Kalamkari is an ancient, Indian art process that involves fifteen steps and forty days to complete by skilled artisans. This is a process that cannot be rushed. Initially, bales of organic cotton are prepared for printing by being rinsed and boiled in open ovens. The cotton fabric is then treated with myrobalan, a purple-leaf plum extract, that acts as a mordant to set the dyes. Once treated, the cotton fabric is laid in the intense sun to dry. As soon as the fabric is sufficiently softened and lightened, printing begins.

Craftsmen dip hand-carved teakwood blocks into Ayurvedic dyes derived from plants, roots and rock. Great care must be taken in pressing the blocked pattern into the cloth. The printed fabric is air-dried outside for at least two days.

When the fabric is dry, it must be steamed over a fire of rice chaff to fix the colour. Workers next haul the cloth to a river and rinse the fabric to remove excess dye. The natural pH of the water dictates the different nuances of colour. After the colour is fully saturated, the fabric undergoes another round of softening and colour-brightening. The fabrics are boiled and then laid in the sun once more before being folded and prepared to ship.

Mary Bergtold Mulcahy, founder of Les Indiennes has sustained and modernized the ancient Indian tradition of Kalamkari. She distills elements from complicated Kalamkari designs into clean, ethereal patterns suitable for both formal and minimalist interiors. These airy, single-coloured patterns inspired the Les Indiennes collection of prints differing from the multicoloured Traditional Kalamkari collection of prints which Les Indiennes also features. Les Indiennes is grateful that the production of our fabric does not cause pollution nor does it disrupt the traditional lifestyle of the village where it is made. Les Indiennes provides fair-trade employment for numerous families, raising the standard of living for the entire community, and all the while leaving no environmental or social footprint.