North Home Sleepwear Collection
A beautiful range of goods bush-dyed by artists living in remote communities in Australia
North Home continues celebrating Aboriginal Australian artists—and the beauty and diversity of their traditions, skills and crafts—with their new sleepwear collection, which launches today. Made up of just three pieces, the range is lush, textured and sublime. Each piece is carefully bush-dyed by Anindilyakwa women living in the remote Groote Eylandt Archipelago—an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, about 391 miles from Darwin. The process is one full of rich history and creativity.
Each 100% silk item (a robe, cami and shorts) is made in Australia and will be unique, thanks to the dying process. First the Anindilyakwa women go into the bush to collect a selection of roots, leaves, bark and berries native to Groote—choosing the right ones is thanks to generations and millennia worth of knowledge and tradition. The women then head back to the community, where all the ingredients are boiled in a big drum on an open fire. Each silk piece is wrapped around found objects (from leaves to branches and more) in order to create intricate designs and patterns. The pieces are boiled in the dye for around an hour, and take on the colors and shapes crafted by the artists, inspired and formed by the land.
The company (which is working toward becoming entirely not-for-profit, ideally by the end of this year) channels all profits from sales directly back into the organization in order to continue relationships with indigenous art centers and communities, contributing to their financial gain.
Specifically working with people in the northern parts of Australia, North Home ensures that those benefiting from sales are those making the goods, living in remote communities. While, of course, offering lovely high-quality homewares and apparel to customers, the company’s main goal is to preserve tradition, pride and dignity among Aboriginal Australian artists—fairly and ethically.
North Home CEO and founder Crystal Thomas says the collection is made to dream in—a probability considering the long history, personal process and sheer beauty of the resulting pieces.
All North Home products are available to purchase online. The sleepwear collection starts at $175 AUD.
Images courtesy of North Home
