dye-pot or diy

There is a forgotten but well- documented art and craft to producing colours naturally, from plants and minerals, practised and perfected from time- immemorial. It may be something taken for granted with all the industrial hacks and short-cuts we’ve achieved in just this last century with synthetic materials and chemical colours. A German entrepreneur, botanist and chemist, by the name of Hermann Fischer, founded a small company, a niche interest but growing, to explore this dismissed method, realising that supported by one chemical backbone—namely petroleum, the way were accustomed to decorating our living spaces will soon become unsustainable as well.

Not only do the factories damage the ecology, it stands to reason that the output is not such a healthful thing to immerse ourselves in, coating the walls and every surface. Material science will need to revert but not in an atavistic way. With natural bases like beeswax or vegetable oils and dyes derived from plants, Fischer’s laboratories are conducting research and experimentation to bring non-petroleum paints and finishes more on par with the industry-standard. They are doing a brisk business as well, with a line of alternative, natural paints, available in larger hardware stores and boutique shops at comparable prices, which count as some of their strongest, closeted patrons employees of the chemical concerns who know what goes into their products.