White Lace Hipster
Rhiannon Embroidered Top
Organic Cotton Trainer Socks in Black
Odina Embroidered Shirt
Organic Cotton Trainer Socks in White
Black Low Rise Shorts
Organic Cotton Socks in Black
Organic Cotton Socks in Navy
White Low Rise Shorts
Black Soft Bra Top
White Soft Bra Top
Black Lace Hipster
Raina Wrap Coat in Dark blue melange
People Tree designs colorful print dresses and tops made with hand printing.
The handcraft skill of block printing started in the 14th century in Bangladesh as a way of decorating clothing. People Tree uses block printing to maintain this ancient skill and bring you unique craft prints in a contemporary way. People Tree partners with Fair Trade groups in Bangladesh who specialise in hand block printing fabric like Kumudini. Environmentally friendly dyes are always used.
The first step is to design a print, working out how to layer colours and shapes. Next the artisans carve wooden blocks that will be used to print the fabric. The artisans lay fabric straight on very long tables and then mix the colours. The artisans then work carefully to print one colour at a time, placing each block with practiced precision to layer the colours and create a unique print.
Screen printing is used for printing a logo, motif or drawing on a garment, like on our jersey t-shirts. The initial designs are created at our studio in East London. We then work directly with the artisans to explain where and how the design should appear on each garment. They convert this to a printing screen made up of a lightweight woven mesh canvas stretched over a wooden frame. The design is photographically transferred onto the mesh by blocking the areas where ink is not required on the fabric. The screen is then placed onto the fabric and ink is pulled across the screen (and back again) using a rubber blade. The ink will only push through the mesh openings, creating the design underneath. The artisans then carefully lift the screen off the fabric and voila - the design has been printed! This process can be done using a different screen for each colour required on a design.
See more of the hand screen printing process in the video below.
People Tree designers work closely with artisan groups to develop contemporary designs and current shapes. Our designers combine modern geometric patterns with traditional designs to create garments that are timeless and stylish.