The inspiration behind BANJAARA

Running the perpetual treadmill of seeking success and external validation has become synonymous with importance and personal value, creating busy lives that can often lack true meaning. This has led to growing numbers of people (including myself) yanking the proverbial ‘pull-cord’, as we search and ask questions about alternative ways of living.

What is slow, conscious living and what are its benefits?

From what I have come to understand, there is no single definition of slow, conscious living, but it’s generally accepted as prioritising living life according to your own values in order to connect with yourself and the world around you on a deeper level. Like Carl Hanore once said, the great benefit of slowing down is reclaiming the time and tranquillity to make meaningful connections – with people, with culture, with work, with nature, with our own bodies and minds.

BANJAARA was born out of my eagerness to embrace slow, conscious living – to break free from expectations that did not fit my values. As any small business owner will tell you, it has not been plain sailing and the amount of challenges that need to be overcome on a daily basis with such limited resources can often feel overwhelming. Despite this, it has given me such an incredible sense of fulfillment, being able to live my working life in line with the values that I define. Embracing slow, conscious living and nurturing BANJAARA has given me a renewed sense of purpose, a deeper connection to my work, a richer daily experience, and has allowed for more creativity and productivity (gasp.) to flow.

It is this feeling of fulfillment and clarity that I want to share with the world. And that is what BANJAARA is all about – Aspiring to a slower, more conscious way of life, one block print at a time. Our philosophy permeates everything we do, and as such our pieces reflect a strong sense of place, by what grows from the moments when we connect with nature and ourselves.

Sail Wrap Top from illustration to birth

Following several hours immersed in the environment, a seed of inspiration from the illustration emerges that translates into one simple, organic shape that can be applied in block print patterns. The Sail Wrap Top was made using the ‘Dabu’ - mud resist method of block printing. Follow the block printing link below for more information on this ancient process:

Block Printing

By celebrating and championing the ancient technique of hand block printing, BANJAARA encourages the consumer to slow down, reflect and appreciate the tell-tale signs of the human hand at work. That’s what makes our prints truly special – each cotton-pressed print is one of a kind, beautifully different from the one before and after.

We hope that by preserving the artisanal craft of block printing, our supporters can join us on a shared journey to slow down, be present and seek meaningful connections to the world around us.