloth and this feels like the time.
Now that I’m happily settled on Dartmoor and into a new lifestyle, I’m thrilled to let you know that I am now unravelling the last ever roll of Bristol Cloth 1st Edtion, and cutting new scarves for you.
This is regeneratively farmed lambswool from Fernhill Farm in North Somerset, scoured with only water and organic natural soap, spun without synthetic spinning oil, hand dyed by myself with organic Madder root and Weld flower plant dyes, woven in the Bristol Weaving Mill on a rerurbished Dormier loom and finished with just organic natural soap and water and hot press. Making this the cleanest, localist and kindest approach to producing textiles in the UK. Please read full details about this increcible project and our features on BBC Countryfile, BBC News and Sky News in 2018 over at www.bristolcloth.co.uk and do purchase these scarves before they are all gone - they are going quickly!
Purdyes
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Earlier this Summer I was asked to create three natural dye recipes for Purdeys drinks.
Including a “Rejeuvenate” green, a “Replenish” pink and “Refocus” purple.
It was fun to design the recipes and dye a collection of t-shirt samples for their videography.
I had a full film team join me at my studio on Dartmoor to film the dyeing processes.
You can see glimpses of me in the video piece below..!
Read more about this project here.
BBC NEWS
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Featured in two different sories on BBC News in one day..!!
BBC SPOTLIGHT:
BBC CULTURE:
Soho House
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Book Signing + Workshop
Native Ink + Woodblock Printing
A wonderful group of Soho House members joined me on a guided plant connection journey with a special native plant, to open the creative session.
A selection of native and invasive wild plant inks were presented along woth beautiful handmade papers and handcarved wood blocks for printing botanical artworks.
It was a joy to see the creative ingeniuty of the participants and the different adaptations of the materials.
Beautiful prints went home with everyone and a lovely time had!
Book Launch
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YOU ARE INVITED..
Please join me to celebrate my "Botanical Dyes" book launch in Devon!
Date: Thursday, August 31st
Time: 5-8pm
Location: Southcombe Gallery, Southcombe Barn, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ13 7TU.
This will be a celebration to mark the great success of this best selling natural dye book,
"Botanical Inks, Plant-To-print Dyes, Techniques & Projects", published by Quadrille Books.
Translated into French, German and Chinese; Featured in Vogue magazine and sold through all major bookstores.
I'm proud to know that Botanical Inks can be found in most British Universities' libraries and is a staple guidebook for countless natural dyers.
It's been reworked into a smaller book, "Botanical Dyes: Plant-To-Print dyes, Techniques & Projects" ,
which is great for gifting, and can travel with you for foraging & creative retreats;
With a new name, some beautiful new dye recipes and fresh techniques to try out!
We are delighted to have friends New Dawn Traders joining us to serve exquisite, sail-cargo shipped drinks from their latest voyage!
This event is being generously hosted by friends at the beautiful Southcombe Barn.
Please RSVP HERE to confirm attendance!
It excites me beyond belief to see a tangible cultural shift happening,
back to traditional natural dyeing, in the education system, industry and smaller scale makers.
I look forward to celebrating with you!
With much warmth,
Babs :) x
Mugwort Ink
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HOLE & CORNER ARTIST RESIDENCY
I had the most nourishing time with Mugwort in London, dreaming up a new creative driection for my art..
The week commenced with my dear friend Claire Loussouarn, a fellow student for the past few years on our course at the School of Intuitive Herbalism. Claire is a movement artist, filmmaker, herbalist and anthropologist. Her movement practice is based outdoors in dialogue with nature and the more-than-human world. We’ve enjoyed some beutiful collaborative movement and creativity rituals together over the years.
She is about to publish a movement book ‘How to be feral: Movement practices to rewild your body’ with Triarchy Press, which invites us to free our bodies from the restraint of social and cultural conditioning.
We went out onto Hackney Marshes, to a place Claire has been moving every month for the past 3 years.
I was honoured to be introduced to this special place on the liminal edges of the big city. A place with so much Mugwort, growing so tall, that it felt like we were concealed on a deep forest away from the busy city.
We dropped into the Mugwort’s space and tuned in. Before allowing movement inspired by being in relationship with Mugwort, to flow through..
It was such a beautiful experience, and some of which we captured clips of on film to share.
This movement and harvesting of the plants in their place, was my initiation into the week..
I took Mugwort with me into the Hole&Corner HQ for a week of plant-inspired creativity.
To begin with I wanted to see what colours I could find in Mugwort..I’ve many experiences of different colours coming for uncertain reasons - and I was excited to find that a gold colour came from one stage of dye extraction, and another process gave incredible deep emerald greens..I’ll share more details about the recipes with my online subscribed membership community..
We suspended a huge wand of Mugwort from the ceiling to dry ad for harvesting throughout the week.
This large quantity of drying plant along with the aromatic steam filling the space from brewing teas and dye pots was quite the transcendental space to slip into a creative bodily space..
I planned to draw Mugwort still life in a vase, but found that I became intrigued by the intricate beauty of the single leaves which I’d gently teased off of their stems. Each one so unique and so elegantly structured. I’m reminded of the beautiful Mugwort leaves curling into repeat patterns in William Morris’ famous prints..
I felt to draw a few of the single leaflets which I’d become quite magnetised to.
I then translated this onto wood and took a couple of days to hand carve them into woodblocks for printing.
This practise is quiet and restful..I enjoyed the opportunity to work with my hands more than usual - it feels healthy.
The inks were reducing and ready to mix with plant starch to thicken and test print..
I tried out a few different types of paper, a few different recipes of the ink, varying consistency, colour and modifications with ph levels..
I’m listing a few of these prints up on my website shop for purchasing.
Each one a unique print.
HOLE & CORNER
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ARTIST RESIDENCY
Mon July 17th - Friday July 21st.
@Hole&Corner, The Lab E2o, E Park Walk, East Village, London E20 1JB
Pop in to meet Babs and see her crafting new work inspired by wild dye plants harvested on Hackney Marshes during this one week residency.
Signed art prints, drawings and books will be available to purchase.
Groundswell
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Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival
It was a joy to visit Groundswell to speak on a panel discussion about British Natural Dyes.
I shared the panel with Pigment and Hodmedods, chaired by Zoe Gilberson.
We talked about scaling up natural dye growing, processing and production. It was great to share findings from my recent reseach project “Native + Invasive Plant Dyes” microfunded by SWE Fibreshed.
I shared my visions for orchard style low impact dye plant harvesting, as means for creating biodiversity whilst harvesting high yeilds of pigment for dye and print productions, with lower human inputs plus the machinery needed. With thoughts on creating a mobile natural dye facility on lease or as communal assets and the need to transition printed packaging across all industries to plant based pigments away from petroleum pigments.
I displayed products from the Bristol Cloth productions, books and native plant pigment printed paper goods.
NEW BOOK!
botanical inks
BOTANICAL DYES published by Quadrille Books is out 31/08/23
Pre-Order your signed copy now!
Botanical Dyes Hardback (Quadrille Books, 2023).
PRE-ORDER: Publication Date August 31st
Signed copies will be posted after 31/08/23
Botanical Dyes features recipes and top tips on everything you need to know to make your own natural dyes.
The process of turning plants into print can help you reconnect with nature, find a creative outlet and develop a mindful sense of presence. It also promotes an awareness of sustainable practices and how to reduce our impact on the planet.
Extracting from and updating her book Botanical Inks, Babs talks the home crafter through everything from foraging for dyes, making mordants, creating an array of colours and then putting your new knowledge to the test through a collection of simple projects.
With more than 10 dye recipes, clear step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting tips and explanations of what works and why. Botanical Dyes is the accessible handbook that modern makers everywhere have been waiting for.
Southcombe
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Bundle Dyeing With Flowers + Botanical Pigments
A beautiful afternoon enfolding gorgeous flowers from Yssy @Fareofthefield
into our exquisite organic British-grown peace silks and a collection of preloved garments.
We landed together amongst the flower meadows at Southcombe in the middle of Dartmoor, with a Rose tea ritual, to meet the Queen of the flowers and gateway into the plant kingdom..
I love sharing this ritual, having practised it for many years, under the guidance of Nathaniel Hugues, Founder of the School of Intuitive Herbalism.
I like to demonstrate the bundle dyeing process and show examples of items of clothing and textiles I have dyed myself and wear. There are infinite styles of bundle dyeing and its so fun to experiment and play with this techniquw.
There are ways to enter into this slow craft process, which really offer the benefits of mindfulness.. Becoming aware of the environment, the breath, the materials and textures…Slowing down enough to notice how everything feels and really connect to our bodily senses.
I believe that greater beauty flows through this more present approach to creativity.
SOMERSET
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A beautiful weekend popping up at:
Flower Moon
botanical inks
This Flower Moon I am celebrating the fertile green leaves
and flowers generously blossoming everywhere in constantly changing colours.
Suddenly everything has sprung to life
It is the most comforting and sublime feeling.
I want to eat Nettles everyday, rub her oil into my skin, place vases of her leafy greens and the meadow flowers togather around the house and studio. To be in their company constantly.
I’m excited for the promise of Summer to come and looking forward to all the beautiful plant meetings and flower inspired creativity.
I have a collection of beautiful “Bundle Dyeing With Flowers” workshops planned
at some gorgeous locations in the South West of England.
Please join me at the following:
This Summer I’m offering flower dyeing experiences in beautiful locations:
An opportunity for plant connection through the gateway of craft.
With a simple rose tea ritual & sensory stimulation,
for an embodied & heart-centred creative practice.
Bundle Dyeing With Flowers
Bundle dyeing is a beautiful practise to move into deeper connection with flowers and create a wearable amulet which imbues their delightful herbal qualities within their dye colours.I love to invite Rose into this craft with a tincture tea ritual, to drop into the heart space and meet the flowers from here.I have some flowers I love to bundle with, including marigolds, coreopsis, dyers chamomile and cosmos (for purchase here grown in the British Isles without synthetic substances). These are traditional dye flowers with powerful pigmentation which lasts through endless seasons. It’s a lovely ritual, to meet and collect the flowers on the Flower Moon, when the plants are singing loudly and this green and pleasant land is at its most fertile.
You can add any dark colour flowers which you know to be safe to this recipe.
You will need:
- Silk cloth (organic UK-grown peace silk available here). Pre mordanted to help fix the colours - recipe info here.
- Dye flowers
- Heat Source
- Water
- ACV
- Twine/string
- Tongs
- Stainless steel pot and lid
- Stainless steel pasta insert/sieve or vegetable steamer for steaming bundles
- Bowl
1. Take your pre-mordanted silk and pre-wet it - soak in water for an hour to fully dampen to receive the dyesbest.
2. Wring out excess water
3. Place out over a clean table surface.
4. Scatter with petals or your choice. You can add some dye powders too for extra bursts of colour if you like.
5. Roll up from one end to the other and then take one end of the roll and roll it from one end to the other to make a spirral/ snail shape and secure with twine.
6. Pour a little ACV into the bowl and dip the bundle in to saturate. This will help brighten colours.
7. Pop into the steamer and make sure enough water is in the bottom chamber to steam for an hour.
8. Turn on the heat and steam for 1 hour. Turn off and allow to cool.
9. Remove from the steamer and open.
10. Hang to "cure"somewhere dry and warm for a week to allow colour to set.
11. Gently wash by hand with gentle soaps such as a baby mild soap.
NATIVE/INVASIVE
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A Research + Development project
funded by Fibreshed South West
To research & develop abundant native + invasive dye plant pigments
for large scale natural dye + print productions in the UK.
Dye plants were selected for their colour potentials & substantivity to reduce processing time & energy usage.
Working with plants which are available abundantly from the Dartmoor area, with the incentive that their harvesting can actually benefit the local environment in terms of biodiversity & for human health and wellbeing.
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The brief is to develop 4 final dye colours
on our local regenerative wool yarn
and to make the dyed yarns and pigments available to local designers and makers.
The final 4 dye colours will be lab tested for commercial viability,
as with the original Bristol Cloth 1st Edition project yarns.
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This is a very exciting project, which we hope will seed new ventures in the Fibreshed South West community
and the wider British creative industries.
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Natural dye pigment production does not currently exist in the UK,
so this is of great interest to us as pioneers of large scale British natural dye productions.
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Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram to learn more about the dye plants we are trialling for large scale pigment production and dye tests.
Gift Guide
botanical inks
Choose from a care full curation of gifts, hand made with local natural fibres and pigments.
Kits
From £55-£65
Choose from Ink Making, Shibori Tie Dye, Bundle Dyeing and Indigo Kits.
HATS
From £65
Local Regenerative Lambswool Dyed with Dyer’s Mulberry
CASHMERE
From £650
Holistically farmed in Devon. Dyed with organic Indigo & Madder root.
YARNS
From £14
Regeneratively farmed Somerset Lambswool, Dyed with Dyer’s Mulberry.
BOOK
From £16.99
Signed copies of this comprehensive guide to natural dyeing & creativity
DARTMOOR!!
botanical inks
Its official! I am moving to Dartmoor this month and bringing Botanical Inks and Bristol Cloth with me!
I’m excited for a new chapter in a wildly natural and spacious setting up on the moor
I’m looking forward to inviting you to a new style of workshops, in a rural setting, with access to plants for foraging colour on our doorstep, and a more nature-connecting experience for creatives.
The first event I am excited to be part of is a Christmas Fayre at Southcombe Barn, Widecombe-In-The-Moor.
Please come and enjoy some mulled things and an array of beautiful artisan gifts to delight your loved ones!
:) xx
Autumn
botanical inks
Autumn is rolling in quickly.
The brightness of sunshine lingers & there’s a new distinct crispness to the air.
It’s time for woollen layers & being cosy.
Stock up on Bristol Cloth scarves and hats to see through the Winter months ahead.
AUTUMN EQUINOX
Autumn Equinox offers a time for reflection, of the passage of time that has been, what to give thanks for, take with us and invite in more of.
What to bless and let go of…
What to do differently or new intentions to set.
This Equinox I am giving thanks for all of the expansive wild adventure across the South West and Wales that have brought new connections, experiences and opportunities for personal creative expression & evolution.
It’s been such a pleasure to stay in a plethora of beautiful cabins, huts & barns on small organic farms.
BLACK MOUNTAINS
I loved this rustic and minimal, yet perfectly composed shepherd’s hut in the Black Mountains with no-one around for miles, only the company of the fire, the trees, sheep, stars, the stream and owls signing in the night.
Thanks to Canopy & Stars for hosting this precious space.
BILBERRY INK
I was lucky to catch the end tail of the bilberry harvest season and gather enough to make some special ink. Some of my creations can be seen below.
Bilberry grows in acid-rich soils, often amongst heathers. Its a great plant to grow and feed acidic dye-exhaust waters to as it thrives of the high ph.
The pigment is highly sensitive to changes in ph-levels as the images show, the addition of lemon juicing shifting colours to bright pink and the soda ash alkaline and iron waters creating muted bluish purples.
Such a stunning colour palette from one plant.
I felt inspired by the swirling inky medium in the pot and how it turns as the pot moves, to draw these circulating brushes of colour on the paper.
COMING UP NEXT…
DARTMOOR
