Pukka Print was founded by Juliet Cornell in 2011, following a lifelong love affair with interiors, textiles and prints.
Moving her young family to Bombay and living there from 2011-2013, Juliet immersed herself in Indian textiles and the block printing traditions. Having fallen in love with the old Chintz patterns and colouring produced in India over 300 years ago, Juliet designed the ‘Hema’ collection, working closely alongside the block carvers and printers.
Juliet earned a degree in Fashion and Textiles at Bristol Polytechnic in the late eighties, before launching her career in PR. Initially for the infamous Lynne Franks, she worked with a wide variety of clients ranging from the singer Michael Jackson to Laurent Perrier Champagne, before moving out of London with her husband in order to focus on bringing up four children. India then beckoned and from there Juliet was able to indulge herself in a textile tradition going back centuries. Now Juliet is back in England, Pukka Print is the culmination of years of dreams, ambition and hard work.
Pukka Print launched in London in March 2013 with its first collection called ‘Hema’.
Showcased at the renowned Tissus d’Hélène showroom in Chelsea Harbour, the hand blocked prints on linen, all produced in India, have proved a hit with designers both here in the UK and abroad.
The second collection ‘Patni’ was introduced at Focus in September 2014 and the third collection ‘Medallion’ launched a year later. In Spring 2016 ‘Kalam’ was presented at London Design Week bringing the total number of designs to nearly fifty. Fast forward to 2020 and the No. 10 Collection will be largest yet. Similar themes run through the designs – Indian botanicals, flowers and foliage merge with an English colour palette to create a very Anglo-Indian feel and look. The collections all combine an innate understanding of English decoration and style with a passion for genuine 16th and 17th century prints originating from India.
The look is timeless and understated; the colours subtle and classic. The designs are inspired by Indian motifs and play with colour and scale. Soft aqua and dove blues, walnut brown, raspberry and blossom pinks and a stronger crimson and biting apple green are familiar yet reinterpreted in this developing design story.
There are now two background cloths – a natural or a lighter bleached, colour – both 100% linen which drapes beautifully. The subtle, warm tone of the linen is quintessentially English. Block printing requires immense skill, experience and patience. Often this traditional expertise has been passed from father to son through the generations. In order to create the patterns each block is very carefully and slowly printed onto the cloth by hand whilst the registration (knowing how to line the block up) is all done by eye. Blockprinting is a true handicraft.
Swatches and large samples are available through the Tissus d’Hélène showroom.