Lhamotso, tailoring design master
Lhamotso was born in 1975 in Ritoma, Zorgey, a part of Amdo, Tibet into a nomadic family. She had the lucky chance to attend school until class eight, which was rare for girls at that time, where she studied the Tibetan language and other subjects. Growing up then, the clothes of the family were still primarily made by the women of the house, and so Lhamotso was exposed to basic tailoring from an early age. Lhamotso explains how traditionally they stitched the traditional clothes completely without patterns: Her uncle would take the measurements of the family and then applying these measurements, would cut the design directly out of the cloth. The women then stitched the parts together into the full garment.
After Lhamotso completed school she spent a few years helping her family look after their herds, but she had bigger plans in mind. She decided to leave for India, hoping to attend one of the schools established there for grown refugees coming from Tibet, and to receive the blessing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Lhamotso spent her first few months in India in school, determined to secure an education for herself, but because of medical problems, was forced to resign. Under the care of a relative, she slowly recovered, but since her attempts at gaining an education had not been successful, she had to find work. Lhamotso decided to join the Norbulingka tailoring section in 1998, as she already had some familiarity with the craft, and many of the other skills she had acquired in Tibet as a nomad were not transferrable to life in India.
To join the workshop women were required to already have some knowledge of stitching, but Lhamotso passed the exam with ease and began to hone her tailoring skills. Despite all the hardships facing her, she made the most of her situation and completely dedicated herself to her work. Studying after hours under the instruction of one of our designers, Lhamotso quickly picked up the art of patternmaking out of her own initiative. The designer taught her how to make one item of clothing each night, and after being shown only one time, Lhamotso would practice by herself, mastering each garment. In just a few weeks she had become a fluent patternmaker. She is the definition of a self-made woman, and one of Norbulingka’s greatest success stories.
In 2005, the tailoring section divided into two: tailoring appliqué, which makes Norbulingka’s soft furnishings and wall hangings, and tailoring design, which creates Norbulingka’s signature clothing collections. Lhamotso was appointed head of the tailoring design section, which is now Norbulingka’s biggest workshop, with a staff of 32. Lhamotso works together with our designers to invent special, one-of-a kind collections for each season, created with an eye for quality, durability, and comfort. Each step of the process, from the weaving to the finishing is done at Norbulingka, and when the pieces finally reach our showroom, Lhamotso feels a great sense of pride and excitement to see the work her team has created.
She strongly believes that each person must contribute the skills that they have to benefit Tibetan society as a whole. Those who are educated should contribute their knowledge and administrative talents, while those skilled in craft should dedicate their know-how. As society is made up of many kinds of people, and each kind of person is necessary for a society to flourish. It is important, she says, that Tibetans recognize the value of all others, and work together in harmony.
After Lhamotso completed school she spent a few years helping her family look after their herds, but she had bigger plans in mind. She decided to leave for India, hoping to attend one of the schools established there for grown refugees coming from Tibet, and to receive the blessing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Lhamotso spent her first few months in India in school, determined to secure an education for herself, but because of medical problems, was forced to resign. Under the care of a relative, she slowly recovered, but since her attempts at gaining an education had not been successful, she had to find work. Lhamotso decided to join the Norbulingka tailoring section in 1998, as she already had some familiarity with the craft, and many of the other skills she had acquired in Tibet as a nomad were not transferrable to life in India.
To join the workshop women were required to already have some knowledge of stitching, but Lhamotso passed the exam with ease and began to hone her tailoring skills. Despite all the hardships facing her, she made the most of her situation and completely dedicated herself to her work. Studying after hours under the instruction of one of our designers, Lhamotso quickly picked up the art of patternmaking out of her own initiative. The designer taught her how to make one item of clothing each night, and after being shown only one time, Lhamotso would practice by herself, mastering each garment. In just a few weeks she had become a fluent patternmaker. She is the definition of a self-made woman, and one of Norbulingka’s greatest success stories.
In 2005, the tailoring section divided into two: tailoring appliqué, which makes Norbulingka’s soft furnishings and wall hangings, and tailoring design, which creates Norbulingka’s signature clothing collections. Lhamotso was appointed head of the tailoring design section, which is now Norbulingka’s biggest workshop, with a staff of 32. Lhamotso works together with our designers to invent special, one-of-a kind collections for each season, created with an eye for quality, durability, and comfort. Each step of the process, from the weaving to the finishing is done at Norbulingka, and when the pieces finally reach our showroom, Lhamotso feels a great sense of pride and excitement to see the work her team has created.
She strongly believes that each person must contribute the skills that they have to benefit Tibetan society as a whole. Those who are educated should contribute their knowledge and administrative talents, while those skilled in craft should dedicate their know-how. As society is made up of many kinds of people, and each kind of person is necessary for a society to flourish. It is important, she says, that Tibetans recognize the value of all others, and work together in harmony.
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