Every October for many years I have travelled to India to meet suppliers, create our range of cotton blockprint clothing and cotton quilts, buy jewellery and source gorgeous hand loomed scarves, shawls and waistcoats. I always visit Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur and each year I add a new destination to seek out specific products. In the last few years I have visited Lucknow for Chikankari (delicate embroidery often produced white on white) and Barmer to seek out delicate appliqué. In 2025 I spent some really special time with hand weavers, embroiderers and bell makers in Kutch.
It is a fundamental value of our business that we build long term relationships with our suppliers and we help maintain the skills that make our world a richer place. Dillip, above, is modelling one of the cotton hand loomed waistcoats he works with artisans to produce. We are very proud of this partnership, weavers are paid a fair rate and women in the community are paid for their work finishing the waistcoats and quality checking. I particularly love checking in with the block printers in Jaipur and this year I was really excited to see new apprentices and women block printers in action producing our cotton quilts.
It’s also an opportunity to deepen my understanding of the techniques I admire, to seek inspiration through visiting textile museums, to meet with social enterprises ensuring ancient skills are maintained and to scour local markets for vintage items like the stunning mirrored Rajasthani Toran above.
In 2024 I finally got to see the much photographed step well at Amer. It’s just down the road from the Anokhi Museum which is an absolute must visit for anyone interested in block printing. I was also lucky enough to be in Jaipur for the Gangaur festival when women wear red wedding sarees. I always love the contrast of modern women travelling around town on scooters but still in gorgeous sarees.
My top tip for surviving India is eat simple, eat veggie, eat local and places where you can see your food being cooked from fresh are often the best. My food bill for India is always low!
When in Delhi I stay in the Nizamuddin area, wonderfully untouristy but with easy access to central Delhi. I enjoy people-watching here and love this picture of a family heading to the railway station to get back home for Diwali
In Jaipur I stay the Girisadan Homestay – a family home that is a haven from the bustle of Jaipur; much needed after a day in the markets or visiting Bagru to meet the block printers who create our gorgeous cotton quilts and cotton pyjamas using handmade wooden blocks that are ours alone and re-used each year. https://girisadanhomestay.com/
On every India I visit to Delhi to choose hand printed silks from Orisha and to meet the Aadyam social enterprise where we selected hand loomed shawls from Gujarat and Pondicherry.
In 2025 I was lucky enough to select our Christmas and Spring scarves and shawls by hand in Kutch and to select wonderful embroidered work from the http://www.kutchcraftcollective.com as well as sitting with individual weavers at work on unique pieces.
It is a honour to work with such skilled people in India and I hope you get a chance to visit our shop to see and touch the results for yourself.
