Beautify handcrafted textiles, pigmented by plants
In SLO CAL (San Luis Obispo County), sustainability can be seen all around. Here local business owners put the environment and the community first. One of those owners is Bobbi Matuk, owner of Couleur de la vie.
Couleur de la vie is a SLO CAL Crafted® certified business located in Paso Robles, just down the road from world renowned wineries and Downtown City Park. At her studio and garden, both popping with vibrant colors, Bobbi creates one of kind pieces that are beautiful and unique. But that’s not where the story ends. Bobbi embraces sustainable practices to create her art. To learn more about Couleur de la vie and how this local business champions sustainable practices keep reading.
Sustainability
“We live in such an amazingly beautiful area and we want to keep it that way.”
Couleur de la vie means color from life which is an apt name as food waste and flowers (grown by Bobbi herself) provide pigments to naturally dye selected natural fabrics. By using plant products, beauty is created from the earth. And the by-products go right back into the earth.
Not only are the materials used to create these hand dyed pieces environmentally friendly, but Bobbi promotes the use of these natural hand dying techniques to bring new life to old fabrics/clothing. You can find natural dye kits on her website or attend one of her classes/workshops to learn how you can turn a thrift find into something fresh and one-of-a-kind.
About Natural Hand Dying
“I lay out my fabrics to use a natural fabric, silk, linen, cotton and you put plant pigments on it, some food waste, some flowers that I grow and then I bundle it up, steam it, and then you reveal it…”
Starting with fabric of plant or protein origin (such as silk and cotton), plant material is added and wrapped up. After the bundle is steamed, the colors are released and upon unfolding, the design is revealed!
Couleur de la vie offers scarves, cotton napkins, silk bandanas, dresses, camisoles, woold scarves, bedding and more. All are handmade, one by one and using raw materials that create natural variations from one to the next. All these factors mean that each fabric comes out truly unique – no two pieces are the same.
Community
“SLO CAL is definitely a place where the arts can thrive.”
You can check out Couleur de la vie wears for sale online and throughout San Luis Obispo County! Locations to purchase items include:
- Sea + Green Home Store in Cambria
- The Natural Tool Box in Pismo Beach
- Castoro Cellars in Paso Robles
- Lincoln Market Deli in San Luis Obispo
SLO CAL Crafted® celebrates quality, local products made, farmed and grown in SLO CAL (San Luis Obispo County). Made from local materials by a local artist, Couleur de la vie offers something uniquely and sustainably SLO CAL you can take with you after your trip.
To learn more, purchase a product or to book your workshop head to the Couleur de la vie website. And be sure to follow along on Facebook and Instagram for the newest bundle dye reveal!
