The traditional sentiments behind my culture always interested me. It's fair to say that I am a Westerner now but those values are something I wouldn’t relinquish. This led me to establish Kirubajinie (kiru-baj-ini) in 2022 – initially offering jewellery heavily inspired by Eastern stylings. 

Tradition allows us to extend the stories of ourselves, our families, and our loved ones over the course of future generations. When growing up in Sri Lanka, I used products similar to those we source currently for Kirubajinie - items like the eco-friendly wooden spoons or sustainable soft furnishings, it was then I realised they represented quality as they lasted a lifetime which was handy as we couldn’t afford to replace them often. Not only that, whether it was a hand-me-down or a rare gift, the appreciation was constant.

Toward the end of 2022, we introduced semi-precious handcrafted jewellery for women to add to the children jewellery we were offering, and we are now proud to say that we are an official distributor of Sangeeta Boochara in the UK. In the beginning of 2023 we introduced soft furnishing and homeware. Indian cotton is something special and a feature of many of our designs is the block printing element, which is a century old artisan skill.

Through decorating our home in 2021, I fell in love with colours, patterns, mixing and matching designs, and came to the realisation that there is no right or wrong way to decorate, what counts is what is unique to you. Embracing the things that makes us unique is powerful and liberating. 

After introducing hand block printed soft furnishing, I wanted to extend those lines for our brand and create something truly unique to Kirubajinie. It began with scribbling designs and patterns on our dining table until my hands were numb and my brain wound offer creative stimulation no more. Following this in June 2023, I decided to travel to India to see the process of hand block printing in person, touch and feel the fabric, and most importantly meet the artisans. I was able to share our designs with them start the development of our exclusive items.

Hand block printing involves several stages, including designing the patterns, carving the wooden blocks accordingly, where the number of blocks per design is determined by the pattern and the level of detail. Next comes preparing the dyes to get the desired colours. Each colour requires a separate block and then meticulously printing the fabric using those blocks. I still can’t believe the precision of wooden block carvings as they all have to align carefully to make a seamless print. And the artisans’ skill to repeat the patterns accurately and importantly maintain consistency throughout the fabric was so impressive. It’s truly magical to see the finished products, how they create perfect corners - I can go on and on!