The journey of a block

Every one of our blocks is meticulously handcrafted by masters in Rajasthan.
Join us on the journey from tree to studio.

Sheesham (or Indian Rosewood) is carefully selected from managed forests, situated at 900m or higher in the Himalayan foothills. Replacement trees are regularly planted and grow rapidly.

The wood is cut and left to dry
for several weeks.

The carvers then select the wood they want and take it to their workshop. They cut it into slices and again leave to dry.

The slices of wood are whitened with a paint / glue mix. After this stage the design is traced on to the wood ready for carving.

The design is carved totally by hand using small tools and a wooden hammer block. The tools are made specifically for each design to make carving more efficient.

As many designs as possible are carved from each piece to reduce waste.

Each design is cut out by hand-operated machine, and then sanded to remove rough edges.

The design is whitened again with paint, to check for quality and to see the design clearly.

The block is soaked in mustard seed oil to make it water resistant, and also darkens and preserves the wood.

The block is then left to dry and finished by hand polishing.

India tightly controls wood species to ensure sustainability of the forests. The blocks are inspected to ensure the wood conforms to regulations.

After this the carvers are given a certificate identifying the origins of the wood and the legal purchase. Export is granted and the blocks are packed up and shipped to us.

The blocks arrive with us in the studio after their long journey, ready to be checked and sorted.

We check the quality of every block by eye, and test print each design so we can be sure they print beautifully.

After this, the blocks are ready for you to use in our studio or order to use at home in your printed creations.