Some of our Awesome People & their Stories

When you buy from us, you are not only supporting an Ethical brand but also helping the families of these workers live a better life.

Tsering Chonden

CEO, Bohemia Design

Fashion designer Tsering Chonden is the driving force behind Bohemia Design. Before leading Bohemia Design, Tsering was the co-owner and Production Manager of Himalayan Tailoring Center for 9 years.

Absolutely driven and passionate, Tsering brings her experience, expertise and excellent managerial skills to Bohemia Design that has resulted in a steady growth of the company.

Ayaz

Head Training

Ayaz is our highly skilled and experienced pattern maker. Charming, reliable and easy going, he is the the sole earner of the family. He can also cut and sew and has trained many staff members. He has 13 years experience in high-end tailoring and production management.  Ayaz is the father of two beautiful daughters.

Nisha Devi

Assistant & Manufacturing Head

29 year old Nisha is a loving mother of two children – a daughter and a son. Her husband earns a living driving an auto rickshaw. Nisha’s mother passed away when she was only 10 years old. Nisha had the opportunity to attend school but she quit when she reached 10th class because of problems at home. She worked in a local tailoring shop for one year but had to leave because she was not getting her wages on time and was treated unfairly by her employer.

She works only half a day at Bohemia since she has to attend to her kids and family. She loves working at Bohemia since it gives her this flexibility coupled with a good salary.

Since Nisha didn’t have the good fortune of receiving a mothers love and care, she makes sure her kids get the best from her. All her earnings go to the education of her kids. Her dream is to see her kids get a good education and get good jobs one day.

Ajay

Head Fabric Cutting

Ajay is a very jolly and positive minded person, and an amazing cutter. Ajay is very kind, friendly and easy to get along with. He dropped out of school at the age of 16 and started painting houses to earn a living. Then he joined a tailoring centre, where he worked for 5 years before joining Bohemia. Ajay loves listening to music while working so we bought him a music system to keep him entertained and working hard! Ajay says he loves working at Bohemia even more than staying at home!

Kajal

Skilled Tailor

19-year-old Kajal is a bold and fast learner. She loves learning and isn’t afraid of trying new things. Kajal worked at a life insurance firm but left after 3 months because of the very low salary which was not enough for her and her family. She then joined a local tailoring centre where she learned basic stitching.

But again at her new job she wasn’t getting paid on time, so she had to leave. When she came to Bohemia Design she only had basic tailoring skills, but soon she picked up advanced techniques and now she can stitch anything at the centre.

She lives with her parents in the mountains and has to leave home at 7:30 am every morning, walking for 1 hour to catch a jeep to Bohemia’s tailoring centre. Since her home is far away, she has the liberty to leave early from work when she needs to.

Bindiya

Skilled Tailor

Bindiya, aged 22, is Kajal’s elder sister. She completed her college education with a Bachelors Degree in Arts. After her education she wanted to work in a Government institution but after struggling for a year to find a job she gave up and started learning sewing from a local tailor. She soon started making dresses at home, but the salary was very low. After joining Bohemia Tailoring Centre she is very happy and is learning many new things. Bindiya is intelligent and a fast learner. She likes coming to work at Bohemia because she says that she gets to learn new things every day, even the minute details of tailoring, and also gets paid while being trained.

Bindiya lives with her uncle who has been taking care of her since she was a child. Bindiya (unlike her younger sister Kajal) doesn’t have to commute far, but her village is in the woods and she has to reach home before dark since there are wild bears around! So she leaves work early to avoid possible encounters with these fierce woodland creatures.

Toshi

Senior Tailor

At 40, Toshi is one of the oldest workers at Bohemia. Toshi went to school till year 8, and then had to leave due to family demands. She got married at the age of 22 and is now the mother of 3 kids. She started sewing at the age of 18, which came in handy when she wanted to earn her living. She worked in a tailoring center for 4 years, but was asked to leave when the company downsized.

She is now happy at Bohemia which she thinks provides a very friendly atmosphere and a positive environment to learn.

Netia

Skilled Tailor

Netia (pronounced Ne-Tiya) is also one of the oldest and the most experienced workers at Bohemia, at age 42. Netia went to school till 6th class, but then had to drop out to take care of his family. He joined a local tailoring center where he was paid Rs.10 per week (15 Cents) at the time. But the skills he learned at that time are still helping him earn a living and take care of his family today.

Recently tragedy struck Netia when he lost his 2 year old daughter who was drowned during flooding caused by heavy rain. He is still recovering from the trauma and finds the workplace at Bohemia very supportive and positive.

Netia has a quiet personality, but when he says something, he always has something funny to share that makes everyone laugh, which helps keep the work environment friendly and fun. Netia is a great teacher and loves training the new tailors.