Bilum

A bilum is a string bag used in everyday life in Papua New Guinea. It is usually made of yarn or other thick string, using a net making technique.
I used to live in PNG for 1,5 years, enjoyed it very much. I chose the word bilum as my shop name because the bilum and my time in Papua New Guinea is part of who I am now.

Luxury

Well, I love luxury yarns.
When I started dyeing yarns, I dyed everthing that I could get my hands on. As I got more and more experience and tried different yarn bases, I decided to go with unique, luxury yarns, made of silk, camel, yak, cashmere and organic merino wool.

Natural

I only dye natural yarns, spun mainly of animal fibers. I do have some sock yarn in stock from previous times (sock yarn does have some polyamid in it) but I won't dye them any more.

Hand dyed yarns

I love colors, I love learning new things and trying out new techniques and figuring out stuff for myself. I came across dyeing yarn a few years ago and fell in love. I started experimenting with different techniques and soon I had more yarn than I could have used in years. This was the time when I decided that I would sell the yarns I dyed. Since then I have developed a few techiques of my own, have mixed lots of gorgeous colors and have worked with lots of yarn bases. And I still enjoy the process!

How is it done

I use professional acid dyes. I use kettle dyeing, hand painting and in most cases both to achieve the colors I see in front of me before I start dyeing. I get inspired by lots of things, the nature around us has beautiful colors, but sometimes I just notice a color on someone's skirt and match it up with another one seen on a car. It is a fun process!