Writer, mother and all-round plant lover, Rebecca Desnos is a natural dyer from the UK. Blending her love of making and storytelling, she self-publishes books and magazines which immerse the reader in the magic of plants.

“Plants are central to my creativity and botanical dyeing quite literally changed my life. I'm happiest when I create things with my hands and spend time connecting with nature - either walking outside or at home dyeing with plants.

To me, dyeing is more than just making colours on fabric: it's a way to nurture a closer relationship with nature. Gathering plants for my dye pot helps me pay more attention to the beauty of the changing seasons. It's a whole new way of experiencing life; it is so energising and quite simply feels like magic.

You will begin to notice new plants that you've never stopped to look at before, as you continually wonder what colour they could make in your dye pot. It's an endless journey of discovery.”

In 2016 Rebecca wrote Botanical Colour at your Fingertips sharing her simple methods for plant dyeing. Initially an e-Book she self published a paperback version in response to reader demand.

When pregnant with her second baby, she began to consider the therapeutic properties of dye plants, realising there were many parallels between dyeing cloth with botanicals and making herbal oil infusions. Thinking beyond colour, she started to look at ways to infuse the healing properties of plants into fibres.

From this seed of an idea, she followed her intuition and grew an entire magazine called Plants are Magic.

Launched in 2017, Plants are Magic brings together plant creatives and experts to explore the relationships between their crafts, and the connection to their plants.

Rebecca releases one new issue of Plants Are Magic each year. Volume 5 is due out in the second quarter of 2020 and the theme will be Self Care.

Portrait photo credit Siobhan Watts