Workshops & Learning Experiences

Over the years, I’ve designed and facilitated hands-on workshops exploring some of my main research fields: Natural Dyes, Biomaterials and Mending. These sessions combine sensory exploration, design practice, and critical reflection - offering participants a space to engage directly with materials and processes that are often overlooked or hidden.

Each workshop is crafted to match the context and the people involved. Whether you’re completely new to the topic or a creative professional looking to deepen your practice, the format adapts. Ranging from playful introductions to advanced experimentation.

Rooted in slowness, care, and co-creation, my workshops are moments to pause, connect, and rethink our relationship to color, material, and nature.

A group of women sitting and having a discussion in a cozy, well-lit room with large windows, green plants, and casual furniture.
Person working at a table with various containers and jars, pouring a dark liquid into petri dishes.
Close-up of soft, pastel-colored flower petals in shades of pink, peach, and cream.

NATURAL DYES

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NATURAL DYES *

In these workshops, participants are invited into the world of natural color. Together, we explore the magic and chemistry of dyeing: how color is extracted from flowers, berries, mushrooms, and even food waste like onion skins or avocado pits, and how these pigments bond to natural fibers.

The sessions are hands-on and sensory, but also reflective. Alongside the making, we discuss the environmental impact of industrial dyeing practices and how reconnecting with the act of color-making can shift our relationship to fashion, materials, and sustainability. In longer sessions, we also transform leftover dye baths into pigments for future use as inks or paints - extending the life of the color and expanding its creative potential. Each session is carefully adapted to the audience - whether complete newcomers with curious hands, or creative professionals seeking new ways to engage with color and material.

Natural dyeing is a slow, step-by-step process. I design my workshops to honor that tempo, building in space for dialogue, connection, and attention to the material world. A full experience typically takes 5-6 hours, but the format can be adapted for shorter sessions or live demonstrations when time is limited.

Previous sessions

  • Two women sitting on the sidewalk, preparing flowers or plant material in containers. One woman, in a black top and a straw hat, is working with a metal container, while the other woman, in a plaid shirt, is kneeling with her hands in a bucket. There are gardening tools, a pitcher, and flower pots nearby, with a row of orange flowers along a stone wall.

    Sopra Sotto Residency | 2024, Tuscany

    Invited as part of the SOPRA SOTTO residency, I led a natural dye workshop for a group of textile artists and designers eager to deepen their practice.

    Together, we explored advanced techniques, exchanged insights, and immersed ourselves in the rhythms of color and craft.

  • Two women wearing yellow rubber gloves washing dishes in a kitchen sink.

    Modestraat | 2024, Amsterdam

    I hosted a natural dye workshop at Modestraat for a group of curious beginners. Most participants were craft and creativity enthusiasts with little prior experience in dyeing — making the session a space for discovery, experimentation, and joyful first encounters with plant-based color.

  • A woman is speaking at a table filled with fabric samples, jars, and color swatches during a presentation or demonstration in a conference room.

    Sustainable Fashion Event EY | 2025, Amsterdam

    Presentation at the Ernst & Young office in Amsterdam, as part of their Sustainable Fashion Event organized by the EcoInnovators team.

  • Natural Dye Workshop Amsterdam

    2020, Amsterdam Noord

    A summer workshop designed for a group of local enthusiasts of sustainable fashion, combining hands-on experimentation with natural dyeing, tie-dye techniques, and open conversations about sustainability. Set in a cozy garden in Amsterdam Noord, participants enjoyed the process while sharing wine, snacks, and good music - turning the day into both a creative and convivial experience.

A person holding a large sheet of thin, translucent material with embedded flower petals, against a light background.

BIOBASED MATERIALS

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BIOBASED MATERIALS *

I define biomaterials as the class of (biobased) materials - crafted or grown - that use natural and circular resources instead of fossil fuels or other toxic substances. In my practice, I explore materials that resemble plastics or leathers but are made from biopolymers and plasticizers of natural origin, designed to be fully compostable at the end of their life cycle.

In these workshops, participants are introduced to both the theory and the making of biomaterials. We experiment with recipes based on biopolymers such as gelatin, algae, and starch, and also explore grown materials like mycelium composites or microbial “leather” cultivated from kombucha scoby’s. The sessions combine hands-on experimentation with critical reflection on material culture and sustainability - inviting participants to rethink what materials are, where they come from, and how they could exist in the future.

Each workshop is adaptable to its audience: from curious newcomers eager to get a first taste of biomaterials, to designers and artists looking to deepen their practice and expand their material toolkit.

Fabricademy Online Tutorials

Embroidery tools and supplies, including embroidery hoop with a pink fabric, embroidery threads, sewing scissors, a marking pen, and a mending kit for circular heroes.

CREATIVE MENDING AND REPAIRING

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CREATIVE MENDING AND REPAIRING *

These workshops invite participants to reconnect with their garments through the art of repair. Using simple hand-sewing techniques, we transform holes, stains, and signs of wear into opportunities for creativity. Participants learn embroidery stitches to cover imperfections, practice darning to mend worn areas, and explore sashiko-inspired patterns that celebrate repair as a visible, beautiful act.

The sessions are hands-on, accessible for complete beginners, and designed to inspire a more caring, sustainable relationship with clothing—where every stitch is both a repair and a story added to the fabric of the garment.

Mending Workshops for Reflow project

For a glimpse into the content I share in these workshops, explore the recorded tutorials, handbooks, and step-by-step repair guides available on the  Instructables page hosted by Waag.

Say hello!

If you’re interested in a workshop, tutorial, presentation, or talk exploring these topics, I’d love to hear from you - get in touch to discuss how we can create a hands-on, inspiring experience together