Our story

Tenzin is born the third of six children into the Namseling family. Her father, Paljor Jigme, is a finance minister. Her mother, Chueky, who also likes to design jewellery herself, instils in her early on a sense for Tibetan culture and the beautiful things in life.

But the idyll does not last. When the Chinese occupation becomes unbearable, the children are brought to safety in India. After the uprising of 1959, all of the family’s possessions are confiscated and the mother is sent to a labour camp.

As one of the first Tibetan refugee children, eight-year-old Tenzin comes to Switzerland from India with her sister Dolkar, through the mediation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She grows up at the Pestalozzi Children’s Village in Trogen, where she also meets her future husband, Kalsang. She will not see her mother again until around 1984.

The sisters decide to give Tibetan culture and their passion for jewellery and textiles a home in Switzerland. They open «Little Tibet» at Kirchgasse 3 in Zurich. The shop soon becomes a popular meeting point for everyone interested in Tibet and the Himalayas.

For the 25th anniversary, Tenzin hands the business over to her daughter Chueky. «Little Tibet» becomes «Atelier Tibet», and the name says it all: the in-house jewellery and textile production is to grow, in the workshops in Nepal and India as well as locally in Zurich. The shop also becomes an atelier where new ideas take shape, and sustainability gains even more weight. In addition, an online shop complements the store, and Atelier Tibet grows beyond Zurich.

Traditions remain alive: Tenzin and Dolkar can still regularly be found behind the shop counter.

In June, Atelier Tibet moves a few hundred metres up the hill to Münstergasse 10, into larger premises on two floors.

In the shop and online, there is a selection ranging from one-of-a-kind pieces with a history to everyday companions: jewellery with turquoise, coral, amber and many other stones, malas of seeds, wood and stone, scarves and textiles from the Himalayan region, thangkas, statues and singing bowls. Alongside antiques there are our own designs, complemented by collaborations with labels from the Himalayan cultural sphere.

Many pieces of jewellery and textiles are made in workshops in Nepal and India, in family businesses as well as cooperatives. We have worked with many of them for decades, based on trust and mutual appreciation.

In the atelier on Münstergasse, necklaces, bracelets and malas are knotted by hand, and jewellery is repaired and adapted on request. This is also where the designs are created that our partner workshops bring to life. In this way, we build a bridge from old craftsmanship to new design.

We have grown. Our range now includes more than 3,500 products, and we are delighted to deliver throughout Switzerland. Yet we have stayed personal: in the shop and on the phone. We take our time, whether for in-depth advice or a short chat.