Design Alchemy Collective

We get asked this a lot, so here is the honest answer.

A DAC kaftan starts with hand block-printing - an artisan pressing a hand-carved wood block onto pure cotton, lining it up by eye, lifting it, moving along, pressing again. Across an entire length of cloth, in the Indian heat, with azo-free dyes that have to land right first time. The fabric dries outdoors - a step that cannot be rushed , then goes to our stitching artisans who stitch each piece to a finish built to last.

Two separate trades, both paid fairly, working across several days for one piece. Compare that to a printed roller running in seconds, which is how most "block print style" pieces on the market are actually made.

The price reflects the process, not a markup. We would rather tell you that plainly than let you assume.

https://designalchemycollective.com/collections/kaftans

Most people layer texture wrong. Here is the fix — and it takes about 60 seconds to learn.

Rule 1: Don't match. Contrast.
Rule 2: Pair smooth against rough — velvet next to linen or a woven weave.
Rule 3: Add the printed piece last. Always last.

That's it. That contrast is what makes a room feel designed rather than just decorated. We've been doing this for clients for 30 years and it still works every time.

Swipe through to see it in action — using one of our own cushions as the example, not the pitch.

https://designalchemycollective.com/collections/cushions

Anna flew to the other side of the world and ended up sitting in the dirt. She would do it again tomorrow.

This is the stitching village outside Jaipur -fabric on the ground, kids running around in the background, and a woman patiently showing Anna the edge stitch that finishes every single DAC piece. Anna had never seen it done that way before. She's been talking about it ever since.

The quilt they're working on in these photos is the Dreamweaver in underprint fabric - meaning layer upon layer of colour of ink fell through the cloth during printing, completely unplanned, building up across a month into something that looks like this. Then stitched in the village in the sun.

There is one of it. Not one colourway. One quilt. When it goes, that's genuinely it.

Swipe through - it's worth it.

https://designalchemycollective.com/products/half-kantha-doha-quilt-dream-weaver-damson?

If India has always been that place you have dreamt of.. the colours, the design, the vibrancy … here is your chance.
Guided with the support of a local team in the ground, explore the architecture, interiors, food and culture of Rajasthan.
Very limited space and we would love you to join. Xx

I'm heading back to a land so close to my heart.....
Join Design Alchemy Collective next February 2027 for An Indian Design Journey – an immersive experience created for interior designers, architects, artists, makers and passionate travellers who want to discover the craftsmanship, colour and creativity that has inspired designers for centuries.
From artisan workshops and hidden textile studios to remarkable architecture, bustling markets and unforgettable cultural experiences, this is far more than a holiday. It's an opportunity to see India through the eyes of designers.

Expect:
• Incredible textiles and handcrafts
• Private artisan experiences
• Architecture and interiors
• Local food and culture
• Inspiration you'll bring home for years to come
• Wonderful company with like-minded creative travellers

✨ Places are strictly limited and this tour has a small group to ensure a truly personal experience.

18 days – 14 Feb to 3 Mar 2027
Small Group: Min 8 – Max 12

If India has been on your bucket list, this is your invitation to join us.
Secure your place now before the remaining spaces disappear.

https://lnkd.in/e49dSi4C

Contact me if you have any questions.

People sometimes ask us what it is actually like to source in India.

The honest answer: it is nothing like a buying trip. We don't move from showroom to showroom reviewing samples. We go to the studios, the villages, the homes of the people who make our fabric. We eat with them. We hear about their children and their plans and the decisions they have made about how to run their work.

Jaipur is a city of extraordinary craft skills and extraordinary human stories. We are lucky to have access to both. And we are more grateful for it every time we go.

https://designalchemycollective.com/blogs/artisan-stories-1

Most textile studios in Jaipur don't have a water recycling plant.

Khushiram's does.

His studio also operates with a commitment to responsible environmental practices that most studios in the industry do not share - including water recycling processes, azo-free dyes, and the kind of care for his team and community that you only see when a person genuinely believes that how you make things matters as much as what you make.
His goal, in his own words: to sustain the ancient craft of block printing while giving it a new direction. To keep it alive not by preserving it under glass, but by letting it breathe and evolve.

That's the kind of person we choose to work with.

And it's why every piece we make carries something that cannot be replicated

https://designalchemycollective.com/blogs/artisan-stories-1/the-man-who-carries-five-generations-in-his-hands

We get asked whether our pieces only suit one kind of interior - bold, maximalist, a lot. So we wanted to show you the same cushion in three completely different rooms: coastal and calm, quiet and neutral, and pattern-on-pattern bold.

Same piece. Three moods. That's the part people don't expect until they see it.

https://designalchemycollective.com/products/cushion-cover-lotus-in-plum-damson-60x40cm-limited-edition-of-2-d-138