Meet Rasa Jaipur - India's most exciting textiles brand
We think Rasa Jaipur is one of the most exciting and innovative fashion and home textile brands in India. We met Manish and Madhulika (Madhu) Tibrewal, the delightful couple behind the brand, on our recent visit to India, and would like to share their story and introduce some of their beautiful products, which are now available in stores and online.
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Ginkgo Leaf |
Silk Circles |
Banana Leaf |
Neither Manish or Madhu are natives of Jaipur, but they were so captivated by its heritage, history, architecture - and the craft of block-printing that originated there - that they decided to make it their home. In 1998, a year after arriving, they founded Rasa Jaipur – making it, coincidentally, the same age as Inside – and have created a brand centred on contemporary, luxurious hand blockprints, often with a stunning hand-embroidered finish.
Rasa also produces breathtakingly beautiful fashion, but you will need to check out their website for that as INSIDE is only stocking cushions and some stunning quilts at the moment.
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Samode Peacock |
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Madhu has been primarily responsible for the design and aesthetics, while (for the first seven years) Manish mixed the colours, and then and now takes responsibility for quality control. Attention to detail is very important to the Rasa team, and this is evident in the quality of their products. It has been a personal challenge for Manish to be able to let go and embrace the inevitable imperfections that block printing produces, but in many cases give it its uniqueness and beauty. The stitching is important; fabrics are chosen for their softness and having the ‘right feel’, and where possible the company favours handwoven fabrics, in linens, silks and cottons.
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Tinka |
Crescent |
Shell Pink Stripe
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Rasa Jaipur takes block printing to a different level, perhaps unsurprising given Madhu’s impeccable design pedigree. An undergraduate course in National Institute of Fashion Technology in Dellhi and a master’s degree from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, was followed by stints at Anokhi and an internship with the renowned and influential textile designer, Neeru Kumar.
The more traditional block print cushions below stand out for their linen fabric, very finely detailed printing, sophisticated colours and the beautifully finished fringe.
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Shahnaz Indigo |
Shahnaz Aqua |
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Every design has its own story. Inspiration comes from the architecture, vintage textiles and jewellery of Jaipur, with its Mogul, Rajput and even European influences, but the finished product has a timeless, contemporary twist to it. Even after nearly thirty years, the team is still finding new ideas.
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Khejri Leaf |
Diamond Gold & Red |
Birch Leaf |
Rasa Jaipur is one of the few block-printers to have mastered the art of block-printing on a dark fabric, Conventional block print stamps a dark colour on a light base which is immediately visible, and the pattern is only printed on one side of the fabric.The technique that Rasa Jaipur uses actually prints the lighter dye into the fabric, but it takes several hours to appear, so the printer cannot actually see the pattern and needs to apply a dusting of arrowroot to highlight the printed area. It is more time-consuming and requires immense skill.
Rasa has embraced environmentally-friendly processes. In 2008/9 they moved to a new facility, where all wastewater is treated, while it is mainly powered by solar or biofuels. This of course adds to the cost, but we – and I believe many of our customers – believe this is a small price to pay for a clean conscience.
View the entire collection!
A quick note on block printing. We stock a lot of block print products at Inside, and it is easy – even for us - to take them for granted, but every time we visit a block print studio or workshop, we are reminded of what a wonderful art form this is. The block is commonly made of wood, but since the wood blocks lose their crispness over time, more expensive brass is sometimes used for more delicate patterns or higher end products. It is all done by hand, hence the very charming (in our view!) minor irregularities in the pattern and colours. Skilled artisans can work at surprising speed. Any number of colour combinations can be used, and old designs recreated, but unlike machine-produced printed fabrics, production runs tend to be much smaller, but the choice of colour and pattern infinitely higher. Many of the producers have libraries of hundreds of different blocks. The fabrics age beautifully, and each piece will have its own unique characteristics.