ABOUT THE INDIGO FAMILY AND TRAVELLING SOLO IN NORTHERN THAILAND ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
bettysbeautifullife posted: " And it is the New Year already, 2024 already, time passes so fast when you are having fun learning and sharing as I have been doing for years now. The 2022 Indigo Family in Sakhon Nakhon I have always had a wide group of friends which I like t" THE LANSDOWNE HOUSE
And it is the New Year already, 2024 already, time passes so fast when you are having fun learning and sharing as I have been doing for years now.
The 2022 Indigo Family in Sakhon Nakhon
I have always had a wide group of friends which I like to call family, friends from home, friends from learning, friends from moving to Scotland, friends from travelling elsewhere, during the Covid crisis, friends discovered via online networks, and now I have been reminded that I have a special family linked with my love for the Indigo dye.
My family in Bali via The Threads of Life is forever in my mind and my brother Mann Crafts from Sakon Nakhon with whom I share regularly, Philip Hung my Bangkok designer friend who tries to Chanel the Indigo learning to the rich and famous, my Scottish friends who grow small scale but that does not mean they love less… did I have any space for more friends?
Mann craft my Sakhon Nakhon indigo brother
In the New Year of 2023/24 I was due to spend my time in Chiangmai Northern Thailand in a small location but on my own. Not really a problem as this place is so lovely and busing with so much activity, many places to visit, to have coffee, to eat…
But two days before New Year, I received this invitation from Kun Siripohn from Chiang Dao Blues, a lovely dye studio at the foot of the large mountain in Chiang Dao. We had been communicating in a digital Indigo Pigment Extraction online about working with Japanese Indigo. I asked if I could visit for one day (having to find a driver to take me the 90 minutes drive to find her), I received the answer … are you free for New Years Eve? And off course I was. When everyone else was busy partying and counting down I was very free indeed. So the Invitation came as "My friend is driving here he will take you on 31st and bring you back on the 1s" a very business arrangement… And on the 31st I was ready for pick up.
Kun Sak and Kun Songkran arrived in the golden car on the spot at 11am as planned and after the usual formal presentation it took about 3 minutes for us to realise we were so related… from the same craft bag we were wearing, to our very deep love for Indigo, Food and People it took us only a few minutes to become brother and sister and start the conversation … About growing Indigo, about making Vats, about Colour and about Farming Indigo… OMG such a geeky two days for anyone else that might have joined in but for me it was so perfect….. I can't remember having so much geeky fun for ages.
I have this tendency to hate the New Year moment with passion. It is when real values are never present and so much money and nonsense is around for a lot of people and for me a reminder of the little family I have around. It always makes me feel to depressed… but this year the 4 of us had such a good time exchanging, eating soooo much food (all organic and cooked by Kun Sak) so much hospitality in the wonderful home stay and studio of Kun Siripohn, I enjoyed the driving and thoughtful help from Kun Songkran and even Mr B did manage to phone me several times despite the poor network so we could exchange real wishes between long time lovebirds.
It made me realise that different things connect us in life but one of them is very strong and it is the desire to learn and share. On New Year day morning, We had a very dense session about sharing information on traditional fermented vats. It was so useful in information sharing but also it was such a good moment to each want to make sure the other understood well what we all knew together and I am so grateful for the information I gained on this day but also the way it arrived to me. On how we made sure we each gave each other such wonderful memory for that moment shared.
I have all hope that we will be with each other again at some point and hopefully soon but if we don't we have this exceptional moment of sharing to cherish. I have gained two brothers and one sister…. I am also a lot more clue up about fermentation vat…
Oh and did I say that we had the most wonderful coffee in the cutest coffee shop in Chiang Dao? We had great meals, We visited the Organic Indigo farm in the making Kun Sak is setting up, We visited a coffee grower … and all this happened because we all love the Indigo dye…
Don't underestimate the power of Natural dyeing. It is a sustainable way to colour the world but it also connects people together in a very strong and sustainable way.
Happy New Year to all, for now I am just back home and the jet lag is kicking in as I am writing this at 4am 🙂 but soon my learning and sharing will burst out towards my own community.
Best wishes to all of you reading, wishing you a lot of colourful connections this year.
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