We are back from a month long trip to Rajasthan and Goa, India, finding and buying new lines for the shop. Our first stop was to visit with our main supplier, Narendra (Vicky) Changlani who has an Aladdin’s cave of a shop In the Sadar market in Jodhpur.
We spent 4 days with Vicky discovering new lines for our shop, chatting and drinking chai.
We have stocked hand block printed clothing for years and we were curious how this finished printed cloth was produced. The next day, Vicky arranged to take us to his block printers to show us the process.
Block Printing.
Block printing is an age old tradition dating back at least 800 years. The design for the cloth is hand carved into a hard wood block.
The design can then either be printed in colour onto the cloth or the design is blocked out using a mixture of glue and sawdust with the cloth being dyed and then washed to remove the glue/sawdust mix to show the design as white on a coloured background.
This video shows the start of the process. The white cotton cloth is laid on the printing board. The design is then printed using a glue/sawdust slurry which makes the design resistant to the dye. The cloth is then dipped into a dye vat. the more often it is dipped, the darker the colour. The cloth is dried and then washed to remove the glue/sawdust to reveal the white cotton below.
The dyes that are used are all natural. Here are a few examples: Blue = Indigo – Yellow = Turmeric – Red = Madder……….
Once the cloth is dyed, it is laid out on the ground to dry and this allows the dye to set.
The last stage if to wash the glue/sawdust out of the cloth to reveal the pattern. These men will spend up to 10 hours a day in the water washing the cloth. Each length is beaten three times on the flat rock and then turned to save damage to the cloth
Finished cloth. Single colour and single dip in the dye
This is the family who have for years run the block printing business.
Goa
We have been visiting Goa for many years and have over those years made many good friends amongst the local Goans and the seasonal workers; waiters, beach sellers and small shop keepers.
When we are in Goa we try and support these small traders by buying stock from them for our shop. Here are a few examples:
Sangeeta
This year Sangeeta has a big range of BoHo goods and once Tracey saw them she just had to have some for the shop. 30 Kgs of stock packed into 2 big boxes and taken to the local India Post office on the back of scooters. In India all things are possible
Little Sangita
We met Little Sangita when she first started selling on the beach at the age of 11. She used to practice her haggling on us! We bought a good supply of leather and bead bracelets and anklets from her. She has the most infectious smile on the beach
John & Sonia
John & Sonia (not their real names) have been trading in Cavellosim for years, to be able to give their children the education they did not have. A delightful couple who have a great range of different clothes, which we of course brought a sample back with us.
Geeta
Geeta is another beach seller we have known for years together with her parents and siblings. Married with 2 boys (one is in the picture with his cousin). She had some lovely mango wood elephant head cloth hooks. We cleared her out and they are available in our shop
Below are just a few more photos of the places we have been.
A Gateway to India 