From Spring & Through Finding Space

Like so many creative projects, small-batch silk scarf business Slow and Sow began in lockdown. Unlike others though, it wasn’t a solitary pursuit, but rather the result of Sussex-based mixed media artist Lizz Harding and her daughter Charlotte, a writer, experimenting with natural dyes using plants from the garden. “It was that really quite beautiful spring and I was lucky enough to be locked down with mum and dad,” recalls Charlotte, of the pandemic five years ago. “We were trying to be in nature as much as possible and find joy in the small things. Mum showed me how to dye fabrics using plants such as wallflowers, roses and fennel. It was a hard time but also special because life stopped as it was before and there was space to foster something new.”

Lizz, who has been dyeing threads and scrap pieces of fabric for wall hangings for over a decade, finds a sense of calm in the slowness of dyeing. “Preparation is key: first, I scour and wash the fabric so it's ready to take the dye, then I mordant it so it holds the dye,” she says. Plants are simmered in the dye bath for an hour, then removed, before the silk is added. The fabric is often left to cool and sit in the dye bath overnight, deepening the colour further. “Coming up with new ideas and getting excited about colours” with Charlotte is, says Lizz, the most fun part. “We use petals, leaves, bark, roots; sometimes, we re-use the dye bath a second time, and that creates different results,” continues Charlotte. “What I love most about working with mum is playing around and discovering new things. She’s very good at not being too precious, which grounds me.”

Working with natural dyes, there are so many uncontrollable factors that can affect the outcome – from the weather to the month of the year. “One year, we dyed Japanese quince and got a silvery grey because there had been lots of rain; the next year, when there was more sun, the dye became a vibrant blue-purple,” says Charlotte, who is based in London but goes home at least once a month, when the pair often spend time dyeing together. “You have to trust in nature and the magic of the process: the outcome might not necessarily be what you expect but it’s exciting to see each time.” They have also used seaweed and food waste (“onion skins create a lovely olive green while black beans make a pale blue-grey”), and trialled different methods including dip-dye and solar – an even more unhurried technique where, for instance, rose petals are soaked in water in a sealed kiln jar that’s left on a windowsill for several weeks.

After successful early experiments, the duo quite quickly settled on making scarves. “During the pandemic, my nana, mum's mum, was talking about not being able to go to the hairdressers and asking me where my collection of bandanas and scarves are from,” explains Charlotte. “I’ve always bought them while travelling or from vintage shops but that was the lightbulb moment when we realised that maybe there's a want or need for scarves that can be cherished and worn forever.” As the business has developed organically, so too has Lizz’s garden, with plants such as madder and dahlias added into the mix. “It takes between two to five years for the madder roots to be ready to use for dyeing so in 2024 we finally harvested that,” she says.

The fact that the dyes are natural, rather than chemical-based is also an important part of the Slow and Sow ethos. “At the beginning especially, there wasn’t much awareness of natural dyes. Now there’s so much more education about why they’re better for the environment,” says Charlotte, citing their non-toxic, biodegradable properties. “Having that connection to the land is an antidote to life when everything feels too much. A lot of the lessons I've learnt through dyeing are about slowing down, sowing seeds and watching things grow. Mum's the maker and I'm the storyteller but at its core, it’s just the two of us, working together and doing something we love.”