Jessica Kafle: Bhoomi Nepal - Art that you can wear

Jessica Kafle, 26, started Bhoomi Nepal, her sari business three years ago with only a few hundred rupees in her pocket, a personal loan from a friend, and a spunky, can-do-attitude. Born and raised in Kathmandu, she went through 15 different schools here and abroad by the age of 17 because she couldn’t conform to the rigidity of school life (never kicked out, by the way), and vowed never to work for a 9-5 desk job. In 2007, she was interviewed by Sagarmatha Radio for their segment on
Safalta ko Goreto Ma (Success Story ) and in December 2008, her sarees were featured on VOW Magazine.  Jessica talked to V.E.N.T!  Magazine at her home and gave us a peek of a few of her collections.

What inspired you to start a sari business? Why saris?

Well, I never saw myself in an office job. I have too much energy, more than the average, and constantly need to be on the go. So this job really suits my personality. Why saris? It actually happened accidently while doing my Bachelors in Development Studies, which I felt, was not cut out for my nature. I decided to make handmade bags but sells didn’t do too well. My caricatures were idle and I had no orders for bags. Then my aunt gave me her saris to work on; they were old chiffons. The designs went well and that’s how I got the idea. I love saris, but I never wanted to wear the ones I see out there in the market. I wanted to make saris that I wanted to wear and speaks about the women’s personality.

How did you come up with the name Bhoomi Nepal? What does it mean?

I went to an astrologer, and he said letter ‘Bh’ would be good and I thought, Bhoomi Nepal. I wanted to export things out of here, and wanted people abroad to notice that my saris were made in Nepal. Most people abroad think that all saris are from India.

You are taking a path less taken (versus getting a college education and getting an office job). How did you handle the pressure from your parents or society for that matter?

I didn’t give my parents a chance to accept or reject the idea. Initially, it was a home project and many asked me why I’m doing this while I should be studying. But, because I financed this on my own, others didn’t really have a say in it.

How did you manage the financial aspects when starting your sari business?

I sold my mobile and put all my pocket money that I had, including profits from my handmade bags, and took a loan from a friend of mine.

Maintaining a business takes a lot of discipline. What keeps you motivated?

I’m a lazy person and at the same time, hard working by nature and it is the pressure that keeps me going. I have to pay my workers regardless of whether they have work or not, so that keeps me motivated.

What makes your saris unique?

My saris are a whole canvas project and you can wear according to your mood. If you are in a fun mood, you can make fish saris. If you are in a dark mood, you can wear gothic sarees; elegant mood, elegant sarees.  It all depends on your mood. Twins can look completely different and a sari can bring out the personality within them. Ultimately, we aim for individuality and we don’t want to wear the same saris. Sometimes I think, what would Cleopatra wear and come up with a sari to go with that. I try to make saris that are realistic and bring out the person’s personality. They’re also nature-inspired. (eg., butterly, fishes, peacock)

Which is your favorite sari?

Georgette. Because it’s thin, Nepali women tend to like it more and it’s also supports heavier craft work.  I like the fall of it more too.

How do you sell your saris?

Initially, I used to put them in a suitcase, ride my scooter, and go door-to-door. Word-of-mouth is the biggest seller. People hear about it, and they come to my house. Some of my customers are more than my customers because I’ve built a very good personal relationship with them so my saris sell mostly by word-of-mouth. I have a lot of good personal relationships with a lot of my customers.

Who are your clients?

Anyone with good taste.

What are your challenges when trying to sell your saris? How do you deal with difficult customers?

Dealing with all different kinds of people—to the shopkeepers to karigar. With regards to difficult customers, I basically try to look at things from their perspective so that way it’s always easier to keep my cool because I’m a very short-tempered person.

What strategies do you use to sell your sarees?

No strategy. I just love my work and what I’m doing and when that happens, it just flows. I love every aspect of my work. It’s more just about doing what I do better every time by trying to better myself.

Have you received any complaints about your saris?

Off course. In fact, I have a customer who is my biggest critic. I hate taking my saris to her but she’s also a huge customer and I’ve learned so much from her. Healthy criticisms are always welcome and it helps me learn so much.

Which of your saris sell the most and who are your customers?

Simple, shimmer work sells more. My customers are mostly the younger crowd and middle-age.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in business?

I’m lucky to be working with women but generally, people refuse to take you seriously. It helps because I’m doing a sari business.

What are you suggestions for people, especially women, who are trying to start something on their own?

For anyone, a person should wake up everyday and look forward to doing what they do. It shouldn’t feel like work. Wake up everyday and go do things that you enjoy doing and to be paid for it. That’s when  the best of your work comes out.

Contact Bhoomi Nepal at 9851088866 or asisjec@hotmail.com.

Yellow: A fun mustard yellow sari with colorful butterflies embroidered to fit in between all the shimmer sequin work on the sari. The red flower draping down from the shoulder and on the tip of the anchal just adds to this nature-inspired sari.

White/Black: Flowers saris have become boring and yet these psychedelic flowers fall through the shoulder and go all the way down. The clustered flowers at the anchal and the silver sequin work all over it just give an entire new meaning to saris with flowers.

Red: This daring red georgette sari needs a personality to be carried off. The leopard print patch work in a completely different material embellished with copper matte sequence and mild hint of mirror work all over is a definitely an eye-catching sari without all the glitter.

Pink: This heavily thread-embroidered sari is also embellished with sequin work to the bare minimum. The fall of the anchal is absolutely gorgeous and it drapes through in different hues of white and orange. Heavy and yet so very light, but colorful.

Black: Tribal African art inspired black georgette sari with slightly golden tinted sequin and zari work. This sari also illustrates what is known as the ribbon effect—a definite night sari

Interview by Yuko Maskay and photography by Shreyans Tamang, V.E.N.T! Magazine.