Nanabeni
Tradition, thoughtfully chosen
Patan 1978 · Sydney today
हाम्रो कथा
A shop that beganwith one small collection.
Three generations in: a family story in Patan, and a studio in Sydney bringing traditional clothing and jewellery to people who intend to wear it rather than keep it in a box.
The founder
She chose piecesrather than trends.
Kamala learned the colours, forms and festival traditions of Nepali dress from her family. She began with patuka sashes, then dhaka clothing and whole saris.
Her rule was simple and slightly maddening to run a business by: never sell a piece you would not be willing to wear to your own daughter’s wedding. We have kept it, and it is the reason our collection is small.
She died in 2019. Her granddaughter now runs the shop from a studio in Sydney, eight and a half thousand kilometres away, by the same rule.
How we got here
यात्रा
Four moments
1978
A small shop off Kumbheshwar Marg
Kamala Maharjan begins offering patuka sashes and traditional clothing to neighbours near the family house in Patan. She sells them outside the temple on festival days.
1994
The dhaka road to Palpa
Her son takes the two-day bus to Palpa to select dhaka directly from local suppliers rather than through Kathmandu traders. Those relationships shape each collection that returns to the shop.
2011
A granddaughter lands in Sydney
Maya arrives to study, and spends four years listening to Nepali friends complain that getting a proper tilhari in Australia means waiting a month for a parcel or asking someone to bring one back in their luggage.
Today
Nepal to one Sydney studio
We select clothing and jewellery across Nepal and hold every available piece here in Sydney, so it reaches you in 2 business days, not four weeks.
What we hold to
हाम्रा मान्यता
Four rules
Inherited from the founder, and inconvenient often enough that we know we are keeping them.
गुणस्तर
Quality you can see
We choose for proportion, finish, comfort and the details that make a piece feel considered from every angle.
इमान्दारी
Honest about the price
We explain what you are paying for, from materials and finish to the cost of bringing each piece from Nepal to Sydney.
परम्परा
Tradition, not costume
These are pieces for wearing, to the temple, the wedding, the Teej hall. We keep the forms our grandmothers wore and make them for the way people live now.
छिटो
No shop, on purpose
Online only and shipped from our Sydney studio keeps the collection focused, pricing clear and delivery fast.