Love of textiles and dyeing is a uniquely-human

pleasure that runs through all cultures and societies, former local girl, Karen Davis believes.

Karen, along with business partner, Pepa Martin founded Shibori Textiles in Sydney which aims to push the boundaries of “shibori”, an ancient Japanese craft of textile dyeing.

Karen is bringing this special experience back to Orange in mid-May with two try and find-out classes for both adults and children.

Shibori’s appeal comes from its almost magical physical qualities, Karen believes. “It’s the unexpected nature of how you can create patterns when you do these crafts which are 4000 years old.

“There’s an unpredictability, you have to let go, to a certain degree,” she explained.

Karen believes that many of us lose our creative selves as we become adult, with children still maintaining an uninhibited imagination well-suited to free-form dyeing.

“It’s how a kid will create something without any self-consciousness and say, ‘look what I did!’, it’s like that,” Karen said.

The tactile nature of the craft is also part of its magic, she believes.

“We use indigo dye, which is not soluble in water, it’s green, but when it comes-out it goes a brilliant blue. It just feels a little like alchemy,” she explains.

The classes are not designed to provide in-depth knowledge of the craft, but a “taste-test” of what possibilities — emotional as well as technical — this unique craft provides.

“The whole aim of the class is to de-stress people, to help them use other parts of their brains,” she said.

Karen and Pepa also plan to utilise the disciplines of this ancient Japanese craft to push the boundaries of what is possible with two-week classes in Orange in September designed to study the techniques in-depth. “We’ll be playing around with different techniques in September,” Karen said.

Shibori Fabrics have been used by some of Australia’s top designers in both fashion and interiors and their hand-dyed leathers and commercial fabrics and wallpapers can be seen in venues all over the world.

Pepa and Karen regularly host workshops at their studio in Stanmore as well as other venues all over the city.

As well as teaching, Shibori textiles have a range of commercial and upholstery fabrics produced by textile company “Materialised”, and easy to hang wallpaper range by “Milton and King”. They have also collaborated on a collection of prints with Design company “The Designer Boys”.

With the flexibility of their trade, the pair has collaborated on some unique projects including: a full-scale dip-dyed hot air balloon; fabric inlayed surf boards made by McTavish and Sibella Court; as well as a homewares range with Lee Mathews.

In 2013, Pepa and Karen released a range of wallpaper reflecting their hand-done aesthetic.

Each design is hand-dyed before being digitally printed on high-performance wallpaper.

Following a media splash on its release, the wallpaper has already been used as a backdrop for Australian Fashion Week and for an international marketing campaign by one of Australia’s largest retailers.

Karen says that her love of fabrics has led her on an incredible journey. “We’re all connected by fabrics; I can’t believe sometimes that this is my full-time job.

“I’ve travelled all around the world, worked on fabrics for Disney movie sets, had my own stuff in exhibitions. It’s been a really amazing experience for a girl who went to Canobolas High!”

With all her family still living locally, she would love to pass on some of her experiences to students in the local area on one of her visits home.

“I’d like to visit Canobolas High School to demonstrate the possibilities that are out there for students, if they are willing to follow their dreams… that’s my plan, anyway.”