ai.no.ah

We partner with talented artisans to share their crafts and their stories.

ai.no.ah creates beautiful limited edition block printed and handmade home collections inspired by traditional craftmanship paired with contemporary sensibility.

17/10/2023

Apologies for the long silence.! Been in india for 6 and a half weeks and it’s been so busy I haven’t had a chance to post much! Learned some cotton yarn spinning today by the wonderful ladies . Please make sure you visit if you are ever in town! It’s the most beautiful shop and space. For more tips on the best places to visit in The Pink City please head to our journal ( link in bio )

15/07/2023

Excuse the sudden silence! Won’t be posting much for a few weeks as currently on a well overdue holiday in Tahiti ( originally meant to be in 2020…) and the internet is a bit patchy ! Still open for orders of course, which are being sent to you by lovely Zoe x

30/06/2023

We are all weekend. Who’s coming?

19/06/2023

The magic art of block printing •Blocks•
The carving of the blocks is not where the work ends before printing. Sometimes, when there are slightly large areas of a colour to be printed, a thin layer of fabric is glued onto the blocks to achieve a more even coverage.
You can see an example on one of our Ume design blocks here.
If the same block is being used for a different colourway , the fabric will need to be removed and reapplied. There are so many subtleties to this craft, so many important steps to a process that at first sight seems so simple!

15/06/2023

I really think these are the most versatile block printing kits around. I wanted to design a set ( made specially for us) using some simple shapes that could be used together in as many ways as possible. When you use blocks that are flowers or paisleys for example, you are somehow limited to the patterns you can create whereas with these you can go on and on creating. Here are some examples of some patterns created in the studio and also a few from our very talented students at the last workshops we run, all using the same kits you can buy on our website ☺️. (They can be used to print onto paper or fabric)

14/06/2023

Our block printed robes are perfect for these sunny days. Light and the cotton is oh so soft ! Thought it would be nice to offer you 20% off the robes so you can see for yourselves! Just use code SUNNYROBES at checkout until June 20th.
Noa x

07/06/2023

We are in Cornwall and I’ve been talking to some local farmers about wool. Their sheep need shearing at this time of year as otherwise, while roaming in the fields , they can get infested by insects that bury their eggs in the fleece and eventually die. Some farmers are burning the fleeces as it’s more economical than selling the wool on, they might get something like £50 for the fleeces of 300 sheep, 2-3 tons of wool!!!
One obvious use outside of making wool yarn is insulation. There is a company in the UK using the fleeces for insulation but they are in the Lake District, too far for the Cornish farmers to transport their fleeces to. There are other companies using wool for cushion fillers etc but it looks like so much beautiful wool is still going to waste.
Surely something should be done about this? What are your thoughts?
( As a vegetarian I am not an advocate of sheep breeding, but I also accept that the industry is there, and shearing needs to be done to protect these animals who after years of domestication depend on humans to do)

🇬🇧

30/05/2023

Did you know that block printing is on the Heritage Crafts Association red list of endangered crafts?

Crafts classified as ‘endangered’ are those which currently have sufficient craftspeople to transmit the craft skills to the next generation, but for which there are serious concerns about their ongoing viability.

I first started to work with block printing artisans over 20 years ago and I love sharing my knowledge of this ancient craft with others.

People are always fascinated when they learn how little block printing has changed over the years and when they realise the level of skill it takes to create beautiful products in what would at first glance seem like a simple process.
Block printing has been having a bit of “a moment “ in the last few years but I hope it will not be just discarded like so many “trends” and others with brands such as mine will keep sharing the magic of the craft for years to come.

24/05/2023

Sunny robes for sunny days ☀️

15/05/2023

When Jaimala and her team wanted to train female artisans to block print, they were told that it wouldn’t work.
That it is a man’s job as it requires physical strength, height…
They were assured that even if they managed to learn they would need a color master , who always is a man.

Neither argument made sense to these women so they went ahead anyway.
Today, they have a completely independant team of block printers and color masters: All Women!

Jaimala, and her wonderful team of artisans who worked on our stunning kantha bedspreads, are such an inspiration to me everyday. They are unstoppable and I feel privileged to be on this journey with them.

02/05/2023

Craft should be celebrated and not appropriated.
One of the things that I had no doubt over when starting the brand was that our artisans should be involved from the start of the process. To learn from them, to share my ideas and listen to their feedback, collaborating not dictating. I wanted the artisans to be a part of the story, allowing the craft, it’s possibilities and its challenges to drive the aesthetic in combination with my vision of what ainoah should be. I love seeing a new generation continuing to learn and bring their skills to traditional crafts such as block printing, and to see more and more women join too. This photo was taken whilst trying out some blocks I found. Printing was done outside, under the winter sun, pure joy .

29/04/2023

Making colour palettes is often where I start when designing, before any pattern or shapes come into play. Colour inspiration is everywhere, you just need to keep your eyes open. Sometimes the best palettes are found in places where things have accidentally ended up next to each other or where a paint splatter or a bit of dirt have added another layer and suddenly made something a little bit of interesting.
I took these photos whilst waking around Jaipur, a never ending source of all around inspiration.

Address

Kingston Upon Thames

Telephone

+447952156013

Website

http://www.ainoah.co.uk/

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