New Vendor Feature: Holly Thompson of EcoPrint Fanatic

“I got started in eco-printing almost by accident, when a friend invited me to go to a half-day class to make a scarf,” says Holly Thompson of EcoPrint Fanatic, a small business that dyes silk and wool scarves using only natural dyes from leaves, barks, bugs, and more. 

Thompson, who does not wear scarves herself, instantly fell in love with the process of not using any artificial dyes—only leaves on a natural background. After that first class, she could not get enough of eco-printing and took classes all over the country from the top eco-printing instructors. 

“I never stop learning and experimenting,” Thompson says. “If something turns out ugly, who cares? I just try something new!”

A close-up of one of Thompson’s scarves available at ArtUs Co. Photo by Kaiti Neuman.

Part of the beauty of eco-printing is, as Thompson says, that “it’s rare when something turns out too hideous for somebody to love it.” So Thompson feels free to embrace creativity and try out everything she can get her hands on.

“I experiment with every weed, leaf and bark that I can find,” she says. “Most of the leaves are native to Austin, but a few are purchased, like eucalyptus, which prints a brilliant orange… I don’t know if marijuana leaves will print, and since they aren’t legal in Texas yet, it’ll probably be awhile before I find out. I do look forward to steaming some of them though!”

The process itself is delicate while still allowing a great deal of room for experimentation.

More scarf details from Thompson’s display at ArtUs Co. Photo by Kaiti Neuman.

First, Thompson will mordant, or treat in preparation for dyeing, the silk and wool scarves to help them hold color.

“I use a slight amount of iron water to quickly dip the fabric in for better reaction with the leaves,” she explains.

Next, she lays the scarf flat and arranges the leaves based on how she wants the print to come out. She then covers the scarf with a flannel blanket that has been soaked overnight in a natural dye bath before tightly rolling everything onto a 1-inch copper pipe, tying it together with string, and boiling or steaming the scarf and blanket like this for several hours. After this last step, she unrolls the scarf and peels off the leaves to reveal the pattern left behind.

“I never really know [what the final print will look like] until it comes out of my steaming or boiling pot,” Thompson explains, “because the dyes react differently on different fabrics and when mixed with iron or other modifiers.”

Thompson’s interest in the arts began long before that fateful eco-printing class. She earned her Master’s degree in music from The University of Texas at Austin before playing clarinet in symphony orchestras. However, this was not enough for Thompson to support herself, so she decided to switch gears and go into the high-tech industry.

“I desperately needed my artistic outlets, so I enjoyed crazy-quilting and embroidery and other fabric arts,” Thompson says.

Now that Thomspon is retired, she is able to fully devote her time to eco-printing in her new studio-shop hybrid “where there are no husbands or cats.”

We are so excited to have such a unique vendor in our store! Thanks so much for joining us, Holly!

Written by Kaiti Neuman.

EcoPrint Fanatic’s full display at ArtUs Co. Photo by Kaiti Neuman.