Inspired by India

After returning home from my teaching trip to Jaipur with Ritchie Ace Camps last year, I was so excited about what I’d learned about the Rajasthani block printing I’d seen, but I was kicking myself a little for not having met up with printers to develop something for Skinny laMinx.  I had been in the land of pattern and potential, but somehow I was too overwhelmed by it all to actually make something happen.

Then one day, while looking through my souvenirs, I remembered about a handmade paper book that I had taken with me when we’d spent the day in Bagru, learning about vegetable dyes, and printing our very own dupatta scarves.

After having printed my own scarf, I had walked around the workshop with my book, taking impressions of the wooden blocks that I liked. There were piles of them, and looking for my favourites was a good way to pass the time on a very hot day. It was just for fun at the time, but now that I was home, I realised I had created a valuable resource – my very own library of potential patterns!

I used these impressions to develop some designs, and after some back and forth about what to print, the designs were sent off to the printers in Bagru. And now…

… check in again next week for the next exciting episode! And if you’re in Cape Town, be sure to come to First Thursdays at Skinny laMinx, where all will be revealed! We’re open til 8pm.

PS: I’ll be teaching in Jaipur again this October. All about that here.