sustainable nettle fibre

The Allo (Nettle plant) occurs naturally in forests at altitudes above1500meters. These strong planants are amongst the strongest in the plant world. Nettle harvesting takes place towards the end of the monsoon season in August in Nepal and goes on until December when the plant begins to flower.

We source our Nettle directly from the people harvesting and preparing, spinning and weaving it into fabric ensuring fair trade principles and connection to the people.

The connection to this ancient process allows me to support the Nepalese people and the village where traditional ways give life to the fabric. Cultural memory lies within the fibre. A connection to the culture and people through time.

The material inspires form, collaboration informs the work.

Working with texture and creating shapes/garments for over 35 years, I came across a nettle shawl over 15 years ago and fell in love with its earth rich texture and raw form, the search for nettle began!

The deeply rich natural texture of nettle seemed to have the memory of the beginning of time bound in its fibres. .

Many years of garment cutting experience allowed me to work with nettle, not an easy fibre to work with, it can seem quite barren and difficult to manipulate.

Collaboration with nettle is like finding the perfect material/words for my creative language and it allows for the most beautiful visual poems to be expressed through my hands.

Nettle holds the story of the people through time coming together gathering the fibre, then spinning and weaving, stories of slow hand work and dedication, lovingly imbedded in every fibre,

Today nettle is processed in the same way it was at the beginning, no machines used. Nettle still retains the ancient knowledge of deep connection and presence to earth. I feel this connection as it is shaped through my hands.. a natural way of making and being.

Ancient knowledge impregnated in the fibre.. the story of evolution embedded within. Cultural memory- the connection to the culture and people through time.. the making process and its support of the village and the people.Collective effort and knowledge passed down from generation to generation.Pre historic recording twisted into thread.

The honouring of each thread in my making process, deserves a Zero waste design which follows the ancient way of making clothes.. rectangles squares and triangles cut in a way to be shaped into curves to follow the body.. as the very first garments would have been made.. necessity being the true inspiration.

Mistakes informing evolution and growth.. like the animal skin with a hole in it, and the first man to try it on around their head, creating the first ever poncho! This is the way I love to create.. seeing what is already there within, and drawing it out.

Nettle needs only natural rain to grow, and is self reproducing. Nettle is durable and is known as the most breathable natural fibre, its core fibre structure is unlike other natural fibre, it is able to absorb and release moisture better than any other natural fibre. Nettle as textile fibre dates back around 30,000 years!

Lost in time, but kept alive through folklore and reintroduced in modern times, nettle has the real potential to inspire sustainable change in the clothing industry.

Much dedicated time taken to gather, strip and spin the fibre into yarn and then weave it into fabric.. brings out the best form inspired by each unique piece of cloth.

The unique preciousness of each garment expressed in nettle hopefully can inspire a natural peaceful and present way of life.

Nature being the guiding force.