![[beyt] by 2bdesign](http://2bdesign.biz/cdn/shop/files/logo_beyt_pdf_fond_transparant_aug_2013_100x.png?v=1637929094){kind=logo}
It’s time to celebrate!
We believe sharing meals is essential. And we believe that a beautiful table is a gift, an invitation to spend time together, feast, laugh, debate and wander on popular topics that, despite their simplicity, move the world. We dress our table with an elegant tablecloth so our guests can enjoy their meal to the fullest - surrounded by good food and beauty. To encourage conversation. To share memories and experiences. To foster connections, collaboration and joy.
Our new table linen collection, "Fabrics on a Voyage", is all about sharing, remembering, encouraging conversation and connections that transcend borders. It will be out very soon, but we’d first like to tell you a bit more about the story behind this new collection. With our line of napkins, tablecloths, runners and table sets, take your guests on a voyage through time and across borders!
The journey of our unique home linen starts with the raw materials: high-quality Kham cotton and pure linen sourced in Lebanon from luxury European deadstock fabrics.
The transformation process then begins.
The craft of block-printing textiles
We use a carved wooden block to imprint inks and dyes onto the textile, a technique that dates from the 4th century! We can trace the origins of Arabic block printing to China. Trade favoured the transmission of block print techniques in the early Islamic period (7th to 9th centuries). "Block-printed fabrics have a history of use in Syria dating back to ancient Rome. For centuries, hand-printed textiles were a commodity found in every household and Souq in Aleppo, Damascus and Hama. Hama was famous for its white cotton fabrics printed in black floral or geometric designs used as tablecloths or bed covers” (https://syrian-heritage.org/hand-carved-wood-block-used-for-printing-fabrics/ ). We decided to keep traditional, ancestral block-printing techniques and fusion them with modern designs to produce one-of-a-kind tablecloths, napkins and sets to brighten your table.
Design
We then let our imagination and creativity flow to create unique patterns that spread over the fabric. We work with Syrian women refugees that know how to use traditional block print techniques. We use their fantastic collection of wood stamps, created uniquely by them and inspired by the Levant culture. We help them boost their creativity by letting them freely reinterpret each design. That results in unique pieces: not one of our table linen products is the same. The pattern will sometimes differ slightly, other times drastically, creating unique designs. Some of our designs are classical - others, on the contrary, quite unconventional!
We took the design process further by mixing one-colour-block prints with other colours.
This results in four outcomes:
1/ classical pattern on pure “Kham” cotton whose designs belong to our partner workshop
2/ classical pattern on pure linen, using block print stamps from our partner collection
3/ creative reinterpretation on beige linen with our partner block print collection
4/ reinterpretation in multiple colours for a funkier look
Impact
Environmental: We choose pure linen sourced in Lebanon from dead stocks from luxury brands and Kham cotton to produce a fabric line based on circular economy and zero-waste ethics. We make only on-demand to avoid overstock and to limit our footprint. We favour slow fashion: you will have to wait 4 to 5 weeks to receive your cloth. But we promise the wait is worth it!
Social: Each item is co-created with Syrian women in a workshop : Hikayatouna. We pay our artisans in "fresh dollars", well above the national wage: a luxury in a country struck by a grave economic crisis, where dollars are increasingly rare. The artistic and creative work also boost our artisans' morale and confidence.
