Hand Dyeing, Naturally.
When you’re open-minded and know what to look for, you see colour everywhere in the world around you. At East of Pine, we see colour in some of the most interesting, eccentric places, from compost bins and rust by the waterways to piles of walnuts fallen from trees.
Meet the dyes
It might be hard to believe, but our colours are created from all-natural ingredients. Everything we make is inspired by the things around us–we love working with roots, leaves, petals, wood, insects, rust and many more materials, each with its own hue, texture and story. Read on to see all the varieties of materials we use in our natural-dye processes.
Rust
Rust is found in junk piles, abandoned scraps at the side of the road and near our water shores. Printing with it involves a scientific process of oxidizing metal, which creates a lasting orange print on fabric. When mixed with other colours or tannins, it can result in deep browns, greys and blacks. This is one of our most unique and technical processes.
Indigo
A very unique and historical colour, we make this beautiful blue using great attention to detail, patience and care. Indigo requires a perfect balance of ph levels, sugars and dye substances.
Avocado
You probably have these in your kitchen. We collect avocados from neighbours and local restaurants and use their skins and pits to create a really soft, pretty shade of pink.
Onion Skins
Gathered from our homes or found in abundance in the form of scraps in grocery stores, red and yellow onion skins create varying shades of greens and yellows. Sometimes we even get a deep red hue when printed directly onto our fabric!
Leaves & Petals
Leaves and petals are everywhere, and there are bunch of beautiful colours that can be made using them. Some of our favourites include marigold (yellow) and safflower (pink and yellow). Based on what we find in our gardens and in the wild, we’re never short of dye options.
Roots & Wood
From one of the oldest natural reds (madder root) to the vibrant, rich purple of logwood, we often use roots and wood to create a stunning rainbow of colour.
Nuts & Fruit
Acorns, walnuts, gallnut, sumach, pomegranate…you name it. Found in our backyards, in local parks or sourced from Canadian companies, we love using nuts and fruits because they create a plethora of colours, and their tannins help to secure colours to the fabrics.
Insects
Cochineal, well-known for its vibrant pink dye colour, is an insect shell widely used for natural dyeing. It’s probably not the first material you’d think we’d work with, but we love it. Lac is another dye derived from insect resin, a wonderful sticky material that creates a rich magenta/red/purple hue.
If you know the two of us, you’re well aware that creating colour and pattern out of natural ingredients brings us so much joy. (Yes, we’re giddy when we talk about our products and process!) The time we spend wandering the forest or city shores, the gentle way our dye materials need to be treated and the story behind where we gather the fascinating items we use truly deepens the sense of meaning and respect for the gifts that nature provides and our connection to the planet.
We begin every East of Pine creation with high-quality organic cotton fabrics or 100% silk sourced from Canadian companies. Each item then goes through a two- to three-step process that ensures the natural dye will hold onto the fabric and that we will achieve the most vibrant colour with our dye materials.
When we’re adding colour to our premium fabrics, we really pay attention to where the items came from, as well as the natural way these shades are presented and work together in nature. Take our indigo/rust collection–it’s reminiscent of rusty shipwrecks on the salty ocean floor, while our Classic pattern (which uses onion skins, iron and insect resin) conjures images of bright bunches of flowers or supple berries. Each item is one of a kind and unique with its own special story. Our hope is that these stories evolve and grow as you take our pieces on your very own adventures in life.
Explore our Styles
Creating beautiful hues in a variety of colours, all while creating mesmerizing patterns, is definitely what we do best. The thing we adore most about our one-of-a-kind clothing and accessories is that they’re as unique as our customers. Not only are we all about individuality, we’re also big on style and love the fashion-forward pieces we create.
