Next Registration Opens September 14th at 9am
In September 2004 Maiwa launched its Maiwa School of Textiles. The school has become a place where knowledge is shared, techniques perfected and students, makers, educators and cultures meet.
THE MAIWA NATURAL DYE GARDEN
Step inside The Maiwa Natural Dye Garden and explore living sources of colour alongside Maiwa’s resident dye-gardener, Nicola Hodges, and the Maiwa research team.
Filmed over five years on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada, this unique online offering gives a rare, behind-the-scenes look at a working research dye garden in the Pacific Northwest. You’ll witness plants in their full life cycles—from seed to harvest—while gaining insight into the ways we care for our soil, our observations, and the experimentation that guides Maiwa’s dye research.
In Maiwa’s natural dye garden, ongoing trials and tests help us understand how to coax the fullest colour potential from each plant—what variables matter most, and how some subtle changes can affect results. In this course, you'll get a glimpse into some of the questions we are asking and variables we test.
Witness dye plants in various stages of their growth, and follow along as we share and demonstrate some of our favourite dye recipes from the garden, featuring; weld, coreopsis, marigold, murasaki, madder, and Japanese indigo (Persicaria tinctoria).
AT THE HEART OF THIS COURSE IS GROWING COLOUR…
Whether you’re growing colour on a windowsill or in a backyard garden, this workshop offers inspiration, practical insight, guidance and an intimate look at Maiwa’s ongoing research—rooted in observation, experimentation, and a deep love of natural colour.
Meet Maiwa's Dye Garden and Research Team:
The Maiwa Natural Dye Garden is a research project nurtured and grown by a team of dyers and gardeners. Under the direction of Nicola Hodges, the garden serves as a site for systematic exploration—testing variables in soil composition, climate, plant variety, and cultivation methods, with the goal of harvesting the richest and most consistent colour from plant dyes. This work unfolds through ongoing trials, careful record-keeping, and comparative analysis, contributing to a growing body of knowledge in plant-based colour.
Nicola is assisted by Yukiko Blackwell, whose work bridges cultivation and studio practice, helping to translate findings from the garden into the dye pot.
Included in this team is Linda Spence, who brings a keen understanding of natural dyes and colour testing. With many years of experience, she supports the research through structured sampling, repeat testing, and the close observation required to understand subtle shifts in colour and process.
Tim McLaughlin began filming this course in its early stages, recognizing the importance of documenting a project rooted in both tradition and inquiry. He was always thrilled to capture the growth and development of the dye garden on the Sunshine Coast, BC.
Charllotte Kwon, owner and founder of Maiwa, has been growing dye plants since the early days of Maiwa’s beginnings (since 1986). She advises the research team and helps shape its direction, guided by a lifelong commitment to natural dyes, textiles, and the communities that sustain them.