Our history

The story of Atelier Tibet begins in old Lhasa, leads via India to exile in Appenzell and finally to a store on Münstergasse in Zurich.

Lhasa 1952 - Tenzin is born into the Namseling family as the third of six children. Her father Paljor Jigme is finance minister, her mother Chueky - who is shown in the picture with the family jewelry made of turquoise, pearls, coral, jade, amber and dzi and who also likes to design jewelry herself - teaches her an early appreciation of Tibetan culture and the finer things in life. But the idyll does not last. When the Chinese occupation became unbearable, the children were taken to safety in India . After the popular uprising in 1959, everything the family owned was confiscated. The mother is sent to a labor camp.

Trogen 1960 - As one of the first refugee children, eight-year-old Tenzin travels with her sister Dolkar from India to Switzerland through the mediation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and spends her childhood and youth in the Pestalozzi Children's Village in Trogen, where she also meets her husband Kalsang. She will not meet her mother again until around 1984.

Zurich 1997 - The sisters decide to give Tibetan culture and their passion for jewelry and textiles a place in Switzerland. Around 1997, they open the "Little Tibet" on Kirchgasse in Zurich. The store soon became a popular place to go for people interested in Tibet and the Himalayas.

Zurich 2022 - On the 25th anniversary, Tenzin hands over the business to her daughter Chueky. "Little Tibet" becomes "Atelier Tibet". The name says it all:

We We want to expand our own jewelry and textile production, and not just in our ownour workshops in Nepal and India, but also locally in Zürich. The store is also a studio. New ideas are to be tried out. Sustainability should play an even more important role. At the same time, we want to take care of traditions - and Tenzin and Dolkar can still be found behind the counter on a regular basis.

Zurich 2025 - Since June 2025, Atelier Tibet has been at a new location: at Münstergasse 10 in Zurich's old town, now on two floors and in the heart of Zurich.