Sarah Burns
Block Printed Textiles and Paper
Contact
Steyning
West Sussex
England
BN44 3WA
About
Working together with my partner Alice, we hand block print naturally dyed fabric lengths and papers from our workshop in the South Downs. We also have a small screen printed collection which we hand print in one of the last remaining screen printing factories in England, Ivo Textiles where Sarah used to work as a hand printer.
An important part of our practice is working with natural fibres and sourcing seasonal, local dyes that are available as agricultural 'waste' - these are a source of precious colours to us - willow, oak and ash are favourites. Thanks to a grant from Heritage Crafts we were able to upscale our natural dyeing equipment and now have a 400 litre vat for our oak gall mordanting.
As well as making lengths for interiors, we design block printed patterns for commission. Past clients include the Virginia White Collection, The Trevor Arms in Glynde and the Dartington Trust, where we also had our first solo show in 2023.
In 2021 Sarah wrote the first monograph on 1930's block printers Phyllis Barron & Dorothy Larcher and their slow, sustainable approach continues to inspire us. Our work is available online as well through shops and galleries like Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft.
We look forward to publishing a book about our own Block Printing practice together with the Heritage Crafts Association in 2026.
Mini craft gallery
