Our Well Worn series is an exploration of the people and processes that define a more intentional way of living and creating. For this feature, we delve into the world of Calyx Studios, where color is more than a visual experience: it is a form of contemplation. Founded by multidisciplinary natural dyer Cara Marie Piazza, the studio operates at the intersection of industry and alchemy, transforming botanicals, minerals, and food waste into "conscious colors." By translating inner landscapes into cloth, Calyx creates a pathway toward healing, reflection, and a vital reconnection with the living world.
We sat down with Cara to discuss her transition from the traditional fashion world, the "terroir" of natural dyes, and the stories we tell through our hands.
Tell us about your studio, Calyx.
Calyx Studios is a multidisciplinary natural dye house working in collaboration with the natural world. The studio weaves color as a form of contemplation—using botanicals, plant matter, minerals, non‑toxic metals, and food waste to translate inner landscapes into cloth. At Calyx, industry meets alchemy, and creative play becomes a pathway towards healing, reflection, and reconnection with the living world. We create our conscious colors by only using natural dyestuffs such as botanicals, plant matter, minerals, non-toxic metals, and food waste, transforming each project into its own unique story. By sharing this knowledge, our studio believes we can help empower and heal with creative play. We offer workshops and immersive experiences on the public and corporate scale for natural dyeing, curating unique experiences merging healing, color resonance, and art.
At Calyx, industry meets alchemy, and creative play becomes a pathway towards healing, reflection, and reconnection with the living world.
What drew you to begin working in natural dye? What were you doing before this?
I first found the medium of natural dyes at University. I went to the Chelsea College of Art and Design, where I was studying Textiles. I had wanted to work in fashion, but the more I learned about the industry's toxicity — both environmentally and mentally — the more I felt caught in a paradox: how do I participate in something I love without contributing to its harm? Then, almost serendipitously, a wonderful woman came in to teach us how to dye with onion skins. The alchemical process of transforming food waste into color had me transfixed. I dedicated my thesis year to the practice and never looked back.
What are some of your influences?
My process is a very intuitive process, but natural dyes come with a set of rules. Almost like baking. Once you learn the rules, you’re allowed to ice the cake however you like. In the field of natural dyes, I have and am inspired by natural dyers like India Flint–her book, Eco Colour, was my bible in the beginning. Audrey Reynolds, who dyed the dresses of my first internship’s fashion show, and Kathy Hattori of Botanical Colors (where I now am the Creative Marketing Director). Friends like Natalie Stopka and Liz Spencer have also been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of my own dyeing process. It’s been wonderful that we all get to learn and be inspired by each other.
Spiritually, I am influenced by the alchemical arts, Jungian analysis, theorists like Buckminster Fuller, Ezio Manzini, Robin Wall Kimmerer. Aesthetically, I love the work of Leonora Carrington, Hilma Af Klint, Emma Kunz, Yto Barrada, Pina Bausch, John Cage… oh, the list goes on…Dare I say the most corny response is being influenced by nature itself?
How do you think about food waste as a creative material, and how do you source these ingredients?
I have worked with composting companies and restaurants in the past to collect their scraps. We usually do this on a project-by-project basis, after I learned the hard way that collecting and processing food waste can be a job in itself. I used to collect 5-gallon buckets from the Wythe Hotel; it was something! The beauty of food waste as a creative material is that its use is helpful to us to understand the full life cycle of a plant. All parts can be used. It’s miraculous really. It’s funny because most people think that cabbage, hibiscus, and turmeric are all good natural dyes, when actually they’re not. They’re not light-fast or substantive, so while they might stain your marble countertops, they will wash out of your clothing and fade. I believe this is nature's way of showing us to eat our food and use what we would typically discard to dye our clothing. There is also a gorgeous parallel here that we’ve forgotten to observe: the rind of the fruit or vegetable–ie pomegranate, bark, husk, skin–is usually quite rich in tannin and is antibacterial, so as it is protecting the plant, when used to dye our clothing, it protects our skin, and protects us too.
Can you walk us through what natural dye variability actually looks like in practice? Is it ever frustrating, or is that unpredictability part of the appeal?
Natural dyes have a terroir like wine, a provenance. So while this can be appealing for an aged merlot or fine cheese, this can potentially be frustrating for a client if not explained properly. Everything from the pH of the water used for the dyeing, to the time of harvest, health of the soil, time of year the plant was harvested, your mood that day, the moon cycle (kidding, but not really) can affect the hue. My thesis is that we can use this to our advantage. Luxury brands can use the exclusivity of the regional color as a marketing advantage, scarcity but reframed, it’s actually inherently sustainable.
Natural dyes have a terroir like wine. A provenance... Everything from the pH of the water to the health of the soil can affect the hue.
When you're working with fashion brands, how do you approach the conversation about why natural dyeing matters — especially when it's slower and more labor-intensive?
I dive right in, and I might be slightly irreverent. I’ve been blessed to have been able to use my platform to attract clients who understand the process. I simply show what I love, and I believe it resonates. My clients want the process, they want the story, they get that the cost equals quality and time.
My clients want the process, they want the story; they get that the cost equals quality and time.
You’ve described yourself as fundamentally a storyteller. What story are you trying to tell through your work right now?
This is a story I need to tell myself as well, but patience, time, and our hands are all we have to connect us to our human story. With the rapid expansion of AI, the recent political & climate crises, I believe now, as artists, it’s our duty, our job to tell the story of the way we can build the new world. It’s our job to live and dream of the new networks and “utopian” ways of existing. We’re so caught up in the apocalyptic vision of the future, we’re forgetting to write new stories of the potential of the way we CAN live in harmony with one another. Whatever that might look like.
Patience, time, and our hands are all we have to connect us to our human story.
How can our readers get involved with Calyx Studio?
Follow us along @caramariepiazza and www.calyxstudios.com, where you can sign up for our newsletter for retreats and events. The next retreat we have coming up is a Natural Dye Retreat in a restored Monastery in Puglia, Italy this October.
Images | Dan McMahon @imageheavy
Special thanks to Cara Marie Piazza @caramariepiazza