In a quiet corner of Kathmandu, where objects are meant to be felt as much as seen, Pari and She unfolds not as a brand, but as a philosophy. Founded by sisters Riva and Prativa, the label sits at the intersection of craft, care, and quiet rebellion. It resists speed. It resists sameness. And most importantly, it resists the idea that beauty must come at the cost of ethics.
The story begins long before the pandemic, though it was during Covid that the idea took shape. “I always knew I wanted to build something of my own,” Riva reflects. “But it had to make sense to who I am and where I come from.” Raised in a home where giving back was instinctive rather than strategic, profit was once seen as secondary. Yet, as she admits with candour, “Without profit, nothing can sustain. The question was how to balance both without losing integrity.”
That balance became the foundation of Pari and She.
The name itself carries a sense of duality and intimacy, an echo of sisterhood. Initially conceived as a simpler idea, it evolved into something more layered, much like the women behind it. “I knew that if I started something, my sister would be part of it,” Riva says. “That was never a question.”
Prativa, quieter but equally grounded, brings a complementary energy. “Our personalities may differ,” she smiles, “but our values are exactly the same. That is what makes it work.”
At its core, Pari and She is about fairness. Not as a buzzword, but as a lived practice. Riva describes the brand as a triangle of equal responsibility. “We are answerable to our artisans as much as we are to our clients. Pricing, process, design, everything must reflect that balance.”
Their work spans jewellery, ceramics, textiles, and handcrafted objects, each piece rooted in natural materials and human touch. No two designs are identical. Even repeat orders are subtly altered. “If someone orders the same piece again, we change it slightly,” Riva and Prativa explains. “It is our way of preserving individuality.”
Sustainability, for them, is not a claim but a pursuit. “I do not believe anyone can be fully sustainable,” they say. “But the intention matters. The effort matters.” From cloth packaging to minimising plastic, their choices are deliberate, if imperfect. The idea is not to preach, but to gently shift perspective. “When someone walks in, they should first be drawn to beauty. The awareness comes later.”
Nature plays a quiet yet powerful role in their storytelling. Riva often draws inspiration from overlooked elements, like the silk cotton tree. “It is such a magnificent tree, yet so undervalued,” she says. “When you understand it, you want to honour it.” This translates into hand-painted pieces where florals are not decorative, but expressive. “Flowers can be provocative,” Prativa adds. “They carry emotion.”
There is also a distinctly feminine lens to their work. Not loud, but insistent. Their designs explore identity, agency, and the layered experience of being a woman.
“Who defines us?” they ask. “We each have the freedom to choose who we want to be, but that journey is constant.”
Their handmade dolls, crafted in collaboration with women artisans including those who are hearing and speech impaired, extend this narrative into storytelling. Made from natural fibres and designed to spark imagination, these toys are as much about connection as they are about play. “We want them to create conversations,” Prativa says. “Between generations, between people.”
The sisters are clear that conscious consumption need not feel exclusive. “There is this idea that ethical means expensive,” Riva notes. “I do not agree. It is about choice. You decide what you value.” For them, the goal is not to compete with mass production, but to offer an alternative that feels meaningful.
When asked to define the modern woman, Prativa pauses. “Modernity is not about appearance,” she says. “It is about choice. You can be deeply rooted in tradition and still be modern. In fact, that can be even more powerful.”
Perhaps the most poignant layer of Pari and She lies in its emotional core. For both sisters, the brand is also a way of reconnecting with each other. “It is about rebonding,” Prativa shares simply. Riva agrees. “We are children of intense experiences. Everything we feel is magnified. This brand holds all of that.”
And if Pari and She were to be distilled into a single feeling? “It would be something between memory and making. A quiet nostalgia, shaped by hands, held together by care, and offered to the world with intention,” they conclude.
Text: Ankita Jain
Photos: Ripesh Maharjan
