Link here to see who is on staff at Beautiful Silks.

Natural Dye Symposium 2012 - link here

2012 work experience programs - uni / TAFE click here or High School click here.

Workshops for 2012 are now being posted, get in quick as they fill fast - . Link here to see what's new.

Open Studio. Join Marlene (knitters group, 5pm )Marion and other staff members for creative time every Thursday afternoon at 5pm. Book Marion in advance by email or phone for one to one workings out of stumbling blocks to your creativity, or just simple technical advice about materials textiles etc.

EMBELLISHMENTS - new packs.

Click here to CHECK OUT OUR BLOG

Click here for information on FREE VIDEO LINK for established customers

New shipment now includes:

Silk velvet, heavy silk satin, new scarves and more

Artist in residence programme. Commencing this year we host artists in residence. Darryl McDonald embroiderer visited recently, and embroidered for a week. More artists will visit in 2010.

Els Van Baarle will be in Melbourne mid September and will host a wax resist workshop here.

Indian Sari Yarns - click here- We believe that we are the only Australian suppliers of these yanrs which are the highest quuality Sari yarns, more new stock arriving August 2010.

Tussah - now available. We believe that we are the only Australian suppliers of this fine product.

More quilts, more silk, and heaps of new linen lines.

Apart from great new workshops and stock lines we have a superb team of knowledgable people, including some of Australia's top young designers. We don't employ shop assistants... every one of our staff has specialised skill in her chosen area, including design, garment production, dyeing, knitting... so if you're trying to match the colour of the wedding dress you wore 20 years ago for your anniversary party, or you've picked an ususual pattern from a magazine, and no-one else can get that material or that colour or that style for you... we probably can do it all for you... source the material, match the colour and get the garment made. Ask for a consultation when you make an appointment to see us.

Through our links with the self-help organisation Vikasana in India we have been able to arrange custom making of ethical and environmentally-friendly soft toys for one of our associated businesses and craft items for another. We have tailors, embroiderers, toymakers, shoemakers, beading workers and a complete fair-trade supply chain waiting for orders. Your old made-to-measure garments can be mailed over to be faithfully copied in your preferred colours.

Our Directors are increasingly being invited to give key-note addresses on Sustainability and Ethics in Garment Production. Marion gave the keynote address at the Scarf Festival Opening Night in Geelong last June 2009 and a major address at the Brisbane Textile event of the year, also in June 2009.

Closed Good Friday and on these long weekends- Australia Day, Easter, Anzac, Queen's Birthday long weekends.

India 2008 - Our Mandya workshops have borne fruit. DVD now available $30 posted! DVD of India trip 2009 will be available from 5 January 2010.

Dolls and strings link here to more information and images

and silk handrolled cord has arrived, it's exquisite. Each pack is bagged with the name of the maker. These items are made with great hope that the work will be appreciated by our customers, we are proud to offer it to you. email us on marion@beautifulsilks.com

Master craftspeople visit Beautiful Silks

Designer biodegradable shopping bags – made from discarded silk scraps and expected to last up to 10 years – are being developed in a joint project between a group of poor Indian hand-workers, many of whom are homeless, and a Melbourne-based textile company.

Other product ranges include shawls, jackets, "ethnic" wear and ties. The products will be designed by Beautiful Silks in collaboration with independent textile artists India Flint, Nalda Searles and Susan Holmes. The shopping bags are an alternative to plastic.

As the average Australian uses at least 300 plastic bags a year, one silk bag is expected to save up to 3,000 plastic bags. Based on that comparison, each bag will save half a tonne of carbon from entering the atmosphere.

The products will be made using traditional Indian handicraft techniques. For the bags, highly durable silk fibres will be turned into string then woven before being dyed with ecologically sustainable plant inks.

They are being produced by a 600-member Indian women’s collective based in a rural village about 30 kilometres from Mysore in the south.

Run in collaboration with The Vikasana Institute of Rural Development, the project is providing employment for otherwise impoverished and severely disadvantaged women.

As part of the preparation for the project, BEAUTIFUL SILKS on 29 September 2008 hosted reparesentatives of Gujarat's KALA RAKSHA organisation.

A group of Australian craftspeople will join a group of Indian textile workers in Bangalore, India next month for the inauguration of the project. The organisers aim to quadruple the salary of the Indian participants within one year and to provide them with schools for their children, health care, housing and business advice.

If you weren't at our recent workshops you may have missed a lot of fun and information. Check our workshop pages for more info. If you would like to hold a workshop at our warehouse click here to email us for an information pack. Space rental with our marketing pack starts at $250 a day including GST

WANT GOODS MANUFACTURED IN INDIA OR CHINA?

We're thrilled to announce that as a result of Marion's successful India and China trips, we can now offer manufacturing even of small runs of silk garments or fabric on a cost-plus basis subject to minimum charges. Doesn't matter what shape, or colour, dyed or undyed, beaded, embroidered, printed, if it's silk we can do it. We also design, or assist you in your designs.

* NEW PRODUCTS

The Story of Silk - educational CD.
With over 40 slides of how our silk comes from its harvest in China to you, compiled by Marion and the elephant, with full technical glossary and explanation of various production techniques, this educational CD runs on Mac or Windows, has a history of production and is an excellent resource tool for students.

CD price COUNTER SALES $35/ POSTED $40

Mastering the Zipper - educational CD.
Sue Schulz, the Zipper Queen, joins with Beautiful Silks to produce this technical CD with photos and illustrations which show the student tips for the mastery of this difficult facet of garment production.

CD price COUNTER SALES $35/ POSTED $40

DYE, FELTING AND PATTERN-MAKING DVDs in production.

Last updated 9 November 2009