One of a kind, fibre art homewares and jewellery,
handmade sustainably with natural dyes for you and your home.
One of a kind, fibre art homewares and jewellery,
handmade sustainably with natural dyes for you and your home.
Natural dyeing is the art of extracting pigments from natural resources, such as flowers, leaves, minerals, insects (yes, bugs!) and using these pigments to colour fibre and textiles. At MELO handmades, these natural dye materials are combined with non-toxic metal salts to create a rainbow palette of colours and imprints on both fabric and paper. Compared to the conventional synthetic dyeing methods, natural dyeing processes have a much lower impact on the environment and also produces pieces that are much safer on your skin. Natural dyeing is also very dependent on natural botanical alchemy, and many factors such as the seasons, how a flower is grown, the quality of the water…… can affect the final outcome, making each and every piece a unique and one of a kind, but all equally beautiful.
I try as much as possible to source my dye materials in-person and as sustainably as possible. Most of the botanicals I use in my work are either grown by me in my home garden, mindfully gathered on my walks around Sydney suburbs or upcycled floral and kitchen waste collected from local businesses.
Before dyeing, I treat all my fabric and fibre with non-toxic metal salts in a process called mordanting to ensure that the colours and prints on your piece will remain vibrant and beautiful. However, natural dyes are living colours and do need a little bit of TLC to help them shine. I’ve written a blog post here with some very easy to follow tips to help you take care of your naturally dyed pieces and enjoy them at the fullest for years to come.
MELO handmades is based in Sydney, Australia where all orders are packed and dispatched from.
I use a mix of postal and courier services to get your packages to you, depending on what is in the package and where it is going. Unless otherwise stated, all packages are sent with tracking available. With heightened demand during COVID, please do understand that your package may take longer than expected to arrive. If you’ve received an estimated delivery window with your tracking number, please do wait till the end of the delivery window to get in touch!
Ready to ship items - Most ready to ship items will be dispatched within 1 - 3 business days after full payment of the order has been made. If you’ve requested to personalise your item, I’ll be in touch with you to give you an estimated time frame for dispatch upon receiving your order. From October 2021, I’m also trialling new Fixed Day Dispatch and packages will be sent on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. Read more about it here.
Made to order items - Depending on the complexity of the design, these can take between 2 - 4 business weeks to dispatch. You’ll be able to find more details specific to each item in each product’s description. It’s also dependent on how many orders I have on-the-go, so feel free to get in touch for an estimated time frame before you place your order.
Expedited shipping - If you need your order urgently, do get in touch prior to placing your order and I’ll try my best to work something out!
It depends.
If the package is still with me and yet to be dispatched, I can and will. However, once the package is handed over to the delivery partner, I’m unable to intercept it until it is delivered or returned. Please check the shipping address in your order confirmation to ensure that it is complete and accurate (unit numbers and/or postcodes can be easily missed). If you’d like to make any changes at all, get in touch with me via email or social media as soon as you can!
Unfortunately, MELO handmades will not be liable should a package be returned (or delivered to a wrong address) due to incomplete or inaccurate shipping address provided. Additional charges may be incurred if a re-delivery is required.
Yes, I can!
Get in touch with me via email at melo.handmades@gmail.com or on any of my social media platforms with your request and I’ll be happy to make something for your special occasion. As everything is handcrafted from scratch, custom orders will take, depending on the complexity of the design, 3 - 5 weeks to dispatch.
Should you be unhappy with your purchase, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via email to voice your concerns within 5 working days of receiving your item. All requests for exchange and refund will be reviewed and considered on a case-by-case basis and all returned items must be in brand new condition: unused and unworn, with the original packaging. MELO handmades reserves the right to reject items that do not fit into these standards. Made-to-order items and custom orders are not eligible for exchange or refunds unless faulty.
