Emily Parke-Koll
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
My studio and business, Dye Pro Services, is located in an industrial park in Calgary, Alberta. It is a 1,100-square-foot textile-dyeing and artistry studio space plus a 400-square-foot second-floor office and design studio. The studio space is broken up into various parts: a mixing room (where the powder dye is made into a liquid and where I do sampling), a storage room for dye powder, a printing area for handpainting and silk-screening, a fabric-drying area made up of two 60-inch-wide six-rung racks on pulleys, a shipping/receiving area, and a main center area that houses four stainless-steel dyeing vats, which are all ventilated (with makeup air) and are heated by an electric steam generator. The vats are approximately 1 gallon, 75 gallons, 250 gallons, and 400 gallons large. Fabric, garments, and slipcovers/draperies are custom dyed in a vat, depending on the size. When I am not dyeing for clients, I work on either developing my own body of work or experimenting with new materials and dyeing techniques. My inspiration board changes every couple of months and currently is made up of photos recently acquired from a two-week trip to Paris. (The photos are of mainly textured, aged, buried, and deteriorated items that are so beautiful that they stopped me in my tracks at the Louvre, where I first saw them.) My favorite part of the studio is every part of it--it is my nirvana! |
Emily Parke-Koll, The Cracks Are Starting to Show; silk crepe de chine; handpainted using cold-water dyes, starch, and paraffin/wax resist; 67" x 27". Photo: Emily Parke-Koll.
Website: www.dyeproservices.com. |
