The Gardener. Natural dyes kit: Hibiscus#
The gardener is a concept brand that researches natural dyes and the possible combinations of new technologies and craftmanship techniques.
The gardener develops different products like kits, workshops and clothing.
The Natural dyes kit#
Shaping the kit has been very simple and fast. I studied industrial design and I had a very good teacher who taught visual communication and packaging … maybe that’s why.
After all the research on the natural dyes I was prepared and I knew what would have been useful in a kit. So in a weekend I designed the packaging, the logo and the hibiscus flower illustration.
The Natural dyes kit by The Gardener is the perfect kit for fashion designer, DIY passionate and sustainability conscious people who wants to learn and explore the natural dyes that will guide them through a steps by step tutorial in order to reach the most beautiful natural color palette.
Users#
It’s especially addressed to people that want to start dyeing and are looking for a good complete and easy kit.
Philosophy#
This kit and learning tool brings people together by sharing knowledge about our natural dyes and promotes learning more about local and sustainable alternatives to synthetic dyes.
The tool encourages to playfully explore the the basics in chemistry and science while creating a selection of natural dyes.
Kit Content#
All the necessary materialst are provided in easy to use bags containing readily measured amounts of dye and mordants.
The beautiful furoshiki acts both as a wrapping and the actual scarf to be dyed in the kit. The KIT furoshiki comes in 4 luxurious variations, silk velvet, wool and cotton, becoming the perfect gift for every season.
If you have a look at the first presentation on my Implication and Application assigment you’ll see my first idea was to create a quite intricate system of workshop-knowlegde-people. I won’t give up that idea but I’ll progress it in the future. In the meanwhile I can develop about one of the kit I thought about: the natural dyes kit.
Online content#
The kit is sold online and it comes with a printeted instruction book. However it is also possible to download the book and access other online content.
Instruction Book#
It’s possible to download the Instruction Book on ISSUU
Modern botanical illustration: Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis#
A few years ago I got passionate about herbaria and botanical drawings so when I design my graduation portfolio all the projects were represented by one specific plant.
So I decided to create some digital illustrations of the different plant choosen. I really enjoyed it so sometimes when I’ve time I still make some new drawings.
Inside the kit there will be a QR-Code through which it will be possible to download a poster of the Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis
- Open the QR Code reader on your phone.
- Hold your device over a QR Code so that it’s clearly visible within your smartphone’s screen.
- Press the button to open the link!
- Enjoy!
Stamps, stencils or prints?#
STAMPS: I wanted to create rubber stamps with lasercutted linoleum but the lasercut in the lab had some problems during that week, so after some stamps with soft PLA, the result was nice but not perfect and just for a little stamp (3cm long) took me 15 minutes (I had to do 11 stamps) I gave up!
STENCIL: Then I tried with the vinyl cutter. I was looking for something that was possible to use more then once, but since the vynil is very thin was perfectly working as stencil the first time and from the second wasn’t so good anymore.
PRINTS: So the final result is label printed on recycled paper.
Futures developments for the kit#
This kit is just for other natural dyes kit. It’s especially addressed to people that want to start dyeing and are looking for a good complete and easy kit but it is also a tool which allows me to continue researching on this field.