In a world of chemical shortcuts, stepping into a process that rejects them entirely changes how we look at color.

These pure linen placemats by textile artist Anri Izai feature yarn dyed at NORABI studio in Chiba, Japan. Master dyer Ayaki Shinada maintains living indigo vats using an Edo-period fermentation process that relies on just four ingredients: composted indigo leaves, wood ash lye, shell ash, and bran.