Ria will be speaking at The Loom Shed’s annual Natural Dye Symposium - a hybrid event that takes place at their studio in Cullompton, Deven, but is also streamed online.

Ria will be talking about their practice and how they consider sustainability in every step of the process.

Click here for more information and tickets: https://theloomshed.com/calendar-event/the-loom-shed-natural-dye-symposium-2025/

We hope you are looking forward to this annual event as much as we are. As in previous year we are blessed with speakers who share their wealth of knowledge, who inspire, educate and illuminate our own work with natural dyes. A new viewpoint is a valuable thing.
During the day we have four speakers talking about their work with natural dyes, whether it be how they created their business or what it is about using natural dyes that inspires them. We try to encompass all aspects of the craft, from growing dye plants to the history of a dye and from the chemistry that we all embrace sometimes unknowingly to sharing the joy as a dyestuff reveals it’s colour. We are delighted that our 2025 symposium has an international flavour.

This is a hybrid event; we have two speakers speaking at The Loom Shed and two will be giving their talk online. All will be available to view live from the comfort of your own home, or you can join us in house for the day, when you get to chat to the speakers, be tempted by their products and of course, enjoy a lovely Loom Shed lunch in good company.

All talks will also be recorded, so if you can’t make the date or time, you will be able to watch the talks for two weeks after the symposium.

We welcome back Debbie Bamford as our first speaker of the day. Debbie’s interest in natural dyes began by investigating historically appropriate dye stuffs for different periods in history. Her interest and impressive knowledge is now the science behind the craft. She is happy working in laboratory conditions, investigating the properties of different mordants and dyes. For her talk she will help us get to grips with the chemistry behind the processes used all the time by natural dyers and how knowing this will help us achieve the colours we want. Debbie will be joining us at The Loom Shed for the day and will be bringing some examples of her work.

Our second speaker is the team behind Cochinillas Guatiza. Cochineal is an insect that breeds on the leaves of cactus, from which it feeds by extracting their juice. A dye, also called carmine, is extracted from the female. In Lanzarote it has been cultivated mainly in the towns of Guatiza and Mala, and its quality is recognized as the best in the world. Our speaker comes from a family of farmers in the town of Guatiza. For three generations, their family have been dedicated to the cultivation of cochineal. In the 1970’s their grandparents started with the first fields of crops that and the next generations have been helping in the business since they were little. Their talk will encompass the history of the dye, the process, the challenges and the joys of working with cochineal.

Our third speaker is Ria Burns who will be joining us in person for the day. Ria is a natural dyer and knitwear designer who adopts a hyperlocal approach to their practice. Ria will talk about their work and research into wild and cultivated natural dyes, and how they aim to champion sustainability at every stage of their process. They will also share ways that we can all become more environmentally friendly in our dyeing practices.

Our final speaker of the day is joining us online from Pennsylvania, USA. Winona Quigley from Green Matters Natural Dye Company. Following her design qualification, Winona returned to Lancaster to open a dye house that offers plant based dye services to product and fashion brands. In 2021,she was listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 in the Manufacturing and Industry category. Green Matters also offers workshops and small batch custom dyeing . During this talk, Winona will discuss Green Matters’ journey growing a business of artisanal natural dye practice to a commercial scale, and how slowing down the production of fashion is integral to reducing the environmental footprint of the fashion industry. We believe that with the right tools, individuals have the power to mend, maintain and transform their existing wardrobe to help eliminate waste in the fashion and textile industry.