Women's Limited Artist Series: Loquat Leaves Bundle Dye

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Limited edition artist made. Dyed with foraged loquat leaves by Hawaii based artist Sasha Duerr. Each tee has a unique pattern.

  • Fabric: 100% organic cotton USA grown

  • Origins: Organic cotton grown in USA, spun + knit in USA, designed + sewn in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dyed with foraged loquat leaves by Sasha Duerr in Hawaii. Entirely USA domestic supply chain

  • Color: Rose and natural-white bundle pattern

  • Questions? We would love to help hello@harvestandmill.com

The work of Sasha Duerr

Color Medicine

This color collaboration focused on working with foraged loquat leaves. In the dye pot, the leaves yield a beautiful dye of earthy pinks, peaches and corals depending on how alkaline or acidic the water is. These tees and the warm glowing tones came from gently simmering and extracting the hue from the leaves and branches - no added mordant- and collecting rainwater as the source for the dye bath, creating color from medicinal ingredients.

The loquat tree is known for its ornamental beauty as well as its sweet and nutritious golden yellow fruit and medicinal teas made from its leaves. First originating in China, and then cultivated for over a thousand years in Japan, loquat has now also become naturalized in many other areas of the world. Loquat leaves have many noted medicinal properties especially for soothing the skin topically, boosting immunity, and are helpful for respiratory illnesses.

Sasha Duerr is an artist who works with plant-based color and natural palettes. She centers her plant-based practice on the collaborative color potential of weeds, food and floral waste, and local and seasonal ingredients. Teaching for over a decade at California College of Arts with a joint appointment in Textiles and Fine Arts, Sasha now consults, lectures and widely designs curriculum and courses in the overlay of natural color, slow food, slow fashion and social practice. She is the author of The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes (Timber Press/Workman 2011) Natural Color (Watson-Guptill/Ten Speed Press 2016) and Natural Palettes (Princeton Architectural Press 2020).

Loquat Leaf Tea Recipe

Loquat leaf tea made from the dark green leaves of the evergreen loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica.)

The leaves can be harvested and used fresh or carefully dried to reserve their dark green hue. When collecting, gather healthy green leaves, making sure to wash and clean and to thoroughly scrape the bronze underside of tiny hairs before drying leaves. Once leaves are dried they can be cut and stored for brewing.

Makes 8 Cups

Add 4 tablespoons (10 grams) dried loquat leaves to a tea pot.

Add 8 cups of just boiled water.

Brew for 5 minutes.

Strain tea.

Can be served hot or cold.

Learn more about Sasha Duerr and her work here.