About

Liam Blackburn

Founder and owner / operator of Iron Cauldron Colour Works, Liam is a small batch dyer and artist. A member of Craft Ontario and the Ontario Fibreshed, he has worked on a range of projects from historic textile recreation to designer clothing.

Liam has had an interest in textiles from a very young age – learning hand sewing and simple frame loom weaving as a child. While pursuing an undergraduate degree in sculpture at OCADU, he began learning textile dyeing techniques. Natural dyes became a particular interest, and a year long project entitled The 52 Walks Project began – this was included in Chromatic Geography: Natural Dyes in the 21st Century which was exhibited at the Craft Ontario Gallery in 2017.

A continuous learning approach has since allowed Liam to branch out to making lake pigments, paints and other pigmented materials from natural dyes. He has also taught workshops in bookbinding, natural dyeing and marbling, including at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

Over the ensuing years, small batch dyeing became the general focus of Liam’s work, and Iron Cauldron Colour Works was born.