A re-enchantment of place, tuned to the rhythm of our hands
Between 11 am and 7 pm on Saturday, November 8th, The Only Animal shares ‘magic tricks with natural dyes’ – demonstrating hands-on methods for colour transformations with fabric – in four one-hour sessions. Participants will work with natural materials while listening to guest artists tell personal stories about how their experiences with natural dying connects them to place, land and culture.
Presented by Music on Main and The Only Animal Theatre
Luddite Land Assembly is generously sponsored by Jim & Lisa Peers
SESSION 1: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Featured Storyteller: Daphne Woo
Featured Dye Material: Logwood
Daphne will talk about how her experience working in industrial fashion at NIKE and lululemon athletica inspired her shift towards slow fashion, natural dyes, and processes that connect her to land and people.
About Daphne Woo
Rooted in the traditional, ancestral, and stolen territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples, Daphne Woo 胡 可 欣, carries the stories and legacy of her family as a second-generation settler of Chinese ancestry. Her early immersion in arts and textiles encouraged a spirit of exploration and experimentation which led to studies in Fashion Design & Technology at Kwantlen College and diverse roles at Nike European Headquarters, Asics Europe B.V., and lululemon athletica. A decade of working in the Netherlands reshaped Daphne’s sense of belonging and her perspective on migration, identity, and adaptation.
Adventures on the Yukon River, and travels through Asia in 2016, renewed her relationship with land and revived her practice with Amacata Design Concepts, marking a return to personal values, community and working with natural materials and dyes. More recently, Daphne has dedicated herself to art, teaching, and (un)learning, cultivating a thoughtful connection to land and community.
Featured Storyteller: Rita Point Kompst
Featured Dye Material: Mushrooms
Rita Kompst will share how weaving with cedar and wool, and working with natural plant dyes and mushrooms, have been part of her healing journey. This session features mushrooms gathered for Rita by her friend, mycologist and artist Willoughby Arévalo.
About Rita Kompst
Rita was born and raised in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm culture. Her late father Joe Becker was a former Musqueam Chief, a carver and a fisherman. After he passed, Rita started cedar weaving as per her cultural teachings. Over the next 7 years, as she experienced several personal losses, she continued weaving as part of her healing journey. Several years ago, her mentor Todd Devries encouraged her to begin teaching cedar weaving which she now does full-time.
Featured Storyteller: Bernarda
Featured Dye Material: Marigold
Bernarda will share her journey to reconnect with her Indonesian culture through the ups and downs of understanding the practice of traditional batik dyeing. Her project ‘The Batik Library’ seeks to connect people through workshops, resources and one-of-a-kind, naturally-dyed pieces that raise awareness of Indonesian culture through the method, stories, and history of traditional batik.
About Bernarda
Bernarda is a fashion designer and textile practitioner dedicated to raising awareness of Indonesian batik. With years of experience in design and a deep commitment to environmental care, she works closely with artisans using natural dyes and traditional methods. Now based in Vancouver, she facilitates hands-on batik workshops across the Lower Mainland, sharing the beauty of her heritage. Her practice bridges craft, culture, and sustainability, inspiring others to connect with tradition and nature.
Featured Storyteller: Valérie d. Walker
Featured Material: Reflecting the Needs of Indigo
Valerie will share stories and samples from her work as an Indigo Griot, as she guides us in simple shibori techniques to dip fabrics in small iron indigo vats. Valérie’s work centres the slow magic of growing a relationship to indigo, offering reflections from her decades-long collaborations with bio-fermented indigo vats, who truly have a life of their own.
About Valérie d. Walker
Valérie d. Walker is a Renaissance Artist, alchemyst, transmedia maker, educator, curator, Indigo Griot, Radio-Wave creatrix, and BIPOC Femme Afro-Futuristic transmitter. With lifetimes of Indigo knowledge, Valérie’s practice explores enviro-positive natural dyeing & printing, fibre-based responsive installations, tactile virtual spaces, solar-powered circuits, story-telling, epigenetic memories, environmentally healing studio processes, craft-based techniques, digitalia & imagining, programming, sensoriality, and Afro-Futurism.
She is a graduate of UC-Berkeley and NSCAD University, and holds 5th level Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) & Chado (tea-ceremony) degrees with Urasenke-Kyoto. She currently teaches Interdisciplinary Foundation Studio, Interactive Wearables, Electronics for Artists, FibreShed Regeneration (TARP) Indigo naturally, and programming for Grrlz with community empowerment centers. She is an artist in residence at the Malaspina Downtown Printing Studios and has her own bio-fermented natural indigo dye studio in East Vancouver.
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