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the MAIWA JOURNAL

Shown: Charkha Organic Handwoven Cotton Shawl
held in the hands of our good friend and regular instructor India Flint

When we unfurled them for the first time: gasps, murmurs, and sighs. A patterned thread running through the weave; tassel tied and true; wild silks and selvedge. Remarkable cloth. Remarkably made.


Shown: Wild Eri Silk Scarf - Moss
Shown: (L) Organic Handwoven Cotton Hand-Stitched Shawl - Simple Stitch 
(R) Wild Tussar Silk Shawl - Ajrakh - Indigo Monsoon
Shown: (L) Wild Tussar Silk Shawl - Ajrakh - Geometric(R) Wild Tussar Silk Shawl - Ajrakh - Desert Sky
Shown: Fine Handwoven Cotton Shawl - Checks & Stripes

WOVEN COTTONS & PATTERNED PRINTS
available at

MAIWA

on Granville Island — 7 days a week between 10 am and 7 pm
and maiwa.com

MEET the MAKERS

BHUJODI WEAVING — For over twenty years Maiwa has been working with Bhujodi weavers. Located in the Kachchh desert region of Gujarat in westernmost India, the Vankar family has been working with traditional weaves for many generations. In the last decade these far-sighted weavers have dedicated themselves to the use of natural dyes. Now the Vankars are as talented in dyeing as they are in weaving. It's an unbeatable combination of exceptional skills.


AJRAKH BLOCK PRINTING — The Khatris of Damadkha are now some of the most skillful and well-known block printers in the world. The reputation is well deserved. The shawls shown here are woven from a wild silk known as tussar — but the traditional block printing process was developed for cotton.  The Khatris have experimented and adapted the traditional printing process in order to work with silk. The family is constantly innovating with process and design. Meet the extended family here.



Wednesday, June 27, 2018 No comments
Madder dye. Bright, colourfast, relatively easy to work with, and well priced for the local economy. It's the red of choice for many dyers.

It was January of 2018 when our team of dyeing instructors arrived in Bengal. The team consisted of four people: Charllotte Kwon: owner of Maiwa and well-known natural dye instructor. Charllotte's vision to document natural dyes and promote their use has always been one of the founding principles of Maiwa. Alongside Charllotte was her daughter Sophena, who has co-taught natural dyes for many years and who has gained her own following for her remarkable Indigo Social events. Veteran staff and Maiwa Supply manager Danielle Bush was present. She has taught the use of thickened natural dyes for printing and painting for many years. And our new addition, Amber Muenz, who is a quick study and an amazing organizer. The team flew into Kolkata, repacked into a van, and headed north.

Scoured, mordanted and ready to dye — rows of yarns at the ready.

Our goal for the visit is for the artisans to be comfortable using natural dyes in production. If enthusiasm was going to be necessary for success, then we had nothing to worry about. On the first day the yarns were ready, the outdoor studio was scrubbed down and we hit the ground running. We worked until the light was gone and then we kept going. By the light of cell phones and flashlights we worked the indigo vats until we got what we wanted. Success comes slowly, a little bit at a time, but it does arrive.

Working into the night by the light of cell phones. 


Sophena and Charllotte check the indigo vats again during the day.

Our students are all experienced yarn handlers. Fine silks and cottons presented no problems for them. While working with large hanks in batches of one or two kilos they could keep the yarns moving in a way that resulted in even dyeing. We realized that if we could build the right dye vats for them - they had the mechanical skill to work the yarns. Our goals became clear. Make the right pots of natural colour and then give them the confidence to make those same pots for themselves.

We talked about proper preparation (scouring is essential for even dyeing), and then returned to the indigo dye which had been the focus of our November trip and the inspiration from the Indigo Sutra conference.

Natural indigo on the bamboo drying racks,
undyed yarns awaiting their turn to wear a natural colour.

With blues complete, we launched into the other colours: lac, madder, pomegranate, marigold, cutch. Outside in the yard you could see a record of our progress. Curious eyes of neighbours peered over the fence. The bamboo poles that held the drying yarns became a kind of chromatic clock. At first they were all shades of natural yarns — all whites and creams — but over the next four days they became blue, yellow, gold, red, brown and purple. You’ve never seen such happiness as when a dyer places the first freshly dyed hank of yarn, the first new colour, beside the others on the pole.

Our experience of colour is unlike anything else. Our joy in this experience is only made deeper when the colours are the reward for our own hard work.

Marigold in the dyepot. Yes, cooking colour out of flowers is a magical experience - especially as surprisingly few flowers give fast colours.

Skeins of yarns. We were constantly impressed by the skill of these artisans at handling yarns. Not a strand broken. Never any tangles.

Colour was not the only sensation being shared during that visit. At the end of each day there was a Bengali meal. Often it was cooked on top of the wood fire in the yard. Tandoor chicken, eggplant, vegetables and the wonderful local fish. It was during this time, as the scent of pungent spices mixed with the smoke of the fire and we sat in a circle at dusk, that the stories would come out. Sparked by some incident during the day or some memory brought on by the conversation, a leisurely tale would take shape. Often following a thread as tenuous as the yarns we had dyed that day; talk of childhood, of growing up on tea plantations in the foothills of northern Bengal; talk of monsoon storms and favourite foods; talk of weavers and aunties and the eccentric character that each village and family seems to have.

Children of the village. We never forgot our initial motivation to help the weavers: to help them transition back to natural processes and protect their health and their environment.

We had put down roots. The weaving skills were strong and the dyeing skills were growing stronger each day. Was there a market for naturally dyed cloth? Even naturally dyed yarn? We knew the answer was yes. We backed up that answer with some orders and a promise to return next year. 

Those who know Maiwa’s history know that these projects (like our embroidery revivals) can take years. A surprising number of years at times. But we are committed. The artisans are committed. Together we are working to return to traditional colour and to continuing this Bengal story.


Natural Colour: A Bengal Story
Part One
Part Two




MAIWA'S HAND-DYED YARNS

Honest Yarns. Fast colours made with natural dyes. Available in 4 weights and 18 colours on linen. Wholesale lots are also available. These yarns are dyed by a different community than the one featured above.



Visit Maiwa & Maiwa Supply on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm
And Online at maiwa.com


Monday, June 25, 2018 No comments

2018 Fall Workshops, Lectures & Events

See the list below for spaces that have become available and follow the links to the registration site for the most comprehensive line-up of textile workshops in Vancouver.

All workshops below have openings as of this posting. 

WORKSHOPS

THE COLOUR WORKSHOP
DO I KNOW YOU? A FOCUS ON FACES
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY: HAND & MACHINE STITCH
MAKING WAVES IN WOVEN CLOTH
THE CREATIVE STUDIO (FIRST OFFERING)
COMPLEX SILK: SELECTIVE DEGUMMING
ADVENTURES IN WORLD TEXTILES - DAY 1
ADVENTURES IN WORLD TEXTILES - DAY 2
ADVENTURES IN WORLD TEXTILES - DAY 3
BANJARA STITCHES
MASTER THE SCREEN PRINT
MARLINESPIKE ROPEWORK: ESSENTIALS
MARLINESPIKE ROPEWORK: THE BELL ROPE
MATERIAL & PROCESS IN PERFECT UNION
CREATIVE RUG HOOKING
ARTISTIC PURSUIT
SOAPMAKING WITH NATURAL DYES
WORLD OF DYES: ELEMENTS & APPLICATIONS
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
THE ART OF EMBROIDERY
THE CREATIVE STUDIO (SECOND OFFERING)
ENCAUSTIC MINIMALIST
RusTEA ENCAUSTIC
PORTRAIT IN CLOTH


__________________________________________

FOR ALL YOUR WORKSHOP SUPPLY NEEDS



For All Your Workshop Supply Needs Visit Us At:
Maiwa Supply on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm
And Online at maiwa.com
Tuesday, June 19, 2018 No comments

Registration takes place on June 18th at 10am (PST) and spaces fill up early.
Click the button below to read on to find the best way to reserve your spot.




__________________________________________

FOR ALL YOUR WORKSHOP NEEDS





For All Your Workshop Supply Needs Visit Us At:
Maiwa Supply on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm
And Online at maiwa.com


Wednesday, June 13, 2018 No comments

With only a few wholesale lots left they won't be around for long. 
5 skeins each of 18 colours, all in a single weight (that's 90 skeins in all).
Our wholesale pricing is approximately 50% off.
Available weights: Cobweb, Fingering, Lace, Sport. 




HONEST YARNS - NATURALLY DYED

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.


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.


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


Fingering – Great for fine knitting and crochet.


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


WHY WE LOVE LINEN

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.



Our linen Honest Yarns are available at:
Maiwa Supply on Granville Island 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm
And Online at maiwa.com




Thursday, June 07, 2018 No comments
Shown: Narlai Dress in Grey Dash Ikat

On May 17 we launched our Slow Clothes for the Summer of 2018. Clothes that sing of artisans, making, natural dyeing, and hand-weaving. We've just released the second verse of that song and it is available now.


Shown: Podina Duster in Sand and Narlai Dress in Blue Dot Ikat


Shown: Colaba Dress in Grey Dash Ikat


DABU LINEN SHAWLS
IN-STORE AND NOW ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME






Dabu is a traditional Rajasthan block print technique which begins with fine desert sand. This sand is used to make a mud resist. The resist is printed on linen cloth with wooden printing blocks. 

Block printing on linen with natural colour requires exceptional skill and specialized dye knowledge. We are proud to say that these Dabu linen shawls represent some of the most accomplished textile printing being done in the world today - using techniques that have lasted for hundreds of years

Naturally dyed linen shawls printed using the dabu method — wrap some art around you.


Tuesday, June 05, 2018 No comments
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      • Natural Colour A Bengal Story - Part Three
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