MULXIPLY Collaborative
Tanja Cesh is the founder and creative director of MULXIPLY (pronounced “multiply”) a sustainable fashion brand that collaborates with artists and craftsmen/women in Nepal to produce a modern collection of apparel, accessories, and hand felted gifts. Tanja launched MULXIPLY in 2012 after spending nearly 20 years in the design and fashion industry. Motivated to understand the root-cause of modern-day slavery and the role that fast-fashion played in it, particularly in South East Asia, she left her job in 2010 and spent 4 months overseas with various artisan groups, relief agencies, and non-profit groups listening to their stories to further understand the important role that dignified employment plays in keeping both men and women out of the vicious cycle of modern-day slavery. As a designer, Tanja sought to understand the solution that the arts could play in elevating the artisan out of poverty and the important place that indigenous craft plays in many of these societies. She spent hours sitting alongside artisans learning about raw materials and heritage techniques native to their country.
What started as a very small collection of hand-felted bags made by one artisan group, has grown over the last 7 years into a lifestyle collection of jewelry, bags, and gifts. The team in Nepal has grown to 6 artisan groups in the Kathmandu Valley all which specialize in various handicraft— from textiles to leather to metalwork. In 2019, we broadened our collection to collaborate with emerging designers in Nepal, providing them exposure and a sales channel to the western market.
MULXIPLY has a specialized niche in the fair trade sector in that while we utilize ancient processes to create our collection, our designs are all contemporary, appealing to the modern minimalist. Our collection is currently sold nationally in curated boutiques, museums, and other retail channels that value how a product is made and the story behind it. Our studio and shop are in Portland, Maine.
