Jenny Balfour-Paul

Jenny Balfour-Paul is a writer, artist and traveler who has researched and worked with indigo for over twenty years. Her personal experience in dying with indigo, combined with first-hand experience from traveling and a Ph.D on the subject has made her the world's authority on Indigo and a celebrity in the natural dye scene. I still can't believe I was lucky enough to meet this remarkable woman!
Jenny's book Indigo, published in 1998 is the most comprehensive book on the subject. Just the photos themselves would make it worth having.

Jenny's enthusiasm and passion for her subject was obvious as she shared her unique collection of indigo-dyed fabrics, garments, rugs, tools and lengths of cloth created from a range of techniques from around the world.
Believe it or not, this natural dye expert also started as a batik artist! This is one of her first pieces - beautiful!

A gorgeous batik jacket from Southwest China dyed with Indigo.

One of Jenny's own pieces.

Blocks of Indigo from India

While in Nigeria, Indigo is made into balls.

This indigo was recovered from a Spanish ship that sank over 400 years ago! Believe it or not, it works even better than before!

The story of Indigo dye is as exciting and awe-inspiring as any epic novel. It's incredible blue color is often associated with political power or religious rituals and has played a vital role in many ancient civilizations for thousands of years. The more I learn about this incredible natural dye, the more I think - damn, why didn't I do an entire Watson YEAR on Indigo?!