- Based
- Costa Mesa, California
- Craft
- Hand block-printed cotton
Elizabeth James found her life's work on a trip with her mom. In 2000 the two were traveling through Nepal and India, and a stop in Jaipur, the center of Indian block printing, set the course for everything after.
She designs each collection in her Costa Mesa studio, mixing classic Mughal vines and flowers with the kind of strong color she admires in Matisse and Chagall, plus a bit of the Talavera pottery she collects. The designs then go to her block printing workshops in Jaipur, where master artisans carve printing blocks by hand, one at a time, and layer them onto cotton. A collection takes about a year, scheduled around the summer monsoon, and it comes out in small batches with the small variations of handmade textiles. She calls it slow-made.
The line spans tablecloths, runners, napkins, placemats, kitchen towels and aprons, plus robes and dresses. ModernTribe carries her warm red pomegranate apron, printed with salmon-red fruit and olive leaves, made for whoever is cooking the Rosh Hashanah meal.
Good to know
- Printed inJaipur, India, by hand block printing artisans
- Featured inLuxe Interiors + Design (2024)
- WorkshopsHas taught hand block printing at Seaside Gallery & Goods, Newport Beach
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