08/03/2026
I’ve been travelling to India for over twenty five years, working alongside block printers, learning from them, building with them. In all that time, I’ve met very few women doing this work. Then I met Anita. She came to the craft through her husband and was hesitant at first, but (like me) she fell in love with the skill and precision block printing demands. She works in an industry that has long belonged to men, and she has little patience for the idea that it should stay that way. “I feel that every woman should be able to stand on her own feet,” she told me. “There should be no fear. What matters is that the work is beautiful.” After twenty five years in the world of block printing, and Anita reminds me that this time-honored craft is still evolving and changing for the better. Happy International Women’s Day.