When a Simple Thank You Opens a New Path
There are moments in life where something shifts quietly…
not through planning, but through a simple, genuine action.
This is one of those moments.
Over the past 11 or 12 years of spending time in India, I’ve found myself completely immersed in pattern.
It’s everywhere.
In the fabrics people wear.
In the flowing dresses and scarves.
In the architecture.
In the textiles, the markets, the everyday life.
Beautiful block prints, geometric designs, motifs, paisleys — colour and pattern woven into everything. And slowly, over time, something in me began to respond to that. I found myself wanting to explore it, not just admire it. So I started simply.
I ordered a few wooden blocks online — traditional Indian designs — and began playing. Printing onto paper, onto canvas, just experimenting, seeing what happened.
And then something unexpected arrived.
I received a set of blocks from a maker, and from the moment I opened the box, I could feel the difference. They were packaged with such care and attention — more than anything I had received before. It made me pause. When I took the blocks out, they were stunning.
Carved from traditional sheesham wood — deep, rich in colour, beautifully smooth to hold. The designs were precise, intricate, and full of life.
They felt… special.
Inside the box was a small card from the maker, with a simple message and a WhatsApp number. And I felt compelled to reach out. Just to say thank you. To let him know how much I appreciated not only the craftsmanship, but the care he had taken in creating and sending them.
I didn’t expect anything in return. But his reply changed everything.
He simply wrote:
“What other designs would you like?”
And in that one question, something opened. I realised I had been searching — without quite naming it — for something that didn’t seem to exist. I wanted Australian nature. Leaves. Flowers. Organic forms.
Most of the designs I had found were traditional motifs — beautiful, but not quite what I was feeling drawn to. What I longed for were Australian botanicals — gum leaves, banksias, wattles — translated into this ancient block printing tradition. So I said it.
And he said yes.
Over the next few days, I immersed myself in the process — gathering images, sketching, refining ideas, sending them through. And just like that, a collaboration began.
What is unfolding now is something I could never have planned. A meeting of two worlds —
Australian native flora and traditional Indian craftsmanship.
A simple act of appreciation opened the door to something entirely new. And what feels most powerful is this:
I didn’t go looking for this pathway.
But I can feel it.
There’s an energy behind it.
A quiet sense of rightness.
A fullness in my heart that tells me this is something to follow.
I don’t know where it’s leading.
I don’t know what it will become.
But I do know this…
Sometimes all it takes is a moment of genuine connection — a simple thank you — and a whole new direction begins to unfold.
And when it does, the only thing to do is follow it.
Below is a glimpse into the craftsmanship behind these pieces — each design slowly carved by hand, using traditional tools and incredible skill. These are the very first lines of the Australian designs coming to life.