Natural dyeing with plants
Strongly influenced by traditional textiles and techniques that introduced her into the world of natural dyeing, she started researching natural dyeing by using flowers, plants and vegetables that she would find around her when she was an art student in London. She has researched, experimented and developed several different techniques of natural dyeing and created her own colour palettes only using natural dyes. Like mixing paints, she can make colours with her own special recipes. All of her textiles are made using silk yarns which are afterwards dyed with natural dyes from her own recipes.
Natural dyeing with stones and chalks
Emi wondered about how humans started making dyes for the first time. One of the very first techniques was the use of muds, so she travelled along the English coasts collecting chalks with different colours and after her experiments, she managed to successfully develop dyeing techniques for her yarns without the use of any chemicals and create her own colour palettes.
Natural dye with minerals
Emi loves collecting stones with interesting minerals wherever she goes. This curiosity led her to experiment with natural dyes made from minerals, which opened up a new direction in her work. She later used these techniques to create a series of copper weavings, and these experiences also inspired her to start expressing her ideas through pottery.
During her final year at university, Emi struggled to create a turquoise colour using only natural materials. It was a very difficult colour to achieve, and she spent months testing different materials. After many attempts, she finally succeeded and used the colour in her weaving. This discovery became an important moment in her journey with natural dyes.
Japanese Sukumo Indigo Dyeing
Emi is trained as a Japanese Sukumo Indigo Dyer by Ransyu, 藍秀 in Tokushima, Japan in 2022. This ancient practice involves creating fermenting the indigo leaves for more than 100 days before extracting the colour by sukumo maker called “Ai-shi” and more than 12 days to create the indigo vat by Sukumo dyer called “Aizome-shi”.
In 2023, Emi has moved into an 18th century cottage and in the process of renovating using traditional materials a space that will be specifically for sukumo indigo dyeing. She has been preparing setting up her Japanese Sukumo Indigo Studio and it will be open in 2026.
She is invited to be a one of exhibiter at Aizome, the Japanses craft of indig dyeing exhibition at the Japanese embassy of England in 2023. She had an opportunity to give a gallery talk about her training in Japan.
She has been working to establish a sukumo indigo dye studio in her 18th‑century stone house in Northamptonshire, becoming the first person to set up such a studio outside of Japan.
