Enchanted, our French provincial flower pattern, has quickly become one of our customer’s favorite floral prints. We’re chatting with our designer about the inspiration behind this print and stepping into our artisans’ studio in Rajasthan, India to take closer look at how this vintage floral pattern came to be. Whether you’ve found yourself enthralled by this floral design or simply captivated by the art of block printing, journey with us into the magical realm of Enchanted.
Enchanted: our designer’s inspiration for the pattern
Saffron Marigold’s co-founder and head designer Anisha Ghosh finds so much beauty and inspiration in the natural world. She recalls childhood afternoons spent hours looking for fairies in her family’s garden, and she summoned those memories to create this pattern. “I pictured a perfect chaos of wildflowers, bumblebees, bluebirds, and butterflies working in dizzying, dazzling harmony.”
Anisha wanted to create a collection that could indulge the senses through vivid imagery. She wanted to create a collection that would transport the imagination to a magical place and feel embraced by nature in all her opulent abundance.
With that concept in mind, she began creating Enchanted. As far as the fairies Anisha used to search for on those golden afternoons? “I believe that fairies and other magical beings are hiding within the folds of Enchanted, giving it an extra special glow,” she says with a smile.
Designing the Enchanted floral pattern
Like all great works of art, pencil and paper help deliver the ideas that originate in the imagination. Take a look at a few of the early sketches Anisha dreamt up for this magical and classic pattern.
Throughout the creative process, Anisha sought to highlight both the intricate structure and the beautiful chaos of nature’s design through line, form, and color.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Saffron Marigold pattern without an absolutely gorgeous border design.
Block printing: breathing life into the floral print
Enchanted is special for so many reasons, but there are a few that set it apart. For starters, this collection comes in two colorways (blue and ivory) along with a signature complementary print. But that’s not all! In fact, the real magic behind Enchanted lies in its creation. This floral design pattern uses of seven different colors, making Enchanted one of our most complex patterns to print.
This means that not only must our color master must mix even more colors (which he does by eye!), but that we also need more carved wood blocks. To create these floral patterns with block printing requires that each color and every detail are printed on with separate blocks. This also translates into more time spent at the printing tables in order to create the botanical print fabric. Would you have ever guessed that it takes twenty blocks to create Enchanted?
It’s also worth noting that each block is meticulously carved and chiseled by hand. This is a true testament to the craftsmanship required to create these masterpieces. Just look at the intricate details and imagine using simple tools to chisel out the shapes by hand–it’s simply remarkable.
Mother Nature didn’t only inspire the floral and botanical scenery in our Art Nouveau-inspired print–she controls its printing schedule! While our artisans can print the ivory colorway throughout the year, they can only print the blue version from November through March. Once the weather warms up, the gorgeous blue we use for the background turns a dull sage. We see the fickle nature of Enchanted’s brilliant blue is part of its magic.
Let’s take a glimpse behind the curtains and see how it all comes together:
We invite you to fall under the spell of Enchanted’s wonder and craftsmanship.
Enchanted - Blue ~ Round Tablecloth
Enchanted - Ivory ~ French Provincial Floral Duvet Cover
Enchanted - CP ~ Sheer Curtain Panels
