Founder & product
Paul King
Paul started the business and looks after products, production and unusual customer requests.
MyPashmina today
Cashmere made by people we know
We are an independent family business working directly with an experienced team in Kathmandu. Together, we offer an unusually wide choice of cashmere and make individual pieces to order.
Made in KathmanduBy the team shown on this page.
Stock and bespokeChoose from the range or have a piece made.
Independent since 2002Run by the same family today.
Kathmandu
These are the people who make our cashmere
The photograph is not a stock image. It is the team in Kathmandu who spin, dye, weave, knit, finish and check MyPashmina pieces.
Many have worked with us for years, and several are recognised as Masters of their craft. They know the colours and finishes we use, and they know the standard we expect.
We speak to the team directly. If a customer wants an unusual colour, a different size, embroidery or a particular finish, we can ask the people who will actually make it.
The MyPashmina team in Kathmandu.
What we offer
What is different about MyPashmina?
Mostly, it is the choice. We stock far more colours and styles than a normal shop could display, and we can have a piece made when the right one is not already on the shelf.
01
Far more colours than a normal shop
We stock dozens of colours, several fabrics and weaves, and sizes ranging from small scarves to full shawls. We photograph the colours carefully and can send swatches when the match needs to be exact.
02
Made to order means made to order
You can choose the colour, dimensions, fabric and finish. We can also add embroidery and other personal details. These are individual orders made by the same Kathmandu team shown above.
03
If you need help, ask
Colour and size are not always easy to judge online. Ask us before ordering, or tell us if something has gone wrong. We will give you a straight answer and do our best to sort it out.
Who runs MyPashmina?
Paul and Caroline
Paul started MyPashmina in 2002 and still works with the Kathmandu team on products, bespoke orders and anything unusual.
Caroline is Swedish and has a particularly good eye for colour and design. She helps decide how the range looks and how it is presented.
It is a family business. We have other people helping us, of course, but Paul and Caroline are still involved day to day.
Colour, design & presentation
Caroline King
Caroline works on colours, design and presentation, and is the person most likely to notice when something does not look quite right.
Looking for something particular?
Browse the collection, see what can be made to order, or ask us if you are unsure about a colour, size or fabric.
Shop pashminas Explore bespokeHow it began2002
And this is how it started
I started MyPashmina after spending time in Nepal on a different project. I liked the pashminas I found there and thought people in the UK would too, so I brought back one box and put them online.
The website opened on 15 September 2002. It looks very much like a website from 2002, but it is still there in the Internet Archive. You can see the original for yourself below.
Customers came back, told their friends and asked for colours and sizes I did not have. The range grew from those requests. We began ordering more colours, trying different weaves and having individual pieces made. Our bespoke service developed in much the same way: customers asked, and we worked out how to do it.
We now carry far more than one box, but MyPashmina is still independent and still works directly with the people who make the cashmere.
Paul King, founder
See the original MyPashmina website →Our workshop relationship in Kathmandu
MYPASHMINA has worked with the same workshop community in Kathmandu since 2002. That continuity matters: we know the people responsible for weaving and finishing, understand how the products are made and can discuss bespoke requirements directly.
After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, production had to move to a new workshop. Fortunately, the earthquake struck when the team was not at work. The photographs preserved from our original blog show the relocated workspace and the people who helped production recover.
The workshop in Kathmandu
A great team makes great products, and we are lucky to have one. Anyone who has run a business knows that when you find good people you look after them, and many of the people in our workshop have been with us for years. Caroline and I have spent months in Nepal visiting the workshop every day. It is a friendly place where people like their work and take pride in it.
Working conditions
- We use AZO-free dyes.
What things cost in Kathmandu (October 2026; £1 is about Rs 204)
| Nepali rupees | About | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal minimum wage, per month (from July 2025) | Rs 19,550 | £96 |
| Civil service starting salary, non-gazetted second class, per month | Rs 36,192 | £177 |
| Civil service starting salary, gazetted third class (section officer), per month | Rs 48,058 | £235 |
| Average take-home pay in Kathmandu, per month | about Rs 40,300 | £197 |
| One-bedroom flat outside the centre, rent per month | about Rs 15,600 | £76 |
| Petrol, 1 litre | Rs 200 | 98p |
| Local bus, one way | about Rs 30 | 15p |
| Meal in an inexpensive restaurant | about Rs 300 | £1.47 |
| Milk, 1 litre | about Rs 114 | 56p |
| Rice, 1 kg | about Rs 136 | 67p |
Sources: minimum wage, The Himalayan Times (July 2025); civil service pay scale for 2083/84, ShareSansar (August 2026); petrol, Nepal Oil Corporation via ShareSansar (September 2026); other prices and average pay, Numbeo Kathmandu (updated 2 October 2026); exchange rate 7 October 2026.
What authenticity means at MYPASHMINA
Authenticity is not established by a label or a romantic story. It depends on knowing the fibre specification, understanding how the cloth was produced and maintaining relationships with the people who make it.
We have worked with the same workshop community in Kathmandu since 2002. That long relationship gives us practical knowledge of yarn, weaving, dyeing and finishing, and makes it possible to trace questions about individual products back through the supply chain.
Cashmere and cashmere-silk blends
Pure cashmere is exceptionally soft and warm for its weight. Adding silk creates a different fabric rather than an inferior one: cashmere-silk can be stronger, more fluid and slightly more lustrous. The right choice depends on whether the customer values maximum warmth or a lighter drape.
Craftsmanship you can see
Look at the evenness of the weave, the feel of the cloth, the consistency of the colour and the finishing at the edges. Hand-twisted tassels, open fringe and hemmed edges each require different work. Bespoke production also allows colour, dimensions and finishing to be agreed before weaving begins.
Learn more in our guide to pashmina, read how to order a bespoke pashmina, or explore the history of the shawl.