Belén Merelas, founder of Alizari Atelier, merges her passion for textile art with the use of natural dyes and botanical prints in her homeland, Galicia. Using plants and flowers gathered this past spring, she has crafted beautiful prints that Romualda has transformed into unique hats.
With a background in biology, Belén has successfully created her own dye garden, cultivated with traditional plants in tribute to the beauty of natural colour. Alizari Atelier reflects her deep love for the plant world and her desire to create wearable art.
Tell us a bit about Alizari Atelier, what inspired you to bring this project to life?
The idea of launching Alizari came at a time in my life when I was going through a major personal and professional crisis, at a crucial turning point where I decided to leave science behind. I’m a biologist by training and had always been involved in academic research. After spending several years abroad, in 2020 I decided to return to Galicia and start a PhD in my homeland. However, things didn’t go as planned, and after a year and a half, I decided to abandon my doctorate. At that point, exhausted and overwhelmed by the academic world, I began considering other life paths.
I had experimented with botanical printing before, which came into my life quite by chance. Years earlier, I worked at an organic café, and one day we attended a fair for ecological products. That afternoon, after my shift, I came across two Portuguese artists who were doing plant printing, and I was fascinated by how I could recognise species I knew on the fabrics. It was the first time I had seen anything like that, and it completely captivated me. A few months later, I travelled to Portugal to visit these artists' workshop and learn more about the technique, and that’s where it all began.
I started to think that perhaps I could make this technique my project, and I imagined that if I managed to do it, I would be the happiest person in the world. The two years after leaving my PhD were spent training in natural dyes and botanical printing with national and international experts, as well as investing in materials to set up my small workshop and finally launch Alizari to the public. It was a long and solitary journey, but also a very beautiful one, and I truly enjoy sharing this project and my pieces with others.
You’re from Galicia, how does the Galician environment and culture influence your artistic approach and creative processes?
The environment I live in is a fundamental part of the project. The vegetation, the climate, the iconography, the architecture—they all shape the image of Alizari and inevitably are reflected in the pieces I create. This project moves with the seasons, and I have to adapt my creative processes to the materials available at different times of the year. This has also made me much more observant of what’s happening around me: the changes in vegetation, the fleeting nature of blooms, which plants give way to others, and how to seek out and make the most of new resources during each cycle.
Many of the materials you use are self-cultivated. What is that process like?
For me, this project wouldn’t be the same without my dye garden. I see it as a fundamental part, both for myself and the project. It deeply satisfies my biologist side, as I’m also specialised in plant ecology. I enjoy the entire process immensely, and I think it’s also a part of the brand’s identity. I believe it’s something that sets me apart and adds value to the final piece.
I started three years ago with a small dye plant garden, and since then, I’ve been collecting seeds year after year and expanding the garden. I’m involved in the whole process, from gathering the seeds to sowing them in the greenhouse at the end of winter, preparing and fertilising the soil in spring for the transplanting of the seedlings, and maintaining the garden throughout the summer, finishing in early autumn with the collection of new seeds for the next cycle. It’s a continuous job that lasts all year round, and for me, it gives real meaning to what I do. Being able to cultivate my own plant-based colours and use them to dye and print my pieces is the part I love most about this project.
What do you enjoy most about the creative process?
Perhaps what I enjoy most is planning the pieces. The final result of each piece isn’t accidental, but rather the outcome of a premeditated and carefully studied idea. I have to think about how to achieve the background colour I want, what colour each leaf will produce, and how to combine them to get the result I’m aiming for. The mordants I use are an important source of variation, and therefore a great opportunity for creativity, since the colours obtained from each plant and combination vary depending on the mordant used. To add another variable, the type of fabric chosen also generates different colour palettes, so understanding all the possible colour combinations is a challenge, but a very creative part of the process.
How does the seasonality of plants influence the collections you produce?
Seasonality is reflected in the pieces I create. Depending on the time of year, I can work with different elements. I adapt to what the environment provides me with and don’t get fixated on using the same species throughout the year. Each season has its own advantages and disadvantages, its abundances and shortages, and I believe this is evident in the different collections.
It may seem surprising, but each season gives us its characteristic colours. In spring, the first leaves emerge, and the colours are bright, intense, and luminous; in summer, there are more flowers, with dominant hues of orange, green, and indigo blue. In autumn, some interesting flowers appear, providing rich red tones, and roots are harvested, while the colours of the leaves become much darker. In winter, we mainly collect elements rich in tannins (acorns, pine cones, tree bark, etc.), resulting in more brown, black, and green colours. Therefore, I believe that adjusting to what each season offers us is not a limitation but rather an opportunity to create in harmony with the environment.
What challenges do you face when working exclusively with natural dyes and fabrics, and how do you overcome them?
In fact, I don’t see working with natural dyes and fabrics as a limitation. Fortunately, there is a vast availability of natural fibres today, with organic certification and other quality and good practice seals. Generally, I can always find what I need, although there are certain fabrics that are more challenging to source in natural fibres; however, this is just a matter of patience or finding alternatives.
As for natural dyes, there are also quite a few specialised distributors. However, the fact that I produce and collect my own dye sources means I rely much less on external products, and I rarely purchase dye materials.
How do you select the plants and natural materials you use for dyeing fabrics?
I currently have 18 species of dye plants in my garden. I started with about 8–10, and each year I add new species. The selection of the species I cultivate is based on my study over the years of the most commonly used dye plants throughout history. It was important for me to include species that have been undeniable protagonists in the dyeing guilds of ancient times, around which there was trade, study, and a whole culture.
By cultivating plants such as Rubia tinctorum, which is used to obtain reds from its roots, Reseda luteola, which we use for yellow, and Japanese indigo, Persicaria tinctoria, for blue, I have the three primary colours, and by combining them, we can explore the entire colour wheel. These three plants have played a fundamental role in history, and learning about their uses and traditions, as well as experimenting and creating recipes with them, was imperative for me and the project.
Additionally, I grow plants that I admire for the silhouettes and colours they leave in the prints, such as Cosmos sulphureus or Coreopsis tinctoria. As you can see, many plants typically associated with plant-based colour have the specific epithet “tinctoria” or “tinctorum,” which is no coincidence and provides us with valuable information about their historical use as sources of natural colour.
You have lived in many different countries. How has this influenced your artistic career?
I believe that feeling somewhat multicultural has made it easier for me to connect with a broader and more diverse audience. It has allowed me to engage with other professionals in the field who live many miles away and to see my project as a reflection of the local context, yet with international reach. Ultimately, this is a true reflection of who I am—representing Galician culture while consuming literature and content in other languages and maintaining personal and professional relationships with people from different cultures and places. I think this enriches both me and the project.
What do you think about combining the world of Alizari Atêlier with that of Romualda?
I greatly appreciate and value the significance of handmade work and craftsmanship taken to the highest level—the creation of unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that bring art into our everyday lives. Romualda is a project I admire for many reasons. The ability to combine painting with textiles to create functional, elegant, and versatile pieces is incredible, and the fact that it is led by women is an important aspect for me.
All projects deserve support and admiration, but I prefer collaborations with brands or initiatives led by and for women. I believe that the combination of both forces is not only necessary but also beautiful. I advocate for entrepreneurship, female empowerment, and collaboration among us to make history and create true works of art.
