Suzanne Vaillancourt is a fashion designer, textile artist, and yoga instructor in Peterborough, Ontario. Her work has been shown at various craft shows including: The Peterborough Regional Farmers Market, Cabbage Town Arts and Craft Show, Stoney Lake Arts and Craft Show, Mariposa, The Toronto Yoga Show, One of a Kind Show Toronto, Signatures Show Ottawa and The Toronto Yoga Show Haliburton Arts and Crafts, Windsor Arts and Crafts Hillside.  

Suzanne’s clothing has been described as wearable art using classic and contemporary designs to compliment people of all shapes and sizes. Her products are fun, dynamic, colorful, unique, and affordable.  

Using plant dyes and local foliage, she creates one-of-a-kind pieces that celebrate nature and sustainability. Organic, non-GMO fabrics such as hemp, cotton, modal, merino wool, and silk are used because natural dyes work best with natural fibers. Plant dyes (either collected or sourced) such as black walnut, marigold, and golden rod are boiled and used to dye clothing.  

To prepare the garments to be dyed, a three-step process is utilized. Firstly, the fabric is scoured, then boiled in a tannin solution, then simmered in an acetate bath, and dried for 24 hours. Secondly, eco-printing (the process of steaming leaves directly onto the fabric to create impressions of leaves and flowers) can then be applied to the fabric. Through trial and error, Suzanne has developed her own dye solutions that are painted directly onto the leaves and flowers and then pressed and steamed directly onto the fabric. She also works with indigo dye and Shibori (an ancient Japanese technique involving stitching, tying, and knotting) to create distinct patterns on the fabric.