Hannah Elisabeth Jones

Lliw Lleol: Valuing Colour from Locally Foraged Plants Throughout the Year

‘Lliw Lleol’ (Local Colour) is a comprehensive natural dye database, investigating colours obtained from locally foraged common plants and weeds. The database tracks the seasonal changes throughout each month and maps the connection to specific geographies in Hannah’s home of North Wales. 

Since September 2019, Hannah Elisabeth Jones has documented mordant-free colour from 54 plants and she will continue foraging each month until August, to collect a year’s worth of research. Hannah uses unbleached, organic materials and carefully forages a small quantity of plants that are abundant in the local area, to conserve and protect each species.

The consumer society rarely considers the origins of colour in materials. Therefore the purpose of this research is to heighten awareness of how colours and fibres are either grown naturally or chemically synthesised. Ultimately, 'Lliw Lleol’ encourages acceptance and emotional durability of mordant-free, naturally dyed materials and promotes conscious consumption, or better still, less consumption of materials altogether.