Hand Painted Silk Factory Tour Part 1

Last weekend I visited one of my favorite shops in Kathmandu Mandala Silks.  They were having a .  I discovered this amazing shop because I am a member of the Cultural Studies Group of Nepal (CSGN).  Last year around this time we were fortunate to be able to take a tour of Mandala Silks Factory!  It was a wonderful experience for me and I took so many pictures that I will have to split this post up.

First they receive silk that is made in China and this ladies job is to check and mark spots with defects.

Next they sketch out a design on paper.

This man transfers the designs onto the silk.



Now they start hand painting the designs right onto the silk!

Here is a close up view of a piece of fabric in process.

Here is a smaller scarf before they add the colors.  Look how messy the side of the table gets!

These men are hard at work with a very steady hand.

Now the last layer of paint has been added...



And this is what the finished product will look like...

After watching the painting they took us into their Color Lab.  These are the color samples they can produce.

They have so many colors of the paint they use!

They hang up freshly washed silk to dry on their rooftop in Kathmandu.

We will see more of what they create with their hand painted silks in Part 2!  Thanks for joining me on this tour :)