Potomac residents Michelle Baldwin and Michelle Taylor-Spearman visited Kathmandu, a city on the outskirts of Nepal, to import woven rugs in 2007. One of the weavers gave the women cashmere scarves as a gift of thanks. Immediately, the two were inspired.
Today, Spearman and Baldwin own a high-quality scarf line called Nepali by TDM Design. The scarves come in a variety of colors and styles and are made of fine materials including bamboo, cashmere, wool and silk. They are sold in over 700 stores and boutiques in the US including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Shopbop.com.
“The village that the weavers are from is almost 100 years behind us and does not contain one factory,” Spearman said. “We give a lot back to them because they make beautiful products.”
In return for their hard work, TDM Design funds the healthcare and education of over 125 female weavers and their families. The weavers are paid above the average wages in Nepal.
“It was very important for us to empower the women,” Baldwin said. “They are very focused on their family and making sure their family is well taken care of.”
While running a business overseas in one of the poorest nations in the world seems extremely difficult, the women of TDM Designs make the process seem fairly simple.
According to Baldwin, the two Michelles create and design the scarves, and then to ensure that the fabrics are dyed the correct color, they use the same color palette as their “team” of weavers in Nepal.
The scarves are then hand-loomed by the weavers in cottages. A few women have pedals on their wooden looms, but most of the work is done manually.
“The cottages use kerosene lanterns for light or heat,” Spearman said. “But because Nepal is so unstable, [the weavers] are sometimes without electricity for hours. They are determined to finish their work when the power returns, even if it’s in the middle of the night.”
When the weaving is complete, the men in the village are responsible for packaging the products and shipping them to Nepali’s sales representatives in New York. Public relations then sell the scarves to high-end stores.
“Shopbop.com helped us gain a lot of publicity,” Spearman said. “After being on the site, many stores started to call us and place orders”.
Despite the success of their line, Spearman and Baldwin remain very involved in all aspects of their business, including the care for their partners in Kathmandu.
“We fund a health practitioner to visit the facilities once a month,” Baldwin said. “We also subsidize the children’s education from beginning to end so that the mothers do not have to worry about paying for school.”
Baldwin and Spearman have a long-term goal to eventually build a school and medical facility in Kathmandu.
Wearing a Nepali by TDM Design scarf, loomed by “happy, smiling weavers” in Kathmandu, will not only warm your neck but your heart too.
