The designing
Textile designers internationally contribute to Soma's design repertoire. Many of the motifs are inspired by nature - flowers, leaves, birds, vegetables, fish and seashells. Our products are not simply cut out of a bolt of fabric. The designer expertly plans the colours and layouts of larger pieces like bedspreads and smaller pieces like cushion covers so that each item is complete in itself or complements the other parts of a group.

The Printing
Following the designer's drawing, the village craftsman cuts small blocks by hand from hard teak wood, one block for each colour in a design. The printer then dips the wooden block into a custom-mixed tray of fresh dye bath which is placed on top of a small table on casters and moves down the length of the cloth stamping with skillful precision. To print a bedspread of 90" x 108" the printers have to stamp approximately 1400 times with different blocks of as many as five or six colours, to cover the entire surface of the fabric. Only fine 100% cotton is used.

The Colours
Print colours are freshly mixed each day by the colour master in charge of each print workshop. He maintains a complete record of the recipes of various colours. Colour masters often have to amend the recipes to compensate for changes in weather and alterations in the dye lots. The colours may have mineral, vegetable and/or non-toxic chemical origins.

The Finishing Touches
Following the production of the printed textiles, garments are stitched on simple treadle sewing machines then buttons and beads are added. All production lots are small. There are no mechanical processes at any stage.

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