From Floral Design to Natural Dye, Seed & Silk Curates Fresh Silk Creations

This interview with Abbie of Seed & Silk is brought to you by our dear friend, Mandy of MJM Designs in Denver, Colorado.

When Mandy needed custom silk ribbon for clients she knew exactly who to go to! Abbie was a florist in the Vail area for years; during the pandemic she decided to jump into her other passion – dying silk ribbon. Silk ribbons soon allowed her to transition to other textiles and custom orders. Her ribbons are gorgeous and I love the natural prints she creates by using fresh flowers as a dye too!

Can you share about Seed & Silk?

Seed & Silk is a plant focused textile company. When I started the company, I worked primarily with synthetic dyes because I thought it was the best way to get consistent colors for products and production style dyeing. I quickly learned that even synthetic dyes have a mind of their own, and no matter how precise a recipe is, hand dyeing anything leaves room for multiple outcomes. The inconsistency of synthetic dyes helped me branch into plant dyes and explore the beauty of incorporating my favorite thing in the world (plants) with my textiles. Currently, Seed & Silk is 90% plant dyed textiles and only 10% synthetic dyes. I love the connection to nature I have by using plants, kitchen scraps, and even bugs to create my work.

What inspired Seed & Silk?

Seed & Silk is a pandemic business. I used to own my own floral design company (just closed it in October of 2021), and had always wanted to start a side business of hand dyed silk ribbons. I was buying silk ribbons for almost every wedding, and wanted to be able to have my own line of ribbons to offer clients versus buying them in for each job. I had all the equipment and supplies, but never had the time- then Covid hit, and we went into lockdown, and there was my pile of dye equipment, just patiently waiting for me. So I went for it! I taught myself how to dye textiles during the lockdown. It was such an incredible way to spend my time, as learning the ins and out of dyeing is a lot of trial and error. I wrapped up my final season of weddings, closed my company and decided to focus 100% of my time on Seed & Silk. I really struggled with the amount of waste I created with my floral company. Every week I’d fill dumpsters with wedding waste, and then do it all over again. It never felt good to have such a large carbon footprint, so my goal with S&S was to create a company that focuses on zero waste. I’m happy to say that now I have about one trash bag a month vs. one dumpster a week!

What are the biggest challenges you have found to be?

I struggle with getting my name and my products and services to the masses. I’m finding it is hard to market this business as it’s focused more on a product versus a service like the floral design company. I also find it hard to keep the pricing low. The truth is that the process of hand dyeing is a lot of work, and takes many hours to complete a single item. Most people are into fast fashion, want it shipped the next day, and don’t want to pay much. My work is the exact opposite. Some orders can take a month or more to create, and I charge for shipping, and I source my blank textiles from socially responsible outlets. Educating consumers is a big part of my business.

What has been the best way to share about Seed & Silk and get the word out in CO as well as nationally?

This is something that I struggle with, but I’m trying!
For me, if I’m not active on IG, then I make zero in sales. Instagram is a tough platform, but I do find that when I’m consistently on stories, showing my face, showing products I’m working on and interacting with my community there, I make sales. If I’m not active, zero sales. Moving into the new year, I’m brainstorming on new ways.

Do you have any suggestions on florists looking to be more sustainable in their business?

I would love to see more venues incorporate semi permanent installs for the wedding season. So many times I’d get hired to green out an entire tent, only to have to tear it down that night and then have a different florist come and do the same thing the next day for their clients. It never made sense to me, and it created SO much waste.

I’m a big fan of ditching the floral foam and using chicken wire. Foam is toxic, doesn’t break down well, and there are so many other alternatives.

What’s your favorite item to create as well as favorite ingredient to create a specific color? (ie. walnuts, onion skins, raspberries, etc.)

It definitely changes with the seasons and what is naturally being provided by Mother Earth. My all time favorite thing at the moment is eco prints. Eco printing is a method where you take a plant or flower and steam it into the fabric. The result is a permanent print of said plant, it’s almost like if a photo were taken of the plant and printed onto the textile.

I also love creating soft pinks with avocado pits, earthy terracotta colors from the bark of the acacia tree. Pomegranate rinds and marigold flowers also have a special place in my heart. The cool thing about plant dyes is that you can shift the colors by changing the pH of the materials. For example, Avocado dye is pink but I’m able to get greys, purples, rust colors and even dark greens by changing the pH.

The plant dyes never cease to amaze me!

What color trends are you noticing for 2023?

I’m seeing a big push towards earthy neutrals- rich browns, light beiges, earthy pinks and oranges. All colors obtainable with plant dyes!

What do you see for the future of Seed & Silk?

I see S&S not only being a textile company but also a community of women who have a deep love for our Earth. I’m hosting my first annual women’s wellness retreat in Mexico April 2023. The retreat is focused on Art and Yoga. Attendees will have a chance to dive into a two day natural dye course where we will focus on the method called bundle dyeing. We will forage plants and flowers to dye with and create one of a kind textiles from the flora of Mexico. Each morning we will do Somatic based yoga, and have journal prompts for attendees to help connect to our creativity that lies within all of us but gets stifled in day to day life. The retreat house is on a private beach, with a yoga studio as well. It’s really a special place, and I’m so excited to share a week of unlocking our creative sides with everyone. In addition to the dye class, I’ll also be teaching a class called “Meditation through Art”. This class will focus on ways to get out of our busy, racing minds and create beauty with watercolors while doing it. It’s such an incredible way to connect with our breath and also make something pretty!

If your readers are interested in learning more about the Mexico Retreat, they can visit the website at www.artandyogaescape.com

Anything else you would like to share with the readers of Flirty Fleurs?

S&S runs largely on custom orders. If you’re curious what kind of project we could work on together, the possibilities are endless! From custom bedding, decor, and clothing to plant made inks for creating your own art- plants are incredible, and the ways to use them in a creative outlet are limitless!