Preserving the Ancient Craft of Block Printing

It is not a coincidence that Amisha and I decided to launch Ode with an initial collection that included several hand block printed textiles.  In India the art of hand block printing has been going on since the third millenium B.C.  The process, which involves carving a wooden block (usually teak) with the intricate design or pattern which will form the textile; hand dipping that block in dye and literally stamping the pattern onto the cloth, has remained relatively unchanged in India for over 4,000 years!

During our trip to India, we decided to visit the Anokhi Museum of Hand Block Printing to see the process up close.  We were in central Jaipur and decided to hail a rikshaw to get us there not realizing that it was at least forty minutes away behind the Amber Fort.  If you have ever taken a ride in an Indian rikshaw or a tuc-tuc, as they are known in several East Asian countries, you can imagine our dismay at the long, bumpy ride.

Anokhi Museum of Hand Block Printing

The museum is housed in a 16th-century haveli or mansion which has been stunningly restored and received a UNESCO award for cultural conservation.  There are three floors where different traditions of hand block printing are explained and displayed. But it is the when you get to the roof that you can observe blocks being carved and fabrics being printed.

Amisha and I were invited to sit down and watch a gentleman painstakingly carve a block design using nothing but a small chisel and what looked like a thick ruler.  He told us he had learned the craft from his father who had learned it from his father and so on.  There isn's a trade school one can go to learn block carving or printing.  And the preservation of the craft is one of the museum's raison d'etre. 

Next we watched as a block was dipped in indigo dye and stamped onto white fabric.  There were several steps to this as the fabric was first stamped with a border pattern and then another block was used for the body.  To our amzement, everything lined up perfectly yet there was were no rulers or tape measures - just generations of experience!

Afterward, Amisha and I got a chance to block print a handkerchief.  Ours weren't as perfect but that wasn't from lack of trying as you can see from the concentration on Amisha's face.

  In spite of the long tradition and craft of hand block printing, demand for these authentic textiles has diminished with the introduction of new and cheaper machine prints.  The artisans in the museum were excited to hear about our company finding updated, modern ways to reinterpret their art and helping to keep it alive.  So Amisha and I may not ever decide to block print our own textiles but rest assured that they will always be hand block printed by amazing artisans!