LA's Coolest Textile Brand Introduces Even More Ways To Beautify Your Space
If you talk to any stylish Angeleno, you're likely to find a few of the same items on their wish list for creating a chic, quintessentially Californian home: some handmade ceramic vessels, sustainable linen bedding, a smattering of succulents, and Block Shop textiles. For the last seven years, the brand's founders Lily and Hopie Stockman have been collaborating with printers in Bagru, Rajasthan to create their beloved hand-block printed, naturally dyed pieces. And now the sisters are offering even more way to decorate your home with their designs: framed prints and quilts.
In the Stockman's signature ancient-meets-modern aesthetic, the minimalist block framed prints (made with natural dye on cotton rag paper) have now joined the list Block Shop's offerings—and even more is yet to come. On October 11th, the brand will also release a new collection of organic cotton quilts handmade by a cooperative of women in rural Rajasthan. In light of these additions, we caught up with Lily and Hopie to learn more about the inspiration behind their latest designs, the LA-made home goods they lust after, and what's next for the conscious brand.
What prompted you all to offer customers block prints, in addition to the textiles and other products you've been creating?
Everything we design begins with the intention of joy. We design for our own lives, and introducing framed paper prints to our collection of textiles felt like a natural progression from our scarves and dhurries, which we’ve always used as wall hangings. Our customers often ask us the best way to frame or hang our textiles, so we thought why not create beautifully framed, one-of-a-kind art prints?
Your designs always seem to be such a balance between modern and ancient art (which is probably what makes it speak to so many people). Is this also a conscious aesthetic for the prints?
Our first collection of woodblock prints comes from our sketchbooks documenting the architectural motifs of the beloved Art Deco movie palaces of India and downtown Los Angeles, our two far-flung homes. They are a result of the long and interconnected history of papermaking and hand block printing in the region around Jaipur, and are a total collaboration between us sisters and the family-run studios with which we’ve worked closely since 2013 as Block Shop.
The paper is made by hand from cotton scraps leftover from nearby textile manufacturers—hence the rich texture and deckled edge—and then printed with wooden blocks and natural black dye. Citing Anni Albers’s conceit of textiles as art and the role of the artist in manufacturing, our prints express the joyful intersection of utilitarian and decorative process and celebrate the artistry of the handmade.
In our opinion, a Block Shop piece seems to be quintessential in any stylish Angeleno's home. What are some LA brand housewares you can't live without?
Some pieces by LA brands we can’t live without include B Zippy Ceramics, Le Feu De L’Eau African Basil candles, Brendan Ravenhill cord lamps, and arrangements from Holly Flora for special occasions. For entertaining, goodies from DTLA Cheese and Canyon Coffee and also musts in our studio.
Besides those who influence your brand, which artists have been your own personal inspirations?
Anni Albers, who pioneered the use of textiles as functional art. Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings, David Hockney’s pool at the Roosevelt, Art Deco movie palaces, mid 16th Century Indian Miniature Painting under Akbar, with its emphasis on naturalism, and Jerry Garcia, who is our favorite example of uncompromising devotion to a vision.
Can we expect more products for Block Shop in the pipeline?
We’re thrilled to launch upholstery fabric this fall (see our daybed!), as well as a new line of woolen Berber rugs handwoven in Haryana, India.
Images by Laura Dart
