An Interview with Amy Philip, JOYN
Amy Philip has a modern take on a centuries-old tradition - her company, Blok Parti, makes the art of wood block printing accessible, fun, and fashionable. In conjunction with JOYN, which celebrates the craft of bag making, Amy encourages novice wood blockers to have fun and bring new life into items they'll use every day.
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What does crafting/creating mean to you?
I love slowing down and taking time to make something with my hands. Life is busy and fast paced, but crafting forces you to be present and intentional and create something meaningful.
What got you interested in wood blocking?
As an art form, block printing is very meditative, it’s rhythmic and you find you get into a state of flow, it feels good to do. It’s also very forgiving - it’s possible to create beauty, without needing to be skilled at painting or drawing. You work within the limits of the wooden blocks in your hands and bring your creativity to it through how you arrange and align to create repeat patterns. I love that without fail, every time I do a block printing workshop across the city, someone will take the same blocks I’ve used hundreds of times and create something I’ve never seen before - I love that such a simple tool can be so versatile and imaginative.
How long have you been teaching for?
I first began running creative workshops back in 2016 as we ran a coffee shop in Brighton collaborating with makers all over the city to gather together and create. In 2020 I had to stop in person workshops, but I began working with JOYN, remotely from home. In 2024 we launched our first block printing kits and workshops - it felt like a full circle moment to be able to step back into creative facilitation and begin gathering together around hand making again.
What inspired you to join JOYN?
JOYN’s story began all the way back in 2011 with a small group of friends nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas who gathered together around traditional art forms of spinning, weaving and block printing. What started small, grew into a full studio making hand block printed bags, accessories, and now block printing supplies and workshops. Our studio is still in the same place and we’re still working with many of the same makers, still making things by hand.
Why do you keep coming back to block printing, and is it something you enjoy outside of Blok Parti?
I love block printing, it brings fabric to life in a way that machine printing can’t and carries a charm as you see the little signs that someone took time to make this my hand. You can print on all kinds of surfaces and I love to experiment with it outside of my work. I recently started printing on some chocolate brown denim which I’ll cut and sew into some leopard print pants (when I have the time to finish them).
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Amy Philip of Blok Parti leads block printing workshops all over New York City and Brooklyn, and her wood blocking kits will be available for purchase at A.MANO Brooklyn. To learn more about JOYN and Blok Parti, visit their website: Hand Block Printed Bags & Block Printing Kits | JOYN