Vivien Prideaux - Open Studios

A riot of colour, cloth, silks, wools, linen, hemp. Colour, indigo blues, rhubarb yellows, madder reds. Creative conversation, cake and a cuppa!

My studio is a riot of colourful textured hand dyed, new and salvaged natural materials.

Japanese kimono silks, hand woven hemp, linens, velvets, cashmere, wool, magical blues of natural indigo, subtle shades of cochineal, madder and other natural, sustainable dyes and vivid reactive dyes.

I produce individual, natural fibre, range of decorative and domestic textiles, often in series, incorporating natural and synthetic dyeing, shibori resist, surface stitch and printing. My love affair with my native county is still the unifying thread through my work, often exploring the patterns made by the interaction of the water, light, wind, waves and sand, as well as taking inspiration from my many journeys and experiences.

For 50 years my passion and commitment to textiles as a full time self employed dyer, embroiderer, freelance tutor, lecturer and author has taken me all over the world, learning and sharing with other cultures, sourcing unusual hand woven natural fabrics and documenting traditional dyeing techniques from India, Thailand, New Zealand, South America, Western Samoa and Japan.

My love of colour is inherent.

Cloth and stitch are the natural way for me to express my personality. Shibori and dyes are contemporary techniques of our time, but I always want to delve further and discover through traditional and cultural references, a wider vocabulary to use in my work.

Hand dyed scarves, kooshns, coats, fabric, cards, threads and natural dyes for sale.