“There was a peace in that blue light, more peace than sleep itself, and more than that there was a freedom, and I knew that the elders had not lied, that there really was a home place of our own.”
THE WATER DANCER, TA-NEHISI COATES
WELCOME TO BLUE LIGHT JUNCTION
A natural dye studio in Central Baltimore
Located in Greenmount/Station North in Baltimore City, and founded in January of 2020 by Kenya Miles with key support from Rosa Chang, Blue Light Junction (BLJ) is an independently run studio, committed to uplifting the techniques and work of cultural practitioners of natural dyes as well as collectively growing and grounding our work in Baltimore City.
Alternative Color Lab • Dye Garden • Retail Space • Educational Facility
2026 CALENDAR & WORKSHOP →
-
![]()
SATURDAY, MARCH 14th | 12-2pm
Indigo & Cotton Growing w/Blue Light Junction
Grow with us! We are excited to begin our 7th season at Hidden Harvest's “annex” dye garden.
This workshop is for the home/urban gardener, community/school gardener, farmer looking to grow in abundance and anyone interested in deepening their relationship to the earth. Please join us as we share all we have learned about growing Indigo & Cotton in Baltimore over the past 7 years!
-
![]()
MARCH SAT & SUN | 10am-3pm
Intro to Indigo and Quilting w/ Rosina Saqib.
A 5-class workshop (3 consecutive weekends)This 5-part hands-on series you’ll build a tonal palette of indigo blues, then transform your dyed fabric into a quilt square or pillow top. Learn indigo vat basics, machine pieced and hand-quilted techniques—from traditional to improvisational interpretations.
Leave with a finished piece and a deeper understanding of indigo and quilting as living craft traditions.
-
![]()
SATURDAY, APRIL 4th | 10am -3pm
Printing Possibilities: Mordants + Natural Dyes w/ Kenya Miles
Discover the myriad of possibilities with natural dyes + image making. Explore the process and possibilities of print making with mordants on fabric, utilizing mordant paste to create rich, one-of-a-kind, multi-toned imagery.
-
![]()
SATURDAY, APRIL 11th | 4-6pm
Echoes of Earth: A Sound bath Journey w/ Estephanie Rose
An invitation to pause, listen, and rest within the rhythms of the natural world. Guided by resonant tones and grounding frequencies, this nourishing and immersive experience offers space to soften the body, quiet the mind, and reconnect with spirit through sounds of the natural world and beyond.
-
![]()
SATURDAY, APRIL 25th | 1-4pm
Tracing Scent: The Practice of Agarbatti (Incense Sticks)
This hands-on workshop invites participants into the material, cultural, and sensory world of agarbatti (incense sticks).
We’ll examine the historical and cultural contexts and learn the foundational techniques of hand-rolling incense using natural binders and botanicals, inviting innate sensory awareness as a primary tool for making.
-
![]()
SUNDAY, MAY 31st | 10am - 3pm
The Art of Indigo w/Rosa Chang
In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore the process of making a natural sugar-based indigo vat and practice two traditional East Asian textile techniques, stitched shibori and soy flour paste resist, and create two indigo dyed fabric pieces featuring a range of indigo shades and intricate patterns.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to center global traditions and knowledge bearers of craft and natural dye through growing and processing dye plants in community, education-based workshops and events, knowledge transfer through apprenticeships and classes, and to showcase sustained research and experimentation through the Ibura Art and Research Residency, The Alternative Color Lab and The Concept Store at Studio Blue.
Support Our Mission
BLJ FUNDING CAMPGAIN
Many hands have helped us build and foster this space of deep connection, craft, and community. All the work we did together has also been possible with the help of a 4-year grant that has allowed us to nurture the studio and garden, build a strong team, and create and offer all our programming throughout the year.
As this grant support is now behind us, we are looking forward to 2026, reflecting on these years of creation and growth. And while we are hard at work writing grants and looking for additional capital support, at this new phase of BLJ, we are turning to our community to help shape the next chapter of our studio and carry forward our mission.
The studio—once an old auto-body shop—has become a sanctuary through collective care, and we’re in a moment where sustaining it means asking our people for support.
We’ve recently reopened our GoFundMe, and with your support, we will continue to forge ahead with focus and commitment towards building the first natural dye studio and lab in Baltimore City.
Support this initiative through our GoFundMe campaign.
Your support will help cover the everyday realities that make everything else possible—staff labor, rent, utilities, studio supplies, the dye garden, residencies, workshops, and community gatherings.
OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT
PARTICIPATE IN OUR PROGRAMMING
We offer monthly workshops, multi-session classes, and community events rooted in cultural traditions in craft and natural dye.
Our programming is a space for people to share and learn the histories and traditions of natural dye and craft, and to connect with culture, tradition, and contemporary artistic practices.
VISIT THE STUDIO
CONCEPT STORE HOURS
Every Saturday, STUDIO BLUE- a shared space for exchange, reflection, and curiosity- is open to the public. Located on the 2nd floor within the Blue Light Junction facility, the studio houses the BLJ’s Concept Store, where you can shop our curated collection of storied objects connecting material, story, and people, and browse our Alternative Library and Gallery Space.
Open Every Saturday from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm
209 McAllister St, Baltimore
You can also book an appointment. Contact us via email at bluelightjunction@gmail.com for more information. Or leave a message through our contact form.
LEARN ABOUT OUR WORK
ABOUT THE STUDIO
Blue Light Junction’s work centers on the cultivation and connection between people, plants, and place through craft tradition, holistic earth practices, and knowledge transfer through apprenticeships and classes.
We offer monthly classes, workhops, and community events rooted in cultural traditions in craft and natural dyes through the lens of cultural bearers and knowledge keepers.
Sign up for our Newsletter to get news and updates about classes & events at the studio and dye garden.
THE DYE GARDEN
Blue Light Junction also stewards Hidden Harvests'“annex Dye Garden adjacent to the studio, where we cultivate and host a variety of dye, fiber, and medicinal plants, including indigo, cotton, & marigolds.
Ever evolving, the garden is supported by a number of committed volunteers, including artists, students, teachers, and community members invested in the cultivation, exploration, and preservation of natural dyes both regionally and globally.
JOIN US DURING VOLUNTEER DAYS
WINTER SEASON VOLUNTEER DAYS:
Throughout the winter, we are hosting volunteer days focused on indigo seed processing, and supporting studio spaces maintenance and material organization.
Stop by the studio and join BLJ’s Garden Coordinator, Vetiver Napper, on any of the days marked in the calendar anytime during volunteer hours..
open to anyone interested in learning through participation.
No sign-in or prior experience required,
Send us a message to volunteers@bluelightjunction.com
with any questions you may have.