Events & Presentations
Indigo-Shindigo Crafternoon
Date/Time
Date(s) - 08/06/2024
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Saturday, June 8, 2024.
10:00am – 3:00pm
Ages: 10-80+. Any participant under the age of 17 must be accompanied by an adult who is also registered in the workshop.
Cost: $90/person, and pre-registration is required. Spaces are limited! Ticket includes all materials, including an organic cotton mull scarf to dye.
If a minimum of 10 registered guests is not reached, the event will be cancelled and tickets refunded. Tickets are otherwise non-refundable and non-transferable to other dates or programs. Proceeds from this Crafternoon support the artist and Museum programming.
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 its colour 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 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. Participants should bring or buy their own lunch. Coffee and tea will be available throughout the session, courtesy of Nanaimo Museum and Serious Coffee.
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, an in-depth look into mordants and tannins, and recently spent a month in Japan learning Japanese textile techniques such as Katazome and hand-made Hanten.
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, grows microgreens and owns Indigo Tails, where she upcycles textiles; grows and uses natural dyes; makes bespoke Japanese Hanten and over-dyes clothing. Yarrow is a member of the Vancouver Island Fibreshed, Gabriola Fibreshed working group and follows the Japanese ethos of Mottainai: waste nothing.
Important information
Pre-registration is required
- Only registered participants will receive program supplies.
- Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable for other program dates, except in specific cases:
- If you or anyone in your household feels ill with symptoms of a communicable disease, please do not attend this program.
- If fewer than 10 participants register, this program will not proceed. In this case, a refund will be issued.
The Nanaimo Museum is a non-profit society, and all ticket proceeds go directly back into funding for programs like this one. Thank you!
Although online payment is made through PayPal, a PayPal account is not required, only a credit card or debit card. Please note that no physical ticket will be issued. Your spot in this program is confirmed once you have the PayPal transaction confirmation. Registration can also be made over the phone or in person.
If you have difficulties with the online system, please call the front desk during business hours (10-4, Tues-Sat) for assistance: 250-753-1821.
