At the dyers' center

Here are some random photos from the Weavers' and Dyers' Center, where we are spending most of our time while in Hyderabad.

The photo below is of real indigo on linen, dyed via millenia-old fermentation method.

High school students sometimes come to this government-run center for vocational courses. That's Sunita hard at work on a sort of batik. She's an adorable girl, the boldest amongst her fellow students (the first--and only--one to work up the courage to talk to me, the foreigner). I thought she was about eleven years old and she's actually seventeen.

Above: this is natural flax (linen) hand-woven for us, and on which we are experimenting with natural dyes for SLOWCOLOR, our burgeoning business. (Not to worry, I won't plug the biz too often here.) The fabric in the photo is dripping wet, having just come out of its myrobalan (plant mordant) bath.

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Only another week or so until I can see my fuzzbuckets again...

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Officially introducing the new biz

I have been very busy lately (less time to paint...yeah, yeah, excuses) starting up a new business (much busy-ness) with The Husband (pictured above). He is in India right now doing preliminary studies, making contacts, fundraising, working with artisans...

Our new business is DESIGNatural, and simultaneously we are initiating and promoting the "Slow Color movement." We will be offering products (clothing "for real people with real bodies" to begin with; later home textiles as well) made from all-natural fibers, and dyed with all-natural plant-based dyes...reviving "dying" dyeing traditions around the world.

These will not be "hippie clothes" but rather premium products, beautifully and professionally made. It will be a sustainable business in every sense--for people and for the planet. We will be providing livelihoods with fair living wages and working conditions, and our practices will be exemplary...well, you can read about it via the links if you're interested in knowing more.

We are still in the very early stages and it's quite insane and overwhelming.

In the photo, The Husband is showing some samples of linen that have been naturally-dyed at the Weavers' Center in Hyderabad, India, this week, working with local experts. I too have interest and expertise in natural dyeing.

And I promise I will get back to painting (whenever I have time!) now that I've plugged our new business. Oh, and showing you more of that crazy white kitty, of course.

Cheers.