Ethnic Home/In the Kitchen

Our set of 6 napkins are done in a traditional Indian blockprint design: kalamkari. These napkins have a burgundy accent color that would complement the Kalamkari Tablecloth. Some interesting facts about blockprinting: The art of block printing has been practiced in India for many centuries, with each region having its own distinctive style and motifs. The wooden blocks are carved in elaborate designs and each color is printed with a different block to complete the motif. When natural dyes are used, the fabric is washed after each color is printed. As a result, it can take 3-4 weeks to produce a single hand block printed rug. Different communities are involved in each stage of the process, including weaving, dyeing, making the blocks, printing, washing, and pounding to bring out the luster of the material. Most block-printers work for daily wages because they don’t have the capital to invest in the raw materials, equipment, and workshop. Also, screen-printed fabrics, which are much cheaper and more quickly produced than block-printed fabrics, now flood the markets and most consumers don’t know the difference between the two.

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