My Why

Hello!

I'm Emily, the second of Bonnie's four daughters. Like all of my sisters, I absorbed Bonnie's love of plants, fresh air, and creative endeavour. Bonnie's Daughter Natural Dye Company is my way of honouring myself, my birth-mother, and my Earth-mother.

It is my passion and my mission to create beautiful colours on beautiful fibres, with as little impact on the Earth as possible. As a modern natural dyer, I only use mineral salts that can be safely discharged to an aquatic environment after appropriate wastewater treatment. No copper, tin, or chrome for me — no way!

My signature fibre is Eri silk, one of the "peace silks" made from fibres collected only after the Cynthia Samia Ricini moth has matured and left its cocoon. I fell in love with Eri silk when I started looking for an alternative to wool (thank you, perimenopause). It takes  natural dye like nobody's business, giving a soft and lustrous yarn that works beautifully into a range of transeasonal garments and accessories. But what I love perhaps most about this fibre is that I get to support members of rural communities in northeast India in bringing their heritage craft to a broader market.*

These are the deeply held values that give rise to my guiding principles: Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good.

Does my why align with yours? Then come explore the yarn!

*I do also work with other all-natural fibres, as you'll see in the shop. 


This is me and my youngest at the Australian Yarn Show in 2026. I'm wearing handknitted undyed Eri silk, and op-shop pants dyed in my indigo fermentation vat — fondly called Nelly the Indigo Diva(t).