Allow us to introduce you to the two women who make the natural dye magic happen at our Studio. Lorena and Marivel have been a part of Madda Studio’s natural dye kitchen since our Studio began. We interviewed them about their background in textiles passion for the process of using natural dyes:
Q: How did you learn about natural dyes?
Lorena: We started this kind of work with Madda. We learned everything from her. You learn by way of practicing, always gaining new knowledge with each experimentation.
Marivel: In the early days of Madda Studio, we did experiments, trying out different quantities and combinations. From this we derived the recipes for the standard colors Madda Studio offers. Repeating the process and making small alterations each time is what helps you learn about a natural dye’s tendencies.
Lorena in the dye kitchen.
Q: How does the use of natural dyes make a piece special?
Marivel: Natural dyes are unique because the results of the dye on the wool will always vary. This makes it challenging, as you have to adapt - but it also means you are always kept on your toes!
Lorena: Like a work of art, there will always be variations. Natural colors are never exactly identical, which is where the beauty lies.
Q: How do you feel when you see the results of the finished product?
Lorena: Satisfaction. Some projects are completed with ease, if you achieve the right color on the first try, while others can be more complicated. All in all, to see a finished piece brings the satisfaction of knowing you’ve completed another project.
Marivel: To see all of the time, work and effort come together in a completed piece, it makes you say, “wow, I did this.”
In recent weeks, our dye kitchen has been alive with the deep violet hues of logwood. Native to the Yucatan peninsula and the neighbouring low-lying wetlands of Mexico, the tree was first exploited by the Spanish in the Campeche Bay, from which the name is derived (Palo de Campeche).
Renowned for its remarkable versatility, logwood offers one of the widest color ranges of any plant-based dye. Extracted from the heartwood, it produces deep, saturated shades from purple to blue. When combined with iron, it yields elegant greys and even deep black tones that are notoriously hard to achieve with natural dyes.
The importance of this dye wood was enormous until the second half of the 19th century, being basically the only dyestuff able to give a deep saturated black. More recently, logwood has been in danger of disappearing completely. We support reforestation by sourcing our logwood from Planalto, a tree-planting initiative in southern Mexico.