Cream scalloped bowls, set of six
Six deep bowls with a scalloped rim and forty years of wear along the edge.
$30
Batik napkins, set of four
$42
Four napkins, one dye bath, and the crackle that proves nobody printed them.
Materials & dimensions
- Handloom cotton
- Indigo dye
- Hand-rolled hem
42 × 1 × 42 cm · 260 g
Care
Cold hand wash, alone, for the first two washes. Dry in shade — direct sun will lift indigo faster than anything else. Iron on the reverse while slightly damp.
Shipping & duties
Standard $39
Express $74.10
North America · 260 g
Free standard shipping over $250.
Import duties and taxes are set by United States, not by us. They are not included above, and your carrier collects them on delivery.
The story
The fine dark veins running through these are called crackle, and they are the signature of real batik. When the waxed cloth is folded into the dye, the wax fractures, and dye creeps into every fracture. No two pieces crack the same way. A printed imitation reproduces the same crackle on every metre of the roll, which is how you tell them apart in about two seconds.
Padmini waxes and dyes these four at a time so they share a bath and sit together on a table without one of them looking like a stranger. They are hemmed by hand, which is slower and produces a softer edge than a machine roll.
Indigo bleeds for the first few washes. This is not a fault and it is not the colour leaving — it is the surface dye that never bonded, and once it has gone the rest is fast. Wash them on their own the first two times and then stop thinking about it.
Padmini Silva
Bentota, Southern Province · working since 1992
