Behind the Block Print: How We Create Our Flora Drift Collection

There's a moment, just before the carved wooden block meets the fabric, where everything slows down. The artisan steadies their hand, aligns the block with practiced precision, and presses — transferring centuries of craft onto cloth in a single, deliberate motion. This is hand block printing, and it's at the heart of everything we make at Label Arjn.

What Is Hand Block Printing?

Hand block printing is one of the oldest textile printing techniques in the world, originating in Asia over a thousand years ago. Unlike digital or screen printing, every single print is made by hand — a carved wooden block dipped in dye and pressed onto fabric, repeat by repeat, metre by metre.

No two pieces are ever exactly alike. The slight variations in pressure, the occasional ghost print, the organic imperfections — these aren't flaws. They're proof of the human hands behind every garment.

How We Create the Blockprint Collection

Our blockprint collection begins long before any fabric is touched. It starts with a sketch — a botanical motif, a flowing line, a pattern inspired by the natural world. That sketch is then handed to our artisans, who carve it by hand into solid blocks of teak or sheesham wood. This carving process alone can take days for a complex design.

Once the blocks are ready, the printing begins:

• The fabric is washed and stretched flat across a padded printing table, ensuring an even surface for the block.
• Natural or low-impact dyes are prepared and poured into shallow trays.
• The artisan loads the block with dye by pressing it into the tray, then carefully aligns it on the fabric using registration marks.
• Each impression is made with firm, even pressure — no machines, no shortcuts.
• The fabric dries between colour layers, and the process repeats for multi-colour designs.

For a single dress, this process might take several hours. For a full run of a collection, weeks.

Why We Choose This Process

We could print faster. We could print cheaper. But we believe the way something is made matters as much as what it looks like.

Hand block printing supports skilled artisans who have spent years — sometimes their whole lives — mastering this craft. It uses significantly less water and energy than industrial printing. And it produces textiles with a depth and character that machines simply cannot replicate.

When you wear a piece from the Flora Drift collection, you're wearing something that took time, skill, and care to create. We think that's worth something.

Caring for Your Block-Printed Piece

To keep your hand block-printed garment looking its best, we recommend washing in cold water with a gentle detergent, and avoiding prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. Some slight fading over time is natural — and beautiful — as the piece softens and becomes uniquely yours.

Explore the Flora Drift collection and find the piece that speaks to you.