Authentic Silks of Isan

Our colours are organic, chemical-free and non-toxic – many of them are rather beneficial, since they are derived from plants with medicinal or cosmetic properties. Mordants/fixatives that we use include plant parts, mud, lime, alum.

While our dyes have been duly mordanted or fixed, and many of them have very good colour fastness, one should not expect them to behave like the fastest of synthetically derived ones. Unlike these, our colours are ‘alive’ and responsive. So modern conveniences such as machine washing and chemical detergents should be avoided – the ‘price’ to pay for organic fabric and colours is the price of natural processes.

Some colours may be altered by the ph of the wearer’s skin, others may change over the years even if you do nothing at all! Please see this as an invitation to reconnect and to experiment rather than as a drawback – and we are eager to hear about your experience, as we humbly acknowledge the complexity of knowing natural colours that keeps our grassroots research alert, and have indeed learnt much through unexpected surprises.

Although every piece has been thoroughly washed and re-washed to remove any excess dye, it is quite normal for some colour to bleed when you wash the silks – more or less depending on the nature of the dye (so do wash separately!)