Woollenflower is a small natural dye and textile studio, run by Australian-born horticulturist and craftsperson, Julia Billings.
I make all Woollenflower products by hand with care: dyeing so that colours last and develop with time, handmaking my knits to a high level of finish and unpicking garments and tweeds in order to reclaim and use as much fabric as possible in my pouches.
Woollenflower yarns and threads are made from minimally-processed natural fibres, such as wool, alpaca and linen, and are chosen for their high quality, provenance and capacity to display the beauty of natural dyes.
They often combine unusual blends of fibres and work especially well held together to create subtle, rich colours and textures.
All are dyed with plants collected around Glasgow and Scotland and, where necessary, sustainably-sourced raw dyestuff and extracts, using traditional methods and as little resources as possible.
Set up in August 2020, the studio is a space to work and to support others in connecting with plants and the once-universal skill of natural dyeing.
I have facilitated workshops on dyeing and knitting for many years, framing classes around time-honoured skills that participants can then develop and build on.
I offer one-to-one and group tuition, as well as studio hire for students and other practitioners.
All activity has an impact.
The reforestation of our planet is one of the most crucial measures we can take to fight climate change and provide a healthy habitat for us all.
For every Woollenflower product sold, a tree is planted through a partnership with onetreeplanted.org.