COME BEHIND THE SCENES & MEET RACHEL, FOUNDER OF LITTLE BEACON
We’re so excited about our Little Beacon x BINIBAMBA collab! Like us, we know you're inspired by the natural world....can you tell us more about where the inspiration came for the confetti & rose moon prints that feature throughout the collection?
I'd recently returned from living back in Australia for a year or so when we first started work on the collaboration, and my head was still swimming with images from my time there; the colours over the ocean at sunrise, the way the waves warp a straight line, clusters of shells scattered.
What is your favourite part of the design process?
A lot of my work is trying to channel the colours at a certain time of day, picking up on natural shapes and trying to convey a feeling within a pretty strict, minimal set of parameters I've set myself. I really enjoy working within my own visual language, as tricky as it is!
Each & every piece within the collection is handcrafted & totally unique. There is so much skill & craft that goes into your beautiful hand block prints, talk us through the process of block printing by hand....
Each block is unique, it's a shape I've either carved myself, or someone has helped me cut! It's a slow process, with each shape being individually pressed by hand with to eventually build up the total print. I've gotten strong wrists over the past couple of years!
How did you get into hand block printing & where or how did you learn this craft?
I started experimenting with block printing after my first baby was born, struggling to find neutral textiles to make some clothes for them, I tried printing my own. The first attempts were far from perfect but it became a very meditative process, with no plan. So I just taught myself really, feeling my way through, lots of intuition, trial & error!
All of the materials used in the collection are 100% natural, from using GOTS certified cotton for your muslins & natural plant dyes (inks) to our 100% merino wool sheepskins. Is it important to you that you only use natural materials in your collections?
"It's vital. That's really why Little Beacon started, searching for those natural fabrics to sew and completely falling in love with them."
It's why the block printing didn't really develop into clothing, I just loved the way the textiles hung on their own! I celebrate them. We've got a real shared responsibility as an industry to not do any more damage to the planet, and to figure out how to begin improving it.
Your prints are designed to flow room to room, from sibling to sibling...which is your hardest working piece from the collection & can you give us any tips on the different ways you use it day to day?
I've got to say it's the swaddle blanket- they're super versatile. I'm honestly still using the first ones I developed when my daughter was born 2.5 years ago! It's my everyday go-to: a lightweight blanket, a throw, coverup, quick picnic rug, tent for my 5 year old and I still enjoy catching them draped around the house. They make for a pretty handy emergency beach towel too!
We would love to know what your favourite 3 pieces from the collection are?
It's hard to pick favourites but I'm really loving the Confetti Liner and Confetti Comforter, and the Rose Swaddle!
Confetti Snuggler £98 Rose Moon Swaddle £39 Confetti comforter £18
And finally..what's your dream combo from the collection you're going to be rocking?
Got to be the Confetti Tote Bag with the Rose Moon Liner!
Shop the full collection here -