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Interview By Jennifer Buchheit @studio_rosie

When creativity and nature come together a special kind of magic happens. Amanda de Beaufort, the botanical dye artist known on Instagram as Dye Kween, creates work that exemplifies that magic. “Native plants can do all these amazing things,” says Amanda. “We’re in this urban place, but nature is still creeping back in and I love that.” In this conversation, we talk about seeing the beauty of nature in everything from backyard flowers to the resilient plants growing along busy highways.

What did creativity look like for you when you were growing up?

I'm originally from Anchorage, Alaska. I think creativity growing up, for me, was my mom. She taught us how to be creative. We grew up in incredible natural beauty, camping and being in the woods and just surrounded by nature. I was always drawing, and I felt very creative as a kid. My mom fostered that in me.

I feel very similar. My mom made creativity such a part of our life that it became a part of me. I can't not be creative. You said that you were inspired by nature in Alaska, are there certain colors in nature that inspire you?

There's a very particular palette in Alaska. There are these blues and these grays and these greens that are tones that just evoke so much in me. Now, living in New Jersey, different colors are part of my life. I feel like, maybe, in 10 years, I'll look back at the colors of cosmos and sumac that grow wild out here in the Northeast, and they will evoke something in me. I’ll be in my garden, looking at all these beautiful oranges and yellows, and just try to absorb the moment. When you look back at the memories they are somehow more evocative of a strong emotion than when they are occurring. 

What does a typical creative day look like for you?

We grow most of our flowers at my house in my dye garden. First I would go to my garden to harvest the morning's flowers and take them to my studio. Then turn on music, open the windows, and just be creative.

Are you someone who plans your pieces ahead of time, or do you just let it unfold organically?

I would say it's probably a mix of both. I do some planning but once I'm working it’s very intuitive.

What do you love most about teaching people botanical dyeing?

I live in New Jersey, we're right next to New York City and I'm a gal from Alaska. I love to talk about reconnecting with nature. Botanical dying, for me at least, makes me look around at the wild plants, like golden rod and sumac, which grow all along the freeways here. These are dye plants, native plants can do all these amazing things. We're in this urban place, but nature is still creeping back in and I love that.

Do you approach your dying more like a science or an art, or is it a little of both?

I approach it more like an art. Botanical dying can be highly scientific and I think that some of the greatest botanical dyers are true scientists. But what I think is so great about it is that there's a spectrum. I work with my husband, and he helps do a lot of the mordanting and the prepping of the fiber, so that really frees me up to concentrate on designing. I like changing up formulas and recipes to get different results, so it's a bit of a mix.

Do you have advice for someone who wants to try to start doing natural dye for the first time?

Be open-minded and be experimental. Go ahead and just dive in and do the fun stuff, but know that you have to prepare your fiber. When I first got started, I was like, I'm not doing that. But, of course, I didn’t get good results, right? It’s the tedious part of the process. But if you want to get the results, you have to mordant and you have to scour your fiber.

Is there anything that you're working on right now that you're excited about?

I just wrote a book called Flowerprint coming out this fall with Timber Press. I’m also making all sorts of fun, colorful things for craft fairs in the spring as well as flower printed shirts for Inner Grandma. 

As Amanda looks ahead to the release of her upcoming book, Flowerprint, and a season of markets sharing her colorful dyed pieces, her message feels especially fitting for Earth Day. Nature is never far away. It grows in gardens, along roadsides, and even cracks in the pavement; enriching our lives with vivid colors and textures. Goldenrod, sumac, and wildflowers creep through and paint our world with colorful memories. Even in the most urban settings, nature is still reaching toward us, inviting us to gather, create, and remember that we are part of it, too.

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