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While we
have so many stories to tell, it is of the “Pashmina”
that binds us the most.
Pashmina
is the Nepali word for “Cashmere”. In Nepali folklore,
analogies of the warmth of the wool are sung to the
warmth of endeared love. The use of the wool sheared
from the “Himalayan Chyangra” (the indigenous name of
the Goat in Nepal) is dated to antiquity in Nepal’s own
history.
Kings,
Aristocrats and Nobles from the courts of the Ottoman
Empire to the Mugals of India were known to prize the
wool, in Medieval times. The wool was first discovered
for the West by British Colonizers, in the Kashmir
valley in India; hence “Cashmere”.
We wove
our first Pashmina Shawl in the early 90’s. The Blending
with silk was an invention in the Kathmandu valley. The
elegant sheen of the Pashmina-silk mix with the hand
tassel finish caught the attention of some prominent
western Designers and what we wove in our timeworn
factories transmuted into a Global Fashion Accessory
shortly after.
The
Pashmina Shawl might have changed over time but the
innuendoes still remain.
Our
customers’ have also changed. We sold our first shawls
personally to dignitaries from the West on Ambassadorial
entourages. Today, the winds of change have brought us
friends who sell it to self-respecting denizens of
beautiful hinterlands, our seamstresses and weavers see
on TV. In their lore it is all America
The Story
of this “Pashmina” Shawl, which has connected us to the
world in ways we had never imagined, is the one we can
share with you. |
