In our block printing studio in Rajasthan, traditional artisans tirelessly transform our designs and concepts into beautiful collections. Here’s my attempt to give you an inside look.
15 foot tables are organized in rows. The fabric is stretched out and hand stamped on these tables. You can see how the studio looks on a typical work day. Lots of fabric & color.
Wood blocks storage is a critical part of the block printing process. A collection may have 12-15 blocks and some of our collections are printed only once or twice a year. Blocks are carefully stored in boxes clearly marked for easy access.
When it’s time for printing, the blocks are cured and made ready for the hard work ahead.
Below color tables are used to apply dye to each block before it’s stamped on to the cotton fabric. The fabric is laid out on 5 meter long (15 feet) printing tables. Artisans hand stamp the print on the fabric as they traverse the length of the table. Each stamp needs a dip in the dye on the color table which, thanks to the small wheels, is always by the artisan’s side.
Our prints come alive only if the colors are mixed correctly. This is done by our fearless color master who creates magic in this kitchen.
Neatly organized storage for the colors. There are so many colors in the studio, however, finding the right one never seems to be an issue! Now if only I could say the same about my study 🙂
Although our artisans work tirelessly hand stamping our prints, there are many conversations that happen around the “water cooler”.
The music system has a constant stream of old and new Bollywood songs playing. Yes, that is indeed the music system. The white box, lower shelf left, is the radio and the brown earth pots, top shelf left and right, are the home grown speakers. The sound that comes out of this setup is surprisingly rich and vibrant!
A picture of our block printing studio deity.
I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into where out linen is printed. The only way I will know is if you use one of the social sharing buttons, or fill out the survey below, or post a comment. Please do! Thanks in advance.
I am honored to own these beautiful works of usable art. The little differences are evidence that a real person printed my duvet and pillow covers; makes it that much more special!