Hobby-X Feedback

I taught six classes in three days and it was fabulous! The students were SO enthusiastic I could not help but have a wonderful time.

They learned how to print with found objects that they can find around their home and I think that they returned home after the class with new eyes.

I also taught them how to make their own hand carved lino blocks for printing. Although I favour textiles, these stamps can be used to print on paper, card, wood, leather, pvc, candles and many other surfaces.

The ladies enjoyed playing with colour and especially liked printing on the hand dyed base cloth that I supplied.

In between classes I spent my time at the Metz Press stand promoting my book, Contemporary Dyecraft (Metz Press). It has been available for seven months now and I still enjoy signing copies for my fans.

A big "THANK YOU!" to the Hobby-X organisers for putting together another quality event, and to Owen Calverly from TuCats (Craftwise Magazine) for orchestrating the classes.

To those of you who participated, you rock! And to those of you who did not make it to the event, we hope to see you there next year.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

0835689150

Contemporary Dyecraft

Contemporary Dyecraft (Metz Press) is selling very well and the feedback that we are getting so far is very positive. Here are some of the comments that we have received...

"I started reading my treasure last night. It is just like being with you in a class. Reading your book has really got my juices going again." Michelle Russell.

"May I say that it was love at first read! Congratulations, I am blown away and very excited." Patsy Hamilton.

"Thank you for your book----it is absolutely awesome! Received it today and honsetly know that it will be hugely inspiring and informative!" Basil and Liz, Square Tomato

If you would like to order your copy online, you have a variety of options. You can read more about it on the publisher's website at www.metzpress.co.za

You can order from:

Leisure Books www.leisurebooks.com

Kalahari www.kalahari.net

Amazon www.amazon.com

Red Pepper Books www.redpepperbooks.co.za

It is also available in North America from the Canadian Publisher, Firefly Books at www.fireflybooks.com/bookdetail&ean=9781554077298

Order your copy today and join in the fun! The DVD to support the book with more techniques will be available very soon. I will keep you posted as soon as I have stock in hand.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+2735689150

That Dress!

Everybody loves that dress! Whenever I wear it somebody stops me to compliment me on it.

I made it for my book, Contemporary Dyecraft (Metz Press) and Ivan Naude (http://www.planetivan.com/) took this fabulous picture of it for me.

Do you know that it was dyed using only the three primary colours, yellow, magenta and turquoise? All the other colours that you see on the dress were blended on the cloth during the making. If you would like to make one for yourself, why not order your copy of Contemporary Dyecraft for the technique.

It is available through all the regualr channels, including Leisure Books, Kalahari and Amazon.

The dress was made for me by a talented young designer in Johannesburg called Yoriko Alty. Her label is Wild Fig. You can contact her on +27825652675 to order your designer garments or you can view the Facebook page under Wild Fig Clothing to see her latest collection.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+27835689150

http://www.dyeandprints.co.za/

Metz Press

Metz Press is an independent publisher of high quality information books and illustrated non-fiction for the South African market as well as the international co-edition market. Their focus remains on crafts, gardening, parenting and life (which includes several self-hep titles). One of a small number of independent South African publishers to have successfully penetrated the international co-edition market, Metz has sold rights to their books in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and Russia. After many years of hard work and a consistent presence at the Frankfurt International Book Fair, Metz has convinced international companies that they can meet their high standards of quality content, production and delivery. Most of their overseas editions reprint regularly and the list is growing.

Metz Press continues to attract the best craft authors for our project-based craft books. Their creativity, combined with a practical, hands-on approach and the service of top photographers in this genre all contribute to a range that simply stands out from the rest. Last year's success with embroidery doyenne Di van Niekerk's ribbon embroidery and stumpwork designs for a selection of Cecily Mary Barker's exquisite Flower Fairies TM is bound to be equalled by her recently released Monograms and words in ribbon embroidery. Fabric enthusiasts are sure to be thrilled by Simply Fabulous Fabric, as well as the forthcoming Contemporary Dyecraft (by Melanie Brummer). Their well-known and growing parenting list has also been boosted by the addition of BabyGym, MindMoves and a new edition of their top seller Baby Sense. In Adjusting The Boundaries, the fourth book in her boundaries series, Anne Cawood offers parents wise and sympathetic cousel to help children and teens cope with separation and divorce.

You will know a Metz Press book when you hold it in your hands. It has a very special look and feel that is quite distinctive. Read more at

http://www.metzpress.co.za/

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

Keeping It Contemporary

Different people have different perceptions about tie dye. For many, it evokes pictures of long-haired hippies and their alternative lifestyle.

Did you know that tie dye has been use in fashion throughout the ages?

It is a national artform in Japan. Do a Google search for the term "shibori" and see how many pages come up with information about hand dyed fabrics. The Japanese people have used hand dyed techniques to embellish their kimonos for centuries and you can find their hand dyed textiles in their national museums and galleries.

In India the knowledge is passed down from father to son and mother to daughter and India is steeped in a culture of hand embellished textiles. Indian women will sit for hours and stitch individual grains of rice into their saris, which they then hand over to the dye technicians to colour with dye. Afterwards, they sit and carefully unpick every stitch to reveal the delicate pattern underneath.

Countries like Kenya and Ghana produce signature textiles that reflect their vibrant culture and tell the stories of their people.

Local designers like Stoned Cherrie and Sun Goddess have made extensive use of hand dyed finishes to differentiate their clothes with an authentic African feel and charm. Tie dye allows a designer to create garments in season colours, on-demand.

In Europe, top designers like Prada and Versace are doing the same. Go to http://www.ohlalamag.com/en/2010/01/versace-spring-summer-2010-round-3.html to see how Versace has used tie dye to create the most stunning silk shirts for men in 2010.

How you view tie dye is a matter of your individual perspective and framework. What is clear is that it is versatile and timeless. It has been used for as long as people have been making cloth and it will continue to add value to the clothing industry for as long as people crave to express their individuality through their clothes.

Sun Goddess 2005

Hippy tie-dye or couture chic? The debate continues... I was determined to prove the latter true and set out to supply many top local designers to prove my point.

In 2005 Sun Goddess commissioned this T-shirt for their SA Fashion Week Collection. They were looking for an interpretation of the sun in their season colours. I tied very tight elastic bands in rings and then added the yellow, red and brown using a syringe to make sure it went only where I wanted it. The sun motif is only on the front of the T-shirt and the back is plain brown.

The headscarf is a chiffon silk. I have always found the shapes of Ndebele patterns inspirational, and I had a vision to create a diamond pattern in colours that came from our national flag. I called the piece Rainbow Nation. This was the first time I made this pattern and Vanya Mangaliso was excited to snap it up for her collection.

I just made it again for Contemporary Dyecraft (Metz Press) and you can now learn how to make it for yourself, using the step-by-step photos in the book. Rainbow Nation will always be one of my personal favourite patterns. I had a lot of fun inventing and refining it, and I am always delighted with the outcome.

I have dyed chiffon silk, raw silk, habotai, T-shirting, linen, muslin and twill for Sun Goddess over the years. Tie dye is an opportunity to create something distinctly unique. It is an opportunity to choose pattern and colourway. It is an opportunity for designers to create limited edition custom cloth, on-demand.

When I first began to understand the implications for manufacturers, it blew my mind. Many years later, the possibilities remain endless.

What do you think? Hippy tie-dye or couture chic?

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

Picture by Ivan Naude http://www.planetivan.com for SA Fashion Week

Wild Fig

Do you like the dress in this picture? The white shell was manufactured for me by Wild Fig clothing. Lara Hunt and Yoriko Alty joined forces in 2007 to create this feminine label that is fast becoming a staple of the local fashion scene.

They use quality fabrics and focus on interesting, yet simple design details and finishes. They have access to full pattern making facilities, sampling, grading and production, which makes it possible for them to reliably create fresh looks on a regular basis. Wild Fig clothing is always fresh and stylish. Although I added the distinctive rainbow colouring to this dress, part of its beauty lies in the simple lines of the cut and elegant drape of the lush fabric that Yoriko selected.

This dress is a real head-turner. Every time I go out in public in it, somebody stops me to compliment me on it.

You can buy Wild Fig clothing at The Space (The Zone, Rosebank, Johannesburg), Salvation (Menlyn Shopping Centre, Pretoria), Dice (East London), Harbour Bay (Plettenberg Bay), Wild Orchid (Paarl), The Velvet Purse (Johannesburg), Que (Bloemfontein), Juno (Willowbridge) and Occasions (Somerset Mall). Look out for this label if you like to feel feminine.

Look out for their collection at Audi Fashion Week between 20-23 January 2010.

If you would like to learn the secret of how I dyed in the rainbow, look out for this dress in my book, Contemporary Dyecraft (Metz Press). It will be available from 25 January 2010.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

Contemporary Dyecraft

The journey of this book began on 2001, when I began writing the first draft. It took me five months to lay down the first copy. I did my research in the stores. I walked into the craft section of every bookstore I went into and picked up all the books by local publishers. The Metz Press books all had a certain look and feel in my hands and I decided that this was the publisher for me.

I then spent some years trying to get hold of the publisher. I sent volleys of e-mails and heard nothing back from Metz.

On a level I gave up and moved on to other focusses. After all, you cannot kill all of your time on one thing.

Then, in 2007 I went to Cape Town to teach at Keen On Crafts with Craftwise Magazine. I had a free session where I could choose to do any craft that I wanted to and I decided to do embroidery. The teacher was a wonderful lady called Fransie Snyman. She asked me if I was not interested in writing a book, since I knew so much about my medium. I told her about my dream to publish. She told me that she had written a book and could put me in touch with her publisher, Metz Press.

I sent a volley of e-mails to the address she gave me, and heard nothing.

Six months later I went to the Keen On Crafts with Craftwise Magazine event in Pretoria. A friendly blonde lady walked up to me, and introduced herself as Wilsia Metz. Her sister Fransie, had told her all about me. She had signed up for my class.

From there things have flowed and Contemporary Dyecraft is almost a reality. It will be available in stores from January 2010!

My advice to aspiring writers : Never give up.