Etsy

Batik is a resist surface design technique. Hot wax is applied to the fabric, which penetrates the fibers and blocks the colored dye from the front and the back. Most of my work here is printed using special batik stamps that are made from copper. This technique was developed in Indonesia at the turn of the century, in an attempt to produce a cheaper batik fabric for the European market. The traditional way of making a batik cloth is with a small, special pen, which is much more time consuming and difficult to replicate.

Up until very recently, I have been using only antique Indonesian copper batik stamps, carved foam stamps and tjanting tools to create my patterns. However, recently I've begun sending my own drawings to a batik cooperative in Indonesia, where they have been translated into copper stamps. The first of such stamps is my new bunny pattern.

All of the batiks in my shop are hand printed, painted or drawn, dyed, boiled, laundered and pressed by me. My dyes are created in small batch dyes, from rainwater I collect from my shop roof. I use more time in the dyeing and soaking, so that I can reduce the amount of dye powders, salts and ash necessary to create vibrant colors, without sacrificing my ability to create such bright cloth. I boil my fabrics to remove the wax, so that your fabric has a soft hand and is fairly absorbent right from the beginning, but also because this allows me to reuse my wax for many years. The long process a fabric must go through in this technique means that custom orders, even of very small pieces, can take weeks to complete.

After dyeing, the wax must be removed from the fabric. I use the boiling method, which ensures that each batik piece can easily withstand even the hottest machine washing!

During dyeing, the melted wax cracks in places, giving the batiked fabric its characteristic veiny lines and textures. Even after boiling and washing the fabric, the fibers will remain stiff from the wax for a while. The more you wash the fabric, the softer and more absorbent it will become.

All of my products are made out of 100% natural fibers of some sort, because only those fibers will accept a the types of dyes that I use. I would love to work with you to make a custom order. please click on the "alchemy" link in my shop.


here are some blog posts that mention my work:

check out my TeamT interview here! http://teamtreasury.blogspot.com/2011/03/member-feature-margot-margotbianca.html

decor8
http://decor8blog.com/2010/05/18/etsy-take-five-tuesday-46/

Roxxn.com
http://roxxn.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/etsy-batiks-by-margot/

DharmaDesigns
http://dharmadesigns.blogspot.com/2008/11/meet-etsy-artist-margotbianca.html

smorgasbite
http://www.smorgasbite.com/

Feminine Modern
http://www.michelle-s.com/femininemodern/?m=200810

modish:
http://blog.modishhandmade.com/modish/2008/05/for-the-mums-in.html

The Soulful Home
http://the-soulful-home.typepad.com/thesoulfulhome/2007/05/what_do_you_do_.html

Design this Design that
http://designthisdesignthat.blogspot.com/2007/01/batik-linens.html

Apartment Therapy
http://chicago.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/bedding-blankets/batik-bed-sheets-018447

Design Sponge
http://designsponge.blogspot.com/2007/02/tulips.html

The functional work I sell here is just part of what I do. If you'd like to see examples of prints, drawings, installations and other projects I'm doing, you can check out my website and my flickr page:

margotbmyers.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/margot_b_myers/

i also have this other etsy shop, which is currently empty. but someday soon i hope to list some prints and other work there:

margoTprints.etsy.com

I was an etsy featured seller, way back when...if you'd like to read the interview, here's the link:

http://www.etsy.com/featured_seller.php?featured_user_id=76929