Japanese Natural Dye Workshop

Led by Takarajima Senkou
October 13, 2018

Learn from Japanese textile design studio Takarajima Senkou’s founding director Chiharu Ohgomori and artist Mana Yoshida in this natural dye workshop. Sharing the traditional techniques employed in their natural dye factory in Fukuoka, the designers will guide you through the process of natural dye extraction and the manual resist dye process of shibori.

Presented as part of The Intuitive Thread exhibition program, in partnership with UTS Textiles as part of Sydney Craft Week 2018.

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ABOUT CHIHARU OHGOMORI

Chiharu Ohgomori established Takarajima Senkou in 2000 as a dyeing workshop specialising indigo, mud, ink and other plant-extracted dyes. For over 15 years she has been dyeing fabric for a diverse range of Japanese apparel brands, as well as designing and dyeing her own original range of clothing and interior pieces using all natural materials. Her unique use of shibori and freestyle staining to create pattern is poetic and considered.

Ohgomori’s work demonstrates natural dyes’ unique ability to bring out deep, rich colour in a way that chemical dyes simply can’t equal. Until the mid-19th Century, fabric was dyed exclusively with natural tinctures, however contemporary fabric dyeing predominantly favours chemical dyes. The complexity of colours we see in Ohgomori’s work can only be achieved through repeatedly immersing fabric in natural dye, layering the hues to produce unique and fascinating results.

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