The Making of Mosaique Bleue Using Wood Block Printing

Mosaique Bleue, our tile print inspired collection, honors the wonderful legacy of Moroccan Zellige. This geometric print is inspired by the the ancient art of terracotta tile-making known for its vibrant colors and mesmerizing patterns. Our lead designer and co-owner Anisha is here to walk you through a visual journey of how Mosaique Bleue, a Moroccan inspired tile print, comes to life one block at a time.

Journey with us to the enchanting palaces and streets of Morocco where the fasctinating Zellige tilework captures the essence the essence of the country’s vibrant cultural tapestry, where the cerulean seas and azure skies meet…Meet Mosaique Bleue.

Decorate with Mosaique Bleue

Mosaique Bleue: cerulean seas and azure skies

Anisha, Saffron Marigold’s lead designer and co-owner, was greatly inspired by the mesmerizing handcrafted “Zellige” tilework found in gorgeous courtyards, secret alleyways, and magnificent architectural facades across Morocco.

Enchanted by the timeless beauty and meticulous craftsmanship of Zellige, Anisha sought to translate this masterpiece craft into block printed textiles, another culturally rich and artistic handicrafts. Mosaique Bleue is painted in vibrant blues, complemented by refreshing peacock green, chocolate tile, and white.

Stage 1: Early sketches and light-bulb moments

Every Saffron Marigold collection starts as a pen and paper sketch. Here, Anisha begins to translate stunning Moroccan inspirations into textile.

The inspiration

Palaces, homes, alleyways, and multitudes of other architectural forms across Morocco are adorned in mesmerizing Zellige tiles, a beautiful display of traditional crafts and skill honed over hundreds of years.

Our Mosaique Bleue collection consists of two main prints that sing stories of earth and sky. Our version of a Moroccan tile print consists of cyan blue star burst motifs, set in pieces of chocolate or white tile, with accents of french blue, peacock green and apricot.

Mosaique Bleue – Earth

Mosaique Bleue – Earth has its roots firmly grounded in a predominantly brown color palette, a heartfelt ode to the terracotta hues in Zellige tiles before baking and glazing. This colorway one of our most cherished and popular prints, bringing a boho vibe into customers’ homes.

Mosaique Bleue – Sky

Mosaique Bleue Sky soars above the celestial wonders, ready to take flight with its refreshing blue and white color palette. It’s radiant, youthful, and summer loving—a modern boho take on our Moroccan inspired tile print.

The border element

The striking border element for this collection represents columns decorated in stunning Zellige, a predominant feature of Moroccan architecture.

The block printing process is only made more complex when taking inspiration from such intricate patterns.

The complementary print

The first desert dwellers relied on stars for navigation, making these radiant motifs a significant mainstay in Islamic art. Our Mosaique Bleue collection features a complementary print of a Zellige star pattern in white, orange, blue.

Stage 2: Carving the wooden blocks

Wood block printing is a multi-part process that starts with artisans tracing the Mosaique Bleue sketches onto wooden blocks. Artisans carve and chisel each motif onto solid wood blocks, carefully capturing each line and curve. Here, we have the wonderful set of blocks used to print Mosaique Bleue.

The star burst motifs are either set in pieces of chocolate tile or white, depending on the colorway.

Stage 3: The block printing process

Mosaique Bleue is one of our most popular collections, and it is also one of the most challenging to print! Each colorway requires various shades of dye to be mixed and printed with a great degree of precision due to the intricate nature of the tile patterns.

First, the border is created to help outline the main print. Pictured above is the border printing process for Mosaique Bleue – Earth. The border alone requires 6 wooden block prints—for each color and element of the pattern. Pinning it on all sides so that it taut is a critical part of the printing process. Looks easy to do, but it isn’t!

This is how the border will look in its final form.

Border is done, now we move on to the main print which requires another handful of blocks.

This is how the final main prints look on cotton fabric.

And here are the complementary prints in all their star-studded glory.

The final product: the vibrant and geometric Mosaique Bleue

Discover how this Moroccan tile inspired print comes to life in our short, two-minute video. Thanks to the ancient craft of block printing, Mosaique Bleue is not just a dream in our designer Anisha’s mind and heart. Hand block printed linens are beautiful, exclusive works of art distinguished by the work of the artisan, the weather, and the particular batch of dye used during its production. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the process that brings Mosaique Bleue to life:

Hope you enjoyed this visual journey into the making of Mosaique Bleue. These beautiful living textiles are made with so much love and attention. Knowing what goes into printing them, hopefully, will make you fall in love with your linen even more.

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