The Made in India collection
Over a period of five months while living and working in Jaipur, India, we ventured into the traditional technique of block printing, discovered incredible fabrics like Khadi and fell in love with the vibrancy of our surroundings and the people we met. All these things form the basis of our Made In India collection.
Below are a selection of images and text, giving you an insight into the inspiration and processes behind the collection.
You can also scroll to the bottom of this page to view our catalogue, or feel free to download it via this link (86MB)
Our Made In India collection consists of cushions, drawstring bags, tableware and pouches.
All these items take advantage of the beauty of block printing and khadi, showing off the textures, prints and colours to the fullest.
Choosing fabrics: Why Khadi
Khadi is a handwoven organic fabric that can be made out of cotton, silk or wool and we instantly fell in love with it for many reasons. It’s the worlds most sustainable and eco-friendly fabric as it does not require any electrical support or fossil fuels. It supports millions of people living in rural India as artisans and micro-level weavers, still dependent on traditional skills and techniques to make their living through handmade products. The process of creating Khadi is very slow and delicate. In fact, spinning the yarn used for Khadi is a completely manual process, done on a spinning wheel called a charkha. The irregularities in the weave give it a beautiful texture full of character and charm.
It is a fabric full of history, with its production encouraged by Mahatma Gandhi as a way to promote Indian self-reliance and resilience in the weaving industry.
the process: Carving the wood blocks
The master carver starts from a drawing of our design on paper, traces it onto a Rosewood block and carves out the pattern by hand. The block represents the single repeat, which is then stamped in rows across the fabric creating the seamless pattern. Each colour in the design has to be carved into a separate block, with each colour being printed separately.
The process: Block Printing
Once the blocks are complete, the master printer mixes the colours which will be used for printing and pours them into wooden trays. The block is pressed into the tra covering it in colour, then pressed onto the fabric creating a single repeat. Each colour is printed individually onto the fabric; the pattern must be stamped repeatedly across the fabric, with the printer doing his best to align each print by eye. To help with the block alignment, a guide marker is carved onto the edge of each block. The subtle gaps and overlaps between prints are a beautiful reminder of the hand work and give block printing it’s characteristic look. This, to us, is what makes this printing method so beautiful, and one of the main reasons for us to create this collection
Interested in wholesale?
We welcome wholesale enquiries from any stockists who appreciate ethically designed, beautifully handmade products.
Write to us at hello@allthefruits.com or use the contact form below.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Download the pdf catalogue here. (86MB)