Wild at heart

WHEN TANIA BOWERS ISN’T STYLING HAIR AND MAKING UP BRIDES, YOU CAN FIND THIS JILL OF ALL TRADES IN HER STUDIO DABBLING IN THE ART OF ECO-DYEING FOR HER NEW LABEL, WILD BOTANIK. HERE TANIA TELLS US ABOUT HER MANY LOVES.

Artist, designer, hair stylist, eco-warrior – which label suits you best?

This totally depends on what time of the day you ask me! I think nowadays I’m really happy to be all those things and don’t feel like I need to be one or another. I can switch modes fairly easily.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

I was a musician/songwriter from my late teens into my 20s and really discovered the world through that medium. I travelled and made friends touring as part of the small-ish indie rock scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

When music didn’t pay the bills, I started working in Chicago for an artist/designer who helped shape the way I looked at things and encouraged my love of textiles. Together we re-worked garments we found in vintage stores and fl ea markets in New York and Paris, and I assisted her at fashion shows. It was a mix of high- and low-brow design that worked in perfect harmony.

Later on, my husband Joe, who’s a photographer, suggested I get into hair and makeup, so I crossed over into set work and began collaborating with photographers.

How did your career path change when you moved to the Blue Mountains?

When Joe, our daughter Frida and I came to the mountains just under three years ago, I knew I would have to change industries slightly. I found that weddings were a big thing here and it was easy enough to transfer my skills in hair and makeup from on-set to working with brides, and it was much more satisfying.

I switched to using organic hair products when I realised the harsh chemicals used in traditional salons were damaging – and just not for me.

What is eco-dyeing, and how did you get into it?

Eco-dyeing is a craft, and a science, whereby cloth is steamed and boiled with mordants (fi xatives) to extract natural colour from fl ora and fauna.

I decided to get into eco-dyeing soon after we started living up here. I had put away a lot of my crafty things and was establishing myself as an organic hairdresser when I discovered a book by India Flint, a pioneer of ecodyeing using native botanicals. I was learning all about the chemical reactions in dyeing hair and much of the theory was the same, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Under my label Wild Botanik, I now work with beautiful Blue Mountains fl ora and local stylists and fl orists to make hand-dyed ribbons, scarves, table runners, curtains and clothing – or whatever can be made from fabric. One of my favourite things to do is off er brides a silk scarf made from their bouquet. It’s a great keepsake of their wedding day.

What do you see yourself doing in fi ve years’ time?

All I really know is things will shift again and again. I’d be happy to keep doing what I’m doing – hairdressing, wedding hair and make-up, and eco-dyeing, with hopefully a new folk record thrown into the mix. BML

YOURS TO KEEP

WILD BOTANIK PRODUCTS CAN BE PURCHASED FROM THE FOLLOWING: • ONLINE AT FLORALINK.COM.AU/SHOP • LYTTLETON STORES, LAWSON • PLATFORM GALLERY, KATOOMBA • THE LITTLE FLOWER SHOP, LEURA AND WENTWORTH FALLS

WILDBOTANIK.COM