The jewelry by Tinctory is beyond beautiful, such delicate textures and exquisite colors. Watching her creations you can feel (taste and smell) the nature. And it changes how the nature changes – through the colours and shapes.

Tinctory is a word that may not exist but if it did it would mean a place where things are dyed. Tinctor means ‘dyer’ in Latin.

The woman behind Tinctory is Eva, who lives in the UK. All her jewellery is made entirely by hand and goes through an intensive process that includes the embroidery technique, smocking. The smocking is functional, as well as decorative. It was developed in the Middle Ages and is used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Long before there was fantastic elastic, there was smocking. When you look at Eva’s pieces you can really feel she has captured a historical essence in her interpretation of this age-old technique.

Also Eva is a keen dyer, especially using the natural colours – eucalyptus leaves, Japanese indigo, berry dye, hawthorn berries, alder cones, acorns, all possible flower petals…

The most of the plants she used for dyeing she grows by herself.

“I’ve prepared the balcony garden and have even been seduced by this warm spell into sowing the seeds now. This year I’m sowing straight into the outside containers and I’m growing woad, yellow cosmos and weld. Just one or two plants of each. It may not be enough for dyeing but I simply want to see what they look like when they grow. This is all gathering of experience for a real dye garden one day.”

The crisp organza silk for this necklace (above) was dyed with eucalyptus leaves. There’s a gentle raw edge running through the middle of it like a path, glass (grass?) seeds glint from inside the pleats and a golden tassel of them is caught on the dark chain.

The picture below shows a new spiral shell with red stripes. Madder over hawthorn berries. With a delicate little pearl and a sea spray of opalescent beads. Washed out on the beach right here.

Using fabric manipulation Eva folds vintage and new dyed fabrics into accordian-esque geometries.Inspired by historic textiles, geometric patterns in nature, variation and repetition, romance and fairytales, she produces each design by hand. Many of the pieces are made by repurposing vintage silk or hand dyed materials using natural dyes.

For more information please visit tinctory.blogspot.com/