Botanical Inks

Botanical Inks Regenerative Natural Dyer/ Studio/ Educator/ Artist. Click here for links: https://linktr.ee/botanicalinks

Elder Greens.One of the things I love most about working with plant colour is how much variation can emerge from a singl...
03/06/2026

Elder Greens.

One of the things I love most about working with plant colour is how much variation can emerge from a single plant.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been spending time with Elder leaves, observing the subtle shifts in colour that emerge through different fibres, preparations and processes.

Soft greens held somewhere between sage, moss and light through leaves.

These images offer a small glimpse into this month’s Colour Ritual.

The free Full Moon ritual was shared with the Colour Rituals community on Sunday, and for those who wish to explore Elder more deeply, the membership includes expanded dye studies, observations, recipes, folklore, chemistry and seasonal reflections.

You can still join and access this month’s Elder content via the link in bio.

📸

31/05/2026

The first jackets from my new collection are finally emerging from the indigo vats.

I’ve spent this Blue Moon weekend outside beside the dye pots, slowly building layers of colour through repeated dips in natural indigo.

After many months spent refining the pattern, fit, fabric and dye process, it feels very special to see these pieces beginning to come fully to life.

Each jacket has been hand dyed in a natural indigo vat here on Dartmoor, building colour slowly through immersion, oxidation, time, air and patience.

Designed as an everyday layer to be worn, worked in and lived in.

Natural fibres. Living colour. Made slowly.

The first pieces are now available via the website, with a few more still drying on the line and making their way through the studio over the coming days.

Link in bio.

SlowFashion BotanicalColour TextileArt MadeOnDartmoor IndigoVat

26/05/2026

Endless seas of Bluebells..
Dartmoor, May.

24/05/2026

A little glimpse inside The Haybarn — one of the final remaining barn stays for this Summer’s July weekend retreat at

Tucked quietly within the grounds beside my cottage and studio, the barns offer a peaceful private space to retreat and rest deeply whilst still being only a short walk from the shared meals, dye studio, fire circles and creative gatherings.

They’re a beautiful option for anyone wishing to travel with a friend, partner or family member whilst still having space for solitude, slowness and quiet.

Some of my favourite guests from last summer are returning again this season, and it already feels like these final gatherings at Southcombe are going to be incredibly special.

These will also be the last retreats I host here before moving into a new chapter beyond this summer.

Only two barn stays now remain for July.

Full info via link in bio ✨

Elder carries the medicine of thresholds.Of protection, boundaries, ancestral remembering and ancient knowing.Its soft s...
17/05/2026

Elder carries the medicine of thresholds.

Of protection, boundaries, ancestral remembering and ancient knowing.

Its soft spring greens feel connected with tenderness, reclamation and the gentle returning to self after periods of grief, disconnection or difficult passage.
A plant of deep listening.

Of softening frozen edges.

Of restoring relationship with vulnerability while strengthening psychic boundaries.

A tree long associated with liminal spaces and crossings — supporting movement through transition, uncertainty and transformation.

The fresh young leaves also offer something quietly unusual within natural colour work:
a direct spring green.

A fleeting chlorophyll green emerging briefly without the need to overdye indigo and yellow — soft, luminous and seasonally alive.

This month Elder becomes the plant guide for Colour Rituals — my seasonal online practice space exploring intentional colour work through plants, creativity, ritual and relationship with the living world.

Alongside the free monthly Colour Rituals offerings, I’ve also quietly opened a deeper practice space for those wishing to journey further into the science, chemistry, ecology, symbolism, alchemy and ancient traditions of plant colour work.

Sign up before the Full Moon in two weeks to receive this lunation’s full Elder leaf greens colour ritual, teachings and plant monograph.

More information and sign up via the link in bio.
🌿

Colour RitualsA seasonal space exploring intentional colour practice through plants, creativity and relationship with th...
16/05/2026

Colour Rituals

A seasonal space exploring intentional colour practice through plants, creativity and relationship with the living world.

Alongside the free monthly Colour Rituals offerings, I’ve also quietly opened a deeper practice space for those wishing to journey further into the science, chemistry, ecology, symbolism, alchemy and ancient traditions of plant colour work.

Created for the deeply curious — artists, makers, herbalists, dyers and devoted plant colour alchemists longing to deepen their relationship with colour through material intelligence, ritual and sensory practice.

This month we begin with the soft luminous greens held briefly within the young leaves of Elder, Sambucus nigra — a tree of thresholds, crossings, protection and folk memory.

The preparation guide for this month’s Colour Ritual has been sent out today to everyone already subscribed to the free Colour Rituals mailing list, alongside an invitation into the deeper practice space.

The full Elder leaf greens ritual and colour practice will arrive for all those signed up as we move toward the next Full Moon over the coming two weeks.

More information via the link in bio.

🌿

15/05/2026

A little glimpse around the cottage and studio here at

Studio tables, quiet corners, evening light across the moor, flowers in the garden, shared meals, fire circles and slow creative weekends unfolding through the summer season.

This place has gradually become a space for gathering, making, resting and reconnecting — with colour, craft, nature and one another.
There are now only 4 remaining places across this summer’s June & July retreats.

With love from the moor,
Babs

Gathering around botanical colour at Soho Farmhouse earlier this month for a natural silk scrunchie dyeing workshop.Bund...
14/05/2026

Gathering around botanical colour at Soho Farmhouse earlier this month for a natural silk scrunchie dyeing workshop.

Bundles of peace silk wrapped with petals and plant matter, slowly steamed to reveal soft layers of botanical colour and print.

There is always something quietly magical about these gatherings - hands working together around the table, flowers scattered amongst silks, pigments and steaming bundles, each piece unfolding differently from the next.

Thank you to everyone who joined me for this beautiful afternoon of colour, cloth and creativity.

With love,
Babs

10/05/2026

A recent bespoke commission transforming a wedding dress using natural lac dye.

From white into soft rose pink.

I love the idea that garments can continue evolving long after the moment they were first worn — carrying memory, story and emotion forward in new ways.

Natural dyes create such beautiful softness and depth on cloth, especially on meaningful pieces already rich with history.

I’d love to open space for more bespoke transformations over the coming months — wedding dresses, heirloom textiles and treasured garments ready for a new chapter.

You’re very welcome to get in touch if you have something you’d like naturally reimagined.

With love from the studio,
Babs

Happy Beltane — the gentle threshold into summer.Even though it’s been a little wetter than expected here in the South W...
03/05/2026

Happy Beltane — the gentle threshold into summer.

Even though it’s been a little wetter than expected here in the South West, I’m welcoming this shift in season slowly.
Longer evenings, fresh greens, open skies, and the feeling that life is stretching awake again.

This time of year always reminds me to soften into rhythm rather than rush — to notice what’s quietly blooming.

Here’s to the season ahead.

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133 Cumberland Road
Bristol
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