Indigo-Shindigo Crafternoon

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Saturday, November 23rd, 2019
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Indigo-Shindigo is a five-hour-long workshop that teaches hands-on resist dye techniques with a natural Indigo vat.

Indigo is a natural dye with over 700 plant varieties containing the Indigotin Tinctoria. Most commonly used are the indigo plants from India and Japan – Indigofera Tinctoria and Persicaria Tinctoria.

Indigo can trace its roots from early archaeological digs in Peru to Africa, India and Asia. Its magical properties mesmerized cultures from over 6 millennia. Indigo is used as a mosquito repellant, is fire resistant, and is a colour that embodies pure alchemy: it magically turns from green to blue when introduced to oxygen!

In this workshop, Yarrow Aiko Koontz will teach resist techniques called Adire (Africa), Bandhani (India), and Shibori (Japan), and talk about some of the history of this amazing plant dye. Each participant will go home with a beautiful organic cotton mull scarf they’ve dyed during the workshop.

A short break for lunch will coincide with the dyeing process, so participants should be prepared to bring or buy a lunch. Coffee and tea will be available throughout the session, courtesy of Nanaimo Museum and Serious Coffee.

Ages: 10-80+. Any participant under the age of 17 must be accompanied by an adult (accompanying adult does not require a ticket, but will not be permitted to dye their own scarf. Please note if ticket is for a minor in the comment box when purchasing).

Tickets cost $90/person, and pre-registration is required. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable to other dates or programs. A minimum of 10 is required for this program to proceed.

Yarrow Aiko Koontz

Since 2015, Yarrow has been learning about Indigo and other natural dyes through the Maiwa School of Textiles in Vancouver. There she has learned various resist techniques and an in-depth look into mordants and tannins.

Yarrow holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and a diploma of Fashion Arts from Vancouver Community College.

She lives on Gabriola Island, is employed by the Gabriola Arts Council and is a co-owner of Hive Emporium. Yarrow also holds a Permaculture Design Certificate, grows and sells microgreens, has raised honeybees, wild-harvests plants for dyes and medicines and is a nemophilist.