Designing Rangmanch

Designing our first pattern began without a rulebook.

We are not trained in textile or fashion design, and we did not begin with a defined visual language. What we had instead was instinct, memory, and a clear sense of how we wanted our pieces to feel. That became our starting point.

Rather than turning to established motifs or traditional references, we began with fragments. Images we had saved over time. Architectural details. Textures and colors that stayed with us long after we had seen them.

Over time, those fragments began to form a direction.

 

 

To translate that direction into a pattern, we collaborated with Nidhu B, an illustrator and graphic designer based in Himachal Pradesh. Working from her home studio in the hills, her work carries a quiet balance between traditional forms and a contemporary sensibility.

 

 

This became the beginning of Rangmanch.

Our first conversation happened over a video call. It was not a structured brief, but a conversation. We spoke about what we were drawn to, what we wanted to avoid, and the kind of presence we wanted the pieces to have in a space.

 

 

One request remained constant.

We wanted the pattern to hold a subtle reference to our name, The Peacock Palette. Not something literal, but something that could be felt rather than immediately seen. Beyond that, we left room for interpretation.

 

 

What followed was a measured exchange of ideas. We shared images that had stayed with us over the years. Textiles, architectural details, color studies, and visual fragments that carried a certain mood. Some were rooted in craft. Others were not. All of them shaped the direction in quiet ways.

The pattern did not arrive fully formed. It evolved.

Designing for hand block printing brought its own discipline. What exists on a screen must translate into something that can be carved into wood and printed by hand. Lines must hold their strength. Details must resolve into form. Repetition must align with precision across fabric.

The design adjusted to meet the craft.

What remained was something considered. A pattern shaped by instinct, refined through process, and grounded in the realities of how it would be made.

From there, the design moved from paper to wood, where artisans would begin carving the blocks that would eventually print the fabric by hand.

 

 

And with that, Rangmanch began to take its first physical form.

This journal is a record of how The Peacock Palette came to life, one step at a time.