Our founder, Nicola, is a chemistry teacher with a lifelong love of textiles. Leaving the classroom to follow a childhood dream of attending art college, Nicola was triggered by a strong desire to re-dress the careless use of synthetic dyes worldwide. She completed an MA with distinction in sustainable textile design at Chelsea College of Art and Design.
Inspired by her surroundings, Nicola transforms her sketches into flowing repeats and screen-prints them by hand in her garden studio. The delicate flowers of Achillea millefolium that grow in the garden every summer led to her first collection and thus, the birth of Madder Cutch & Co.
Our dyes are made from plant extracts such as woad, weld, madder and cutch (what’s in a name, right!) as well as pigments such as charcoal. We extract these using the most environmentally friendly methods to showcase our colours at their best. Those familiar with the Stamford area might recognise some of the locally inspired names!
Caring for your fabric:
As our colours are derived from natural sources and not chemical dyes, there can be some changes over time. Most are however, colourfast. The red dyes seem to change gradually over time to a more subtle hue. Such changes are part of the allure and beauty of natural dyes.
All our colours are tested using the ISO 105-BO2 standard. Further information is available; please contact us if you are interested to know more.
At Madder Cutch & Co. we create beautifully designed fabrics that are printed using sustainably sourced plant dyes and pigments. Our original designs are hand screen-printed on 100 % linen that is woven for us in the UK.