Sunday Read: Indian Block Printing by Tess Grace and Holly Jones
The first time Tess Grace travelled to Rajasthan, she was already familiar with the gentle rhythm of pressing wood into cloth. From her Oxfordshire studio she had explored the possibilities of block printing, yet it wasn’t until she and fellow designer Holly Jones stood among the dyers’ vats of Bagru and heard the hollow thud of carved blocks against fabric in Sanganer that the depth of this tradition truly revealed itself. Those journeys, now repeated annually, became a wellspring of inspiration — connecting their work in the UK to the centuries-old artistry of India’s printers.
Indian Block Printing: An Inspirational Project Book by Tess Grace and Holly Jones
That sense of continuity and exchange runs through both their studio practice at The Indian Block Print Co., and their new book, Indian Block Printing: An Inspirational Project Book, published this summer by Herbert Press. At first glance, it is a practical manual, guiding readers through 14 projects that move between textiles, card, paper, and even clay. Yet threaded through its pages are glimpses of the people and places that sustain the craft: the carvers hunched over chisels, the dyers stirring vats of indigo, the printers working by hand with a precision that has outlasted machines.
Get ready for Christmas! An example project from Indian Block Printing: An Inspirational Project Book
Projects range from tea towels to lampshades, gift wrap to cushions — each an invitation to experiment with colour, repeat, and rhythm. The instructions are clear, but the book never loses sight of its wider purpose: to carry the spirit of Jaipur’s print workshops into everyday making. Grace and Jones show how block printing flourishes in the world of craft as a design technique, but also as a way of slowing down, paying attention, and allowing patterns to emerge one impression at a time.
Block printing with layers of colour.
This September, Tess Grace will bring that experience to London. As part of London Textile Month, she leads The Art of Block Printing on Wednesday 3 September, 10–4 pm at the Goldsmiths Textiles Collection & Constance Howard Gallery. The day begins with a demonstration before opening out into hands-on exploration: carved blocks, natural pigments, layers of colour and form that bring the pages of their book to life. Participants will leave with a printed textile of their own, but perhaps more importantly with a sense of the quiet satisfaction that comes from engaging with such an ancient, enduring craft.
Together, Grace and Jones remind us that block printing is not a static tradition. It is a conversation — between past and present, India and the UK, teacher and student — carried forward each time a block meets cloth.
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Further Information:
Indian Block Printing: An Inspirational Project Book by Tess Grace and Holly Jones is now available from Herbert Press
Tess Grace and Holly Jones: Indian Block Print Co.
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Image Credits:
Lead: A wooden block and the resulting fabric print. Image: Tess Grace
All images courtesy of Tess Grace and Holly Jones