Where, on a trip to London, can I buy dyes and dye-related books?

Name: Filomena

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Country or region: Portugal

Message: Please. I am going to London next month. A year ago I went to a batik course. I tried to find the dyers here in Portugal but without success. My trip is to go and buy dyes, there in London. Dyers, some books. I already bought the cantings from EUA, from Dharma. I have done some wax works. Please could you telI me where to go, a shop in London where I can buy special the dyes. Thanks a lot

How exciting! I've never been to London, but I do have some information on dye suppliers in the UK, to get you started. Use a web mapping service such as Google Maps to look each one up, to find if any will be near the areas you'll be staying in.

In general, dye prices are significantly higher in the UK that in the United States, especially on Procion MX dyes, and Lanaset dyes are almost not available at all. Take a look at my page, "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World". The second section, European Sources for Dyeing Supplies, contains the UK entries as well as other European dye suppliers. These are the UK suppliers in my list:

George Weil / Fibrecrafts (UK - phone 0(+44) 1483 421853, fax 0(+44) 1483 419960; http://www.georgeweil.com, email esales@georgeweil.com). DEKA fabric paints and dyes, Procion MX type dyes, other dyes and fabric paints.
Kemtex Educational Supplies (Chorley Business & Technology Centre, Euxton Lane, Chorley, Lancashire, UK PR7 6TE; http://www.kemtex.co.uk/; Tel: 0 1257 230220; Fax: 0 1257 230225) procion, disperse, direct, acid dyes, and many others. No credit cards or e-mail; fax and money-transfer.
Omega Dyes (Cornwall, UK; http://www.omegadyes.co.uk/) Acid, direct, reactive, disperse ('transfer') dyes; 'Miracle Fix' for printing disperse dyes permanently onto natural fibers
Rainbow Silks (UK - 6 Wheelers Yard, High Street, Great Missenden, Bucks HP16 0AL; http://www.rainbowsilks.co.uk/; Tel: +44 (0)1494 862111, Fax: +44 (0)1494 862651) Jacquard Procion dyes, many silk dyes and paints, illuminant dye to use with discharge paste, blueprint fabric, disperse dye.
Textile Techniques (Shropshire, UK; http://www.textiletechniques.co.uk/). Javanese batik tools including many styles of cantings (tjantings), copper cap (tjap) stamps. Also batik classes, Procion MX type dye.

George Weil is not very far from London, 33 miles southwest of the center of London, at Old Portsmouth Road, Peasmarsh, Guildford, GU3 1LZ. However, Kemtex Educational Supplies is very far away in Lancashire, 200 miles to the northwest. Omega Dyes is far away, too, 110 miles to the west of London. Rainbow Silks is 39 miles northwest of the center of London at 85 High Street, Great Missenden, Bucks. Textile Techniques is almost 200 miles away, in Shropshire. It looks as though George Weil and Rainbow Silks are your best bets from that list.

Not included in the above list, C&H sells a full range of Dylon brand dyes, which are good dyes but less suitable for advanced dyers than other types of dyes, in Guildford, 30 miles southwest of the center of London, at 6a Tunsgate Square, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3QZ.

Here are some additional dye and textile-related things to consider seeing in London and nearby cities....

There is a Handweavers Studio and Gallery in London, located at 140 Seven Sisters Road, London N7 7NS, "a treasure trove for weavers, spinners, felters, dyers, embroiderers … in short, for textile artists, threadheads and fibre fiends of all persuasions", apparently also with a shop for dyes and other textile-related items. Check to see whether they sell books on dyeing, as well.

The Fashion and Textile Museum in London "is a cutting edge centre for contemporary fashion, textiles and jewellery."
The Lesley Craze Gallery in London "is an internationally recognised showcase for contemporary jewellery, metalwork and textiles."

Foyle's bookstore in London is said to have a wonderful collection of books on textiles that are not widely available. An even more highly-regarded bookstore for textile books is R D Franks, close to the London College of Fashion and near Oxford Circus. See, for example, their webpage about dyeing & printing books.

The Textile Society has textile-related events and exhibits, some in London, and some in February.

Of course, many of the larger museums have interesting textile-related exhibits, such as at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The Pitt Rivers Museum, 60 miles to the northwest of London, in Oxford, has a Textiles collection.

Silk painter Isabella Whitworth will be offering a class, "Dyes to die for", at Denman College, which is 70 miles west of London, at Marcham, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, 17th - 20th February 2011.

I hope you have a wonderful trip to London, and find exactly what you're looking for.

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Posted: Friday - January 14, 2011 at 08:14 AM

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Where, on a trip to London, can I buy dyes and dye-related books?

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