This is the final episode of the story about when I participated in an international class vegetable dyeing workshop held at G-ULD, a Danish company that makes vegetable dyed wool.
Click here for Vol.1.
The background of the two people who started G-ULD is very interesting. One is Louise, a medieval archaeologist, and the other is Anne, a graphic designer. The two met at the Viking Museum. It seems that he was interested in dyeing vegetable dyes using traditional Danish methods and materials. Anne was in charge of the preparation for this workshop because she had a baby, and Louise was in charge of the workshop.
The words spoken by Louise, who is bright and cheerful, are very heartwarming to those who dye with plants, and I have grown to love G-ULD more and more.
On the second day, I was looking forward to actually going out to the field and collecting flowers! had. I really wanted to do this. I wanted to meet European flowers!
Everyone went out with buckets, scissors, and hats. While listening to Professor Louise's story, we will discover several types of collection targets. At first, it was difficult to tell them apart, but once we found the spot, we all got excited and immersed ourselves in collecting! As my eyes get used to it, I can see more and more.
Mugwort. There is one in Denmark too. There was no scent, so I think it might be different from the one in Japan. It looked familiar and was easy to find! When dyed, the color was the same as the familiar mugwort, and it was yellow with green in it.
St. John's wort. First time in the wild? At first it was hard to find because I saw something, but when I found it, it was growing everywhere and I was impressed. It is said to be a herb that is like the sun, illuminating a depressed soul, and is said to have an excellent antidepressant effect by acting on the nervous system. It is said that it is more effective if harvested on the day of the summer solstice, and I found out that the flowers are in full bloom around that time.
Curly dock was my favorite color. This will give you a leaf. It's screwed on so you can easily see it. When I returned to Japan and researched it, I found out that it has also come to Japan as ``Nagabagishigishi''. When it boiled, it smelled like soaking, looked delicious, and turned a warm yellow color.
I mainly extracted the ``yellow'' color from this fresh flower.
Yellow is very familiar when dyeing with plants. I'm happy when I think that there are so many different kinds of yellow that I can use them differently for each work. Once you live in the world of plant-dyed colors, you'll never be able to escape... (lol)
Something impressive happened.
Someone in the audience looked at the elderflower and said, "Louise, are you going to dye this?" Louise said, ``Hmm, I'm going to drink it!'' I laughed, but it made sense to me because it's something I've been thinking about all the time. I guess so! ! That's it.
I also want people to eat what they eat first. So, for example, NONA does not buy avocados for dyeing. After eating, it becomes garbage, and after pruning it in the garden, it becomes garbage. Leaves fall and become garbage in the garden. Weeds are multiplying and causing problems. I try to dye those things as a priority.
Louise also said that elderflower is a beneficial plant that is famous for making syrup, so she doesn't bother dyeing it. The number of plants I collected this time increased and was growing vigorously.
If you would like to try dyeing plants, I recommend starting with the plants that are closest to you (for example, flowers in your garden), rather than taking the time to go out of your way to pick up dyed plants. You will be able to love those around you. In fact, I think that's why vegetable dyeing exists. Even if the color fastness is low, it's still yours, so you can dye it again. I believe that vegetable dyeing can exist in such a natural way in our daily lives.
Similarly, in Denmark, there are plants that are close to everyday life, and instead of dyeing them indiscriminately at G-ULD, we only collected enough to dye them using the materials traditionally used for dyeing. It was something I could really relate to.
Huge elderflower! The beautiful flowers were just in full bloom.
There was a hill overlooking a village-like town with only 27 households, and that was the goal, the end of the collection. I still remember how fun that time was. It was extremely hot, which is unusual for Denmark, and it was surprisingly hard work, but I had a memorable time mowing the grass with all the participants.
The food prepared by the G-ULD staff was really delicious. It has a stylish Scandinavian feel to it, with plenty of vegetables and salads with strawberries and blueberries (just to be honest). Thanks to you, I was able to stay in good shape! The dining room is also a light-filled sunroom, with flowers from the garden casually displayed on every table, and candles are always lit even in bright daylight, which really left an impression on me.
There was also a "Hyugge" time after the meal, so those who knit could knit, and those who didn't do anything could read a book or play with the cats. I was holding hands. The G-ULD staff had just started weaving, so we exchanged information, and there were people from various backgrounds, so it was an interesting time.
I was so happy to be immersed in the colors of vegetable dyes at this wonderful shop. There was a sample, so we all tried it on, everyone looked at it, and I bought the kit. I was confused about the color.
I have to "work" at night and in my free time, so the last day is already hard (lol). Everyone rolls it up to make a colored circle.
This world full of threads is like NONA! The everyday life of an ito shop feels very familiar.
When it was finally completed, it was amazing.
72 colors and generation. A beautiful world of vegetable dyeing in a total of 73 colors.
That's right, it was from G-ULD here that I learned about yarn temari.
On the last day, Ann brought me a temari and I lined it up with the temari I had brought with me from Japan. When I made it with thinner yarn, the surface became smoother and it was very cute, and I really liked the G-ULD colored temari.
I was able to participate in a vegetable dyeing workshop held by these two, and I could see why it was so popular. The four days I was able to focus solely on dyeing with plants and plants in the refreshing nature of Denmark in June was a precious time in my life, and I am grateful for it, and I would like to share my experience with the staff at NONA. It was something. The two members of G-ULD, the staff, and the cat were all relaxed, and the participants were also relaxed, making it feel like the starting point of manufacturing. thank you very much!
Well, everyone, here's a souvenir from Denmark!
There is a self-published book called ``THE COLOURS OF NATURE'' about plant dyeing that these two people created with great care. There is an English version, and NONA will be handling it for the first time in Japan.
After all, Anne's designs are cool and simple, and there are plenty of recipes for dyeing with plants.
He said that he really wanted the cover to be black because the flag that looked like a noren curtain at the last vegetable dye shop in Denmark was black.
Black is a coveted color when it comes to things dyed with plants. It's not an easy color to create.
I would be happy if you could take this opportunity to have a book that contains the romance of plant dyeing that is common throughout the world. It's in English, so I think you can read it with Google Translate. Release date is Friday, September 15th from 8pm. Click here for the sales site.
thank you.
louise and ann
G-ULD
A wool maker that continues to pass on traditional Danish vegetable dyeing, started by Anne and Louise. We hold an international vegetable dyeing class twice a year.