Original botanical textiles shaped by the meeting of nature, material and artistic practice.
01The craft
Chosen and laid by hand, each leaf brings its own shape, veins and colour.
Cotton, silk and other suitable textiles receive the imprint, each in its own way.
Arrangement, binding and timing are the artist's decisions. The rest is left to nature.
02The collection
Each piece carries the imprint of real plants, so no two are ever quite alike. Explore by collection, or ask about commissions if you are looking for something of your own.
Eco-printed panels made to hang on a wall and be lived with.
Lengths of cloth printed edge to edge with leaves.
Garments that carry the imprint of leaves.
Botanical prints for interiors, made to hold light.
03From leaf to cloth
Seven stages, filmed in the studio. Follow a piece from the first leaf to the drying line.
Leaves are laid on the cloth one by one. Their placement is the composition.
The arrangement is covered, then rolled tightly around a core.
Each roll is tied into a firm bundle.
The bundles are steamed. Heat and moisture help the leaves release their colour.
After steaming, the bundles are opened.
Leaves are lifted away to reveal their imprint, every vein recorded in colour.
The finished piece dries in the open air.
Leaves are laid on the cloth one by one. Their placement is the composition.
The arrangement is covered, then rolled tightly around a core.
Each roll is tied into a firm bundle.
The bundles are steamed. Heat and moisture help the leaves release their colour.
After steaming, the bundles are opened.
Leaves are lifted away to reveal their imprint, every vein recorded in colour.
The finished piece dries in the open air.
04Featured work
Three panels, three moods. On the left, charcoal and olive leaves crowd an ivory ground, their serrated edges crisp and flecked with small dark blooms of colour. At the centre, a blush-pink panel layers burgundy leaves, pale palmate leaves, fern fronds and small flowers into a dense, warm composition. On the right, slate-grey and soft brown impressions drift across a pale ground.
A tall, tapering floor lamp whose shade is wrapped in eco-printed cloth. Palmate leaves in sage and moss green climb its length, scattered with smaller leaf prints and fine dark speckles.
Large palmate leaves, hand-shaped with their leaflets radiating from a single point, spread across a cream ground in sage and deep olive, every vein traced in a pale line. Between them sit umber compound leaves and a few prints in deep slate blue, so the eye travels from green to brown to near-black across the cloth.
05The artist
NILA is an independent botanical textile studio in Sri Lanka, where nature, material and artistic practice meet in cloth.
The studio is led by an eco-printing artist who has invested deeply in learning the craft, through international online courses and hands-on training with experts in Thailand, and who continues to develop it through constant experiment with leaves, fabrics and colour.
Her work spans cotton, silk and other suitable fabrics, and ranges from muted botanical neutrals to richer, deeper colour. Each piece begins with real leaves, laid by hand, and ends with the moment a bundle is opened and the print is seen for the first time.
Courses in eco-printing that built the foundations of her practice.
Practical training with experienced eco-printing experts.
An ongoing studio practice of testing leaves, fabrics, arrangements and colour.
06Workshops & education
Eco-printing is learned through the hands. NILA welcomes enquiries from individuals, universities, design schools and organisations who would like to explore it.
A hands-on first encounter with eco-printing, designed for newcomers to the craft.
The process shown live, from the first leaf to the moment the cloth is revealed.
Sessions shaped around a course, module or programme for universities, design schools and colleges.
Longer or more specialised learning, designed around your group's goals.
Every session is arranged individually, including its format, dates and group size.
Fig. 05 Leaves laid out along a long cloth, ready to print
07Until the next bundle is opened