We have relocated to Portugal 🇵🇹🌿♥️

APOTHECARY & NATURAL DYE STUDIO


Hi, my name is Val and I am passionate for plants and art. 

~ photographed by the talented Sami Drasin @samidrasin ~

                                                              

⋒ 

As a herbalist and constant nature admirer, I feel it is my passion and duty to discover the ancient ways of healing and living that our ancestors have been utilizing for years. By coming in contact with plants, honoring them and being devoted to our inspirited earth, the land we live on and live from, we can incorporate plant medicine into our lives and experience the sacred healing they provide us. We then connect to her, learn her ways and share her wisdom with other earthlings. Always bringing awareness to the treat it is to be alive and be one with her. Our presence is alchemy. The land is happier when we are tending to it. This is the reason why I, as an earth keeper, vow to protect and care for her and also to spread the message of staying connected to nature, being in tuned with her slow pace and being gentle with her.

I believe in the power of herbal medicine, holistic health and sustainable living. In the fall of 2019 I dove deeper into the world of herbalism and decided to study herbalism by attending The Gaia School of Healing in the mountains of Malibu, CA.

I find so much beauty in honoring the powerful healing and teachings from plant medicine by creating herbal medicine and skin care for Earthen Yourself. 

I admire not only the healing powers of plants, but their shape and color too. Our world inspires and helps create color directly from nature.

It is a pleasure to share my love for nature celebrating the unburied method of natural dyeing through this mesmerizing journey I've embarked on with myself, mother earth and now with you.

It is truly a blessing to be able to borrow colors from the earth through such a sustainable practice. It is essential to keep a harmonious and balanced relationship with the Earth.

 

 

 

...A harmonious and balanced relationship with Earth... The “Art" of Natural Dyes...
"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul" - Dieter F Uchtdorf.
I've been able to express my inner-self whenever I feel inspired to free myself and communicate through different ways.
I've discovered the world of natural dyes and I am delighted to now be able to consider it an art. I have witnessed the color creation process from plant to cloth by honoring the elements: earth, air, fire, water. I fell in love with color. I felt the need to create more. I have awakened the desire of curiosity to find out what other colors can be extracted from Pachamama. A whole palette of colors comes from a large range of herbs, fruits, leaves, seeds, barks, roots and vegetables. There is so much to discover. There is so much to create.
"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order" - John Burroughs.
I've experienced dyeing both plant and animal fabrics such as hemp, linen, cotton, silk, alpaca and sheep with colors derivated from eucalyptus, indigo, cochineal, black walnut, mulberries, carrot tops, avocado, onions, beets, sage, cabbage, rosemary, quebracho, cutch, black beans, mushrooms, hibiscus, osage, and more... 
There are a few different methods for natural dyes with both plant fibers such as cotton, linen and hemp; and animal fibers like wool, silk or alpaca. The summarized process of natural dyes is 'scouring' which means pre-washing the fabric by removing all possible residues from manufacturing; 'mordanting' which is used to aid the wash and color fastness; and 'dyeing' where the fabric finally gets the color from the plant or natural element.
 
There are infinite colors all around you. I invite you to think what colors are surrounding you? What can you create with the natural elements at your immediate environment?
 
Valeria Zabalgoitia
earthen yourself's creator, herbalist, earth keeper, natural dyer, nature lover.