AppleOak FibreWorks

05/06/2026

05/06/2026

Last night, Indigo Week took us on a different kind of indigo journey.

Rather than focusing on vats, chemistry or dye techniques, Rosa Chang invited us into the stories that surround indigo—the people, places, memories and traditions that continue to shape this remarkable colour.

We travelled through Rosa's own journey, explored the Indigo Shade Map project, and reflected on how indigo can connect communities across continents and generations.

One of the things I loved most was Rosa's reminder that indigo is not only a material. It can also be a bridge between cultures, histories and people.

Rosa is continuing to build the Indigo Shade Map and is always looking for indigo growers, makers and enthusiasts to feature and connect through the project.

Thank you, Rosa , for such a thoughtful and inspiring evening.

04/06/2026

✨ Indigo Week Has Begun ✨

Last night, Dr. Dominique Cardon opened Indigo Week with a remarkable journey through thousands of years of colour history.

Nearly 50 members joined us live as we travelled through ancient textiles, archaeological discoveries, marine purples, indigo-bearing plants and traditional dye knowledge from around the world.

What made the evening so special was the way Dominique connected these threads across cultures and centuries, revealing how deeply indigo and purple are woven into human history. From ancient dye recipes preserved on tablets and papyri to discoveries made possible through modern scientific analysis, the lecture was filled with stories, research and unexpected connections.

The recording is now available to Indigo Week participants and Full Members of The Natural Dyers & Growers Academy.

And we're only just getting started.

Coming up next:

🌿 Rosa Chang
Indigo Shade Map: Stories of Indigo, Culture & Community
📅 Tonight • 6:30pm GMT

🌿 Britt Boles
Sukumo Making: Process, Practice & Material Transformation
📅 Friday • 6:30pm GMT

🌿 Britt Boles
Sukumo Fermentation Vatting
📅 11th June • 6:30pm GMT

Plus live indigo vat making sessions, Tristan's research presentation, fermentation discussions and troubleshooting sessions.

If you join now, you'll receive access to all recordings from earlier sessions as well as every upcoming live event.

🔗 Join Indigo Week:
https://appleoakfibreworks.com/collections/events-tickets/products/indigo-week-2026-a-live-online-indigo-journey

01/06/2026

✨ Indigo Week begins this Wednesday! ✨

If you've signed up for Indigo Week, please take a few minutes to activate your Academy Membership and explore the platform before we begin.

Your first 12 months of membership are already included with your Indigo Week ticket, and you should have received an invitation email with instructions for accessing the Academy.

Before Wednesday, we recommend that you:

✔ Log in to the Academy
✔ Visit the Indigo Week space
✔ RSVP to any sessions you'd like to attend
✔ Check the Indigo Week Chat and Announcements area
✔ Read the "Before We Start Indigo Week" checklist

Taking a little time now will help ensure everything runs smoothly when the first live session begins.

We're looking forward to welcoming you for a wonderful week of indigo with Dominique Cardon, Rosa Chang, Britt Boles, Tristan Lienhard, and three live vat make-alongs.

If you're having trouble accessing your membership, please get in touch before Wednesday and we'll be happy to help.

See you soon! 💙

29/05/2026

💙 INDIGO WEEK SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT: BRITT BOLES 💙
What happens when indigo leaves are transformed over 100 days into the material that powers traditional Japanese fermentation vats?
As part of Indigo Week 2026, we are delighted to welcome Britt Boles for two in-depth live sessions exploring one of the most sophisticated indigo traditions in the world.
🌿 Session 1 Sukumo Making: Process, Practice & Material Transformation 📅 5th June • 6:30pm GMT
Explore the fascinating journey from harvested indigo leaves to sukumo — the composted material at the heart of traditional Japanese fermentation.
🌿 Session 2 Sukumo Fermentation Vat: Structure, Balance & Practice 📅 9th June • 6:30pm GMT
Dive into the living fermentation vat itself, exploring microbial activity, reduction, feeding cycles, temperature, pH and long-term vat management.
These sessions are a rare opportunity to learn from someone who has dedicated years to researching and practising fermentation indigo.
✨ And the learning doesn't stop there.
Following Indigo Week, we'll begin a year-long Sukumo Make-Together journey inside the Academy, where we'll explore the realities of sukumo making together through observation, discussion, troubleshooting and shared experience.
🎥 Replays available ✨ Included with Full Membership (€65/year)
Indigo Week begins 3rd June.

https://appleoakfibreworks.com/collections/events-tickets/products/indigo-week-2026-a-live-online-indigo-journey

26/05/2026

✨ INDIGO WEEK — ROSA CHANG ✨

Indigo is more than a dye.

It is story, migration, memory, landscape, community and connection.

We are incredibly excited to welcome Rosa Chang to Indigo Week 2026 for a very special live session exploring her ongoing project:

💙 Indigo Shade Map: Stories of Indigo, Culture and Community
📅 Thursday 4th June
🕰 6:30pm GMT
📍 Live on Zoom inside Indigo Week

Rosa Chang is a natural dyer, artist and researcher based in Baltimore, Maryland, whose work explores indigo through storytelling, mapping, cultural memory and community practice.

Through her project Indigo Shade Map, Rosa documents and connects indigo traditions from around the world — creating a living archive of people, place, history and colour.

In this session, Rosa will share her own journey with indigo — from growing and working with the plant to building collaborative community-centred dye projects rooted in care, culture and lived experience.

✨ This session explores:
• Indigo as cultural memory and storytelling
• Mapping global indigo traditions
• Community-centred dye practice
• Growing and working with indigo
• Contemporary approaches to traditional knowledge

Rosa’s work offers such a beautiful reminder that indigo is never only about colour — it is also about people, histories and relationships carried through generations.

✨ Included within Indigo Week 2026 alongside:
• Dominique Cardon
• Britt Boles
• Live fermentation, fructose & mineral vats
• Indigo growing & research
• Troubleshooting sessions & recordings

Included with Full Membership of the Natural Dyers & Growers Academy 💙

https://appleoakfibreworks.com/collections/events-tickets/products/indigo-week-2026-a-live-online-indigo-journey

26/05/2026

✨ We are deeply honoured to welcome Dominique Cardon to open Indigo Week 2026 ✨

For many natural dyers, historians and textile researchers, Dominique’s work has profoundly shaped the understanding of natural colour history and traditional dye knowledge across cultures.

Her decades of research into indigo, purple and ancient dye traditions have become foundational within the world of natural dyes — and for us personally at AppleOak FibreWorks, her work has long been a source of inspiration.

💙 DOMINIQUE CARDON
Since the Dawn of Time: Purple and Indigo Across Cultures
📅 Wednesday 3rd June
🕰 6:30pm GMT
📍 Live on Zoom inside Indigo Week

Because true purple comes from marine molluscs, archaeologists have been able to identify sites of staggering antiquity thanks to shell remains found along coastlines across the world.

Indigo plants, whose dyes are so similar to purple, are found across nearly every continent — spanning multiple botanical families, genera and species unlike any other plant dye source.

Through spectacular advances in archaeological science and analytical techniques, Dominique will guide us through the purples and blues used by our ancestors since prehistoric times, while exploring the urgent importance of documenting traditional dye knowledge before it disappears.

This is a truly rare opportunity to learn live from one of the leading voices in the world of natural colour.

✨ Indigo Week also includes:
• Rosa Chang
• Britt Boles
• Live indigo vat builds
• Fermentation, fructose & mineral vats
• Indigo growing & research
• Recordings throughout

Included within Full Membership of the Natural Dyers & Growers Academy 💙

https://appleoakfibreworks.com/collections/events-tickets/products/indigo-week-2026-a-live-online-indigo-journey

26/05/2026

A beautiful good morning to you from the dye garden. It is so hot at the moment, that we're starting early, to take time off during the afternoon.

13/05/2026

Madder: in their 3rd year now - madder Variety Trials are coming up this autumn! Over the last three years we have been observing the growing habits of several madder varieties, in particular spreading and none spreading varieties, growth, root development, seed setting and more. Looking forward to hearing for dye content later on in the year!

09/05/2026

A little last minute - but for anyone near Clare, we are giving a dye garden tour today at 2pm! And other great events happening today and tomorrow!