Intro to Indigo's journey in history

Think intense blue color on textiles. Pots of plant die that produces the most amazing shades of blue that energizes and uplifts the spririts. It just makes you want to surround yourself with it, its beauty and intensity. It makes you feel more alive. It gets you in a better mood. It has an amazing history and it is one of the oldest dyes to be used for textile dyeing and printing. 

Many believe that nothing in nature is worthless. Some plants heal, some whiten teeth and perhaps the most fascinating ones are the ones like Isatis Tinctoria (indigo) that impart color. 

The process of hand dying with indigo is a labor of love. It is an art form that is still practiced in some parts of the world and gaining more and more popularity in recent years. It's another craft that is being passed down from generation to generation. 

Indigo is amongst the oldest dyes and goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt. Since then, it has held a significant place in many world civilizations for thousands of years. In the excavation of Thebes an indigo dyed garment was found that dated back to c. 2500 B. C. It is believed that in the ancient world indigo was extracted at Tyre in Phoenicia (Lebanon today) and at Amougdoul a Phoenician settlement on the Purple Isles just off Morocco. In the middle ages the use of indigo as a dye plant developed in India. Julius Ceasar described early Briton's smearing themselves with the blue dye as a means of intimidating the enemy. It is also known that indigo was used for medicinal purposes such as treating jaundice and it had antiseptic qualities.