The Story of Botanika

BOTANIKA is a natural dyeing studio founded by Sara Hajgato. Her journey began when she was in pursuit of balance, aesthetics and permaculture and found the craft of natural textile dyeing.

Sara creates limited pieces of naturally dyed clothing and accessories, holds natural dyeing workshops and collaborates with brands for unique capsule collections educating them in the craft of natural dyeing and bringing them closer to nature.

Sara lives in a small village in rural Hungary and runs an experimental project on which dye plants that can be grown successfully in her local climate. To experience the dye plants' growing needs, test various harvesting styles and choose the best seed saving practice for each.

She has successfully grown over 20 varieties of dye plants including dyer’s chamomile, weld, madder, black hollyhock, sulphur cosmos, dyer’s coreopsis, Hopi Red Dye amaranth, and evenJapanese indigo.

Only natural fabrics are used in Botanika – lush silk, noble wool, rustic hemp and linen and fine cotton; not only are these pleasant to wear, but also provide a richer medium for the development of natural colors

Hand-dyeing with Natural and Floral Dyes

Natural and floral dyeing is an eco-friendly craft that uses plant-based materials—such as flowers, leaves, roots, and even food waste—to colour fabrics in beautiful, earthy tones. Unlike synthetic dyes, which can be harmful to both the environment and our skin, natural dyes are biodegradable and free of toxic chemicals, making them a healthier choice for our planet and for those who wear the garments.

The process itself is gentle, often resulting in unique, one-of-a-kind shades that vary depending on the plant materials used, the fabric, and even the water. These natural hues tend to age gracefully, developing a character and depth over time, making each piece not just a garment, but a work of art that connects us to nature.

Co-Creating

Sara and Maxine have known each other right from the start of Kafi Folk and have shared the same passion for craft, textiles and handmade items. To finally be able to create our first project with Sara is a dream come true!

We greatly respect and honour the work that Sara is doing and over the years as Kafi Folk has developed, have always dreamed of incorporating her natural dyeing technique with one of our designs.

We believe that good things take time to grow just like flowers do so we have started our collaboration by creating one very special piece: ‘The Athena Silk Kaftan’ – our first cocktail dress using silk that Sara hand-dyed using natural flora. We are so excited to officially launch our collaboration this year and look forward to creating many unique pieces for our upcoming collections.