the MAIWA BLOG

THE GREAT INDIGO SEEDLING GIVEAWAY

We've spent the spring germinating our Indigo crop. Now we are giving it away! On Saturday May 26, 2018 get an indigo seedling free with any purchase in either the Main Maiwa Store or Maiwa Supply. Seedlings come with an instruction card to help you plant them out. While supplies last.

DYEING DEMO - SATURDAY MAY 26/18 10am - 3 pm

Join us outside Maiwa Supply on Saturday May 26 , 2018 for demonstrations of dyeing with natural indigo. This is your chance to witness the incredible transformation that happens when cloth is dyed in an organic indigo vat. Indigo changes colour as it emerges from a vat - going from a yellowy green to a deep, satisfying, indigo blue.

INDIGO TEXTILES AND SEEDS

Our main store has a "feature rack" of our favourite blues. See a variety of garments - all naturally dyed with natural indigo. All will display a special tag with a tiny glass vial of indigo seeds, sealed with a cork and blue wax (Online garments do not come with a vial of seeds). Beautiful garments, shawls and scarves carry the seeds of the future.

Pictured above: multi-layer indigo dyed jacket, China.

IN-STORE EXHIBITION

We've selected the very best indigo textiles from the Maiwa Textile Collection and placed them in the Main Store. See how textile traditions from around the world have expressed themselves in indigo. Pieces from the Maiwa Textile Collection are not for sale. This exhibition remains up until June 3rd.

THE BEST OF THE BLUES
We've grouped all of our indigo-dyed online textiles into a special collection. Scroll through everything that has been touched by this magical dye.

THE INDIGO HARVEST

In southern India indigo dye is obtained from Indigofera tinctoria. Indigofera is a beneficial crop because it returns nitrogen to the soil. In many places it is grown in rotation and simply ploughed under (without ever extracting the colour). When it is grown for the dye, the crop can be naturally weeded by pasturing cows or goats — they eat the weeds but not the indigo. Depending on the weather, a single plant can give 2 to 3 harvests a year.

INDIGO EXTRACTION
Once cut, the indigo plants are placed in a large extraction tank, covered with water and allowed to soak until they ferment. The fermentation transforms indican (present in the leaves) to indoxyl (a soluble form of indigo). The water containing indoxyl is drained off and then whipped to introduce oxygen. The oxygen transforms the indoxyl to indigo. The indigo settles to the bottom where it is collected and concentrated into cakes. This is powdered indigo - the most famous dye in the world.

GET YOUR BLUES FROM US
Maiwa sells natural indigo extracted from crops grown in southern India. We carry everything you need to get started; like the natural indigo kit and keep going, like our largest size of indigo. In addition we offer an instruction sheet for Indigo and Woad and The Organic Vat.

Our collection of all things indigo available at:

The Maiwa Main Store and Maiwa Supply on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm

And Online at maiwa.com

DVD: INDIGO A WORLD OF BLUE

Indigo: A World of Blue was shot on location in southern India. The work features indigo use in Sindh, Pakistan; the Vientiane District of Loas; the island of Sumba, Indonesia; Yogyakarta, Indonesia, village Dhamadka, India; and Suleymanköy, Turkey. Featuring renowned indigo scholar Jenny Balfour Paul speaking about indigo's fascinating history, traditions, superstitions and lore.

Indigo a World of Blue is a zone-free SD DVD.

Available at a special price in our online store.

Thursday, May 24, 2018 No comments

Items Shown: Ahilia Tank and Tulsi Skirt

Since the time of the industrial revolution, cultural critics have claimed that mass manufacturing destroys the connection between life and work. Today, many people don’t know how cotton grows or who farms it; few understand how it is dyed or woven into cloth, and we may have witnessed the last generation to regularly make their own clothes. To fill this void modern clothing is heavily branded—and the story of the brand fills the space that used to be filled by the voice of the cloth itself.

Items Shown: Veda Dress, Jai Jacket, WomenWeave Wild Tussar Silk & Organic Cotton Scarf

We like to move a little slower, and take a little longer, to make clothes that you can keep a lifetime. We want to make clothes you return to again and again — like a friend who listens to your stories, like a friend who makes you feel your best.

Items Shown: Tulsi Jacket and Ahilia Tank

If we can choose between a printed piece of cloth and a plain one—we will choose the printed. If we can choose between handloomed cloth and mill-made—we will go for the handloom. Every time we make these decisions, we keep a group of artisans working at their craft. These are often multi-generation artisan families who are beginning to enjoy an international reputation. Craft is about trade. If there is no demand, even the most skilled craftsperson must abandon their work.

Items Shown: Onam Top Dusty Rose, Onam Top Fern, Tulsi Skirt Fern, Tulsi Skirt Sienna

We seek to turn modern clothing upside down. We don’t want to raise outputs and cut costs and build factories. We want to work alongside artisans in a village setting. We think such partnerships are the only truly sensible long-term business plan. Do we believe in combining work and pleasure? Absolutely. We want to create a work environment that we would be happy to live in for generations to come.

These are the ideas behind every timeless Maiwa garment.

Our clothing collection is available at:

Maiwa on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm

And Online at maiwa.com

Wednesday, May 16, 2018 No comments

NATURAL DYES FOR THE BOOK ARTS

Long ago Maiwa established itself as a leader in natural dyes. We supply makers with raw ingredients, teach a range of natural dye techniques and encourage the continuation of traditional processes worldwide.

Now we are pleased to take our knowledge into the book arts. Maiwa's ink maker, Tim McLaughlin (@artisan_ink) has formulated a special logwood iron gall ink to celebrate this new endeavour. The ink is bottled in porcelain vessels specially commissioned for this project and thrown by BC potter Robert Bush. The ink pots are stoppered with a cork and sealed with wax. There are only 40 bottles available. Each pot is numbered. We've divided the stock between our online store, and displays in our Granville Island location and Maiwa East.

ABOUT INK

This is a special formulation of traditional iron gall ink. The inclusion of logwood gives this ink an immediate purple black. Once on paper, the ink will oxidize to give a permanent, waterproof, black - as dark and as profound as a starless night. Iron gall inks give clear hairlines and bold blacks when used for pointed pen or Spencerian calligraphy. The inclusion of logwood permits a significant reduction in the amount of ferrous contained in this ink.

For use with dip pens or brushes (iron gall inks are not suitable for use in fountain pens).

ABOUT THE "INK TAKES SHAPE" PROJECT

Ink Takes Shape is an annual collaboration between Maiwa's Tim McLaughlin and an artisan vessel maker. Each year will see the production of a limited edition ink housed in an artisan-made vessel. Tim teaches an inkmaking workshop as part of the Maiwa School of Textiles. He is presently formulating a series of natural dye inks for Maiwa.

ROBERT BUSH POTTERY

A graduate of Vancouver's Emily Carr College of Art & Design, Robert Bush is known for his innovative crystalline glazes and wheel-thrown pots. He works in stoneware and porcelain using highfire reduction. Since 1981 Robert has been a member of the Circle Craft Artist's Co-operative and his work may be found in the Circle Craft gallery on Granville Island, Vancouver. Robert maintains an active studio practice. Works may also be found on his facebook page.

Visit Maiwa & Maiwa Supply on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm

Maiwa East at 1310 Odlum Dr. Vancouver Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm

And Online at maiwa.com

Thursday, May 10, 2018 No comments

Monday, May 07, 2018 No comments

VISIT OUR WHOLESALE LINEN HONEST YARNS HERE

All natural fibres have their virtues. Silk is elegant. Cotton is hard-working. Wool cares for you and keeps you warm. But linen … linen is the reward. Linen has a singular character and gives a hand to fabric that is unlike anything else. It rewards the skillful weaver, knitter, dyer and artisan.

Linen is one of the more challenging fibres to dye naturally, especially to dye well. But we feel we've nailed it. Beautiful rich jewel-like tones that are both deep and even. Lighter colours that are consistent, level, and delicate without being weak. Colours that are as satisfying to work with as the act of creating.

And now, we've taken linen yarns a step further with our new weight: Cobweb. Our lightest weight yet. These fine linen yarns are the most challenging to dye. We are more than a little proud to share them with you.

HONEST YARNS

After years of working with artisan weavers and knitters, Maiwa has developed its own line of yarns.
These yarns are everything we have been looking for in a spun fibre.

Maiwa's Honest Yarns - the voice of craft.

ABOUT OUR NEWLY ARRIVED LINEN WEIGHTS

COBWEB – our lightest weight yarn. A 40/2 weight yarn — beautiful for weaving projects or for fine knitting and crochet lace. It loves being thrown in a shuttle and makes and ideal weft.

FINGERING – Great for fine knitting and crochet.

LACE – Great for fine knitting and crochet: summer shawls, lace projects, open work, and fine warm weather garments.

SPORT – The heaviest in our series of naturally dyed linen. Project suggestions include a market bag, draped summer sweaters, spring top, woven dish towels.

WHOLESALE LOTS
LINEN HONEST YARNS - NATURALLY DYED

We are so proud of these yarns that we are offering them online in special wholesale lots.

5 skeins each of 18 colours, all in a single weight (that's 90 skeins in all).
Our wholesale pricing is approximately 50% off.

Our Honest Yarns are available at:

Maiwa Supply on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm

or Online at maiwa.com

Tuesday, May 01, 2018 No comments

Throughout history, if you wanted to learn about natural dyes, India was the place to go. For a number of reasons that were historical, political, and cultural; hand-textile traditions survived and flourished in India. If you knew where to look, you could find weaving, spinning and dyeing being done in rural and urban areas using ingenious techniques. For 30 years Maiwa has documented much of that knowledge and shared it: in documentary films, in workshops, in artisan masterclasses, and in working with artisans using traditional techniques.

Maiwa teaching yarn dyeing, Bengal 2018

Everything changes. Natural dye knowledge that has been passed between generations for hundreds of years can be lost very quickly. Often this knowledge is closely associated with how a particular type of textile is produced. In Bengal for example, the humid climate demands an exceptionally fine, diaphanous weave. The resulting cloth is light and airy, able to catch the faintest breeze. Such cloths are known by the poetic term "woven air." Traditional dye techniques evolved to work with these exceptionally fine threads without breaking them. Driven by price and economies of scale, however, many of Bengal's weaving communities turned to synthetic dyes to meet the demands of the market.

From the Maiwa Archive Washing block printed cloth, Rajasthan 1996

But what has been lost can also be recovered. Sometimes it is success that motivates a return to tradition. In Bengal, for example, artisans who had established themselves (and their families) wanted to have a more positive impact. During our visits we were told stories of young weavers who developed cancer and died too soon. Relatives and fellow artisans felt that it was time to return to natural dyes and commit to more ecologically sustainable processes.

Jamdani weaving, Bengal 2006. Note the pot of rice starch beside the weaver and the jacquard mechanism for the borders.

It gives us a great sense of satisfaction to be able to bring back the natural dye knowledge that we initially recorded in India. In many cases we are able to temper this knowledge with solutions to contemporary problems. Sometimes these are process-based and sometimes they involve renewing contact with the farming communities who grow natural dyes.

A young weaver works alongside an experienced master, Bengal 2006

Because we work with many craftspeople all over India we are able to share solutions. Often what worked for one group of artisans will bring renewed hope and commitment to others.
 
How did we come to be teaching natural dyes in Bengal? Find out next month when we post Natural Colour: A Bengal Story Part 2 ...

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 No comments