Edie Ure’s Plant-Dyed Pillows Bring the Outdoors In

After an unexpected move from New York to Boulder left native-Londoner Edie Ure out of her element, she eventually found herself again while working on a natural dye project for a friend’s knitwear line. Drawing on skills learned in a local indigo dyeing workshop and her background in fashion, she launched an eponymous line of plant-dyed, silk-velvet pillows, which flawlessly capture the natural colors of her Rocky Mountain surroundings. “They’re like having an amazing vase of flowers inside,” she says, “but instead it’s a pillow!” We catch up with Ure on all things design.

Textile designer Edie Ure makes natural dyes using flowers and plants to create her line of silk-velvet pillows.

Textile designer Edie Ure makes natural dyes using flowers and plants to create her line of silk-velvet pillows.

She uses a variety of natural elements for her dyes, including wood chips from acacia trees for pink hues, ground hibiscus flowers and other dried flowers, which she keeps organized in jars.

She uses a variety of natural elements for her dyes, including wood chips from acacia trees for pink hues, ground hibiscus flowers and other dried flowers, which she keeps organized in jars.

Working from her backyard studio in Boulder, she hangs fabric swatches in the sun to test different dye recipes.

Working from her backyard studio in Boulder, she hangs fabric swatches in the sun to test different dye recipes.

What’s your favorite color palette of the moment? I am very into all the earthy colors you can get with natural dyes–green, soft pink, mustard yellow, lavender blue, charcoal. Culturally there has been a big shift towards nature, more of an awareness around sustainability due to climate change and the need to slow down. These colors are healing, soft and optimistic rather than always wearing black and feeling like we’re walking around at a funeral.

How do you get your creative juices flowing? Not surprisingly I’m inspired by nature. I teach a lot of natural-dye classes, and sometimes we will experiment with a new plant or flower I found on a hike and the color we extract from it is just so perfect I have to capture it. That’s one of the reasons I started my pillow line, because I wanted to use up all the beautiful colors I made in my classes.

Tell us about your all-time favorite piece in your home. I adore my Garza Marfa Saddle Leather Oval Chair. It has huge leather stitches, which sew the seat of the chair onto the frame–it’s such a beautiful detail.

The design firm I look up to the most is..Apparatus Studio. They design lighting, furniture and sculptural objects and work with the most beautiful, imperfect, organic materials, plus brass, copper, horsehair, marble and leather. Their forms are incredibly chic and desirable.

PHOTOS: REBECCA STUMPF