About this project
Starting a CSA to Dye For
The Textile Arts Center is proud to present the new adventure of Sewing Seeds -a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) fully dedicated to natural dyes!
Starting this summer in Brooklyn, an abandoned lot on the corner of Bergen and 4th Street will be transformed as part of the 596 Acres project. The Sewing Seeds CSA garden will run for a 6 month season between June and November 2012, providing members with plants to be used as natural dyes, as well as recipes and workshops utilizing them.
The Sewing Seeds CSA will create a new green space in the Gowanus community, as well as strongly interact with Textile Arts Center education programs. Sewing Seeds will provide information on the plants, dye extraction, and dye technique, serving as a backdrop for free workshops and lectures for the community.
While the Sewing Seeds CSA shareholders’ fees will cover all the expenses throughout the season, the Bergen Street plot has been abandoned and unloved for years. The funds raised through Kickstarter will cover the initial work and materials to convert this land into the new Sewing Seeds garden. Soil, raised beds, irrigation system, etc. will make this unused land an enjoyable and educational space for all of us in the community. And the only way to make this project possible is to raise enough money to cover the initial expenses.
Your donation will be much appreciated! We’re counting on you to help us make our community more colorful.
What is Sewing Seeds? The Sewing Seeds project started in 2010 at the Textile Arts Center with the mission to provide accessible, accurate and inspired information on natural dyes to our community. So far, this project has included classes and workshops on natural dyes, for adults and kids, grown a Living Library of Natural Dyes in the Carroll Street Community Garden as a reference and teaching tool, and created a database on natural dyes and recipes which will soon be freely available online.
Why Natural Dyes? Before the invention of synthetic dyes in the 19th century, the world wasn't black and white. It was full of bright colors, extracted from the bounty around us; from leaves, flowers, fruits, roots and bark. Today most of these plants can be grown in a sustainable way and used to dye fabric and yarn with minor impact in the environment, to the dyer, and to the user. Not to mention that a lot of sources for natural dyes are actually wasted by modern cultures, like onion skins, carrot tops and rhubarb leaves.
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
You get our love (and we'll add you to the Sewing Seeds mailing list so you can keep hearing about us)
Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more
You get our love and an hand-printed Sewing Seeds THANK YOU post card (with natural dyes)
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
You get our love and an hand-printed Sewing Seeds notebook, so you can take notes about your future dyeing adventures
Pledge $75 or more Pledge $75 or more
You get our love and an amazing tote bag dyed and printed with natural dyes
Pledge $150 or more Pledge $150 or more
You get our love and a silk scarf, dyed and printed with natural dyes of your favorite colors
Pledge $300 or more Pledge $300 or more
You get our love and an early bird CSA membership. Thank you for being one of the firsts!
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
You get our love and an early bird CSA membership and a 3h private workshop on natural dyes
Project By
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Textile Arts Center is located in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and has the mission to provide support to fiber artists,
and everyday people interested in working with fiber, by acting as a resource facility and creative meeting
place.
The Center provides classes, workshops and special events for adults and kids in weaving, screen printing,
dyeing, sewing, felting, embroidery, and more. Our space also acts as a Gallery for fiber artists and
backdrop for lectures, demos, and screenings.
The Center is also a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas. We are able to accept tax-deductible
donations. If you would like your donation for this campaign to be tax-deductible, please contact us.
