Valley woman using local plants and fruit to make dye

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Brooke Luallen describes her craft as a testament to the beauty of our surroundings.

The artist began creating natural dyes as a hobby and soon launched Smith & Len.

Named after her children, the business features naturally-done products including hand towels, bandanas, scarves and totes.

"You scower, you mordent, which is a prefixative, then you create the dye, then you dye the product, then you can wash it and enjoy it," Luallen said.

But not every product comes out the same.

"You can have the basic recipe for everything, but the PH of your water might be different," Luallen said. "The PH of the plant of flower may be different, so it all depends on what you're using."

The patterns are also naturally created.

Pattern creation isn't the only wow factor of this process.

If you guessed avocado would produce a shade of green dye, guess again.

In addition to dyes, imprints can be seen on totes and pouches.

Pop-up classes are held throughout the Valley.

Whether creating natural dye or imprints, Brooke says it's experimentation that makes the process enjoyable.

"I can make a general diagnosis of what something is going to come out as, but sometimes, it just depends on the mood of the day," she said. "Sometimes, it depends on the plant itself -- whether it decides if its going to do what it's supposed to. It's kind of like a human -- we all have good days and bad days, and same things with the plants."

Brooke offers classes to do imprints and natural dying.

If you want to take part, you can follow Smith & Len on Instagram to find out where she'll be next.

For news updates, follow Vanessa Vasconcelos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.