THE MAKING OF...
I have always wanted to design my own fabric collection. When the opportunity arose for me to work with a team in India, I jumped at the chance to be involved in something that used ancient skills to create and craft something that I thought was beautiful for the interiors industry. I have always loved the Indian Block Printing style and feel it suits my design sensibilities.
All the fabrics from The India Collection have been hand-block printed by skilled artisans and craftsman. The designs are inspired by archival motifs and patterns with my own chosen repeat, scale and colourways.
The process starts with me finalising and signing off on a design. The team in India then start by carving the design into the wood surface, leaving the raised areas for printing. This intricate process, done by hand and using specialized carving tools, can take up to 7 days for a design with 4 colours. The colours for printing are then mixed and the inked woodblock is pressed uniformly onto the fabric, transferring the carved design onto the cloth. This process is repeated many times over until the required amount of fabric is completed. It is an extremely precise exercise and requires a huge amount of skill. Many of the artisans have been practicing this ancient art for many years and it is something that has been handed down to them from many generations before them.
Once printed, the fabric is then allowed to fully dry in the sun before being run through a curing machine at a controlled temperature to further fasten the colour. The fabric is then washed with softener to further remove any unwanted marks and then run through a calendering and finishing machine to give a clean finish.