About Us
Namaste, and welcome to Junkiri.
We are Alice and Bikesh — a Nepalese-Italian couple and the two people behind everything you see here. Junkiri is our shared dream, built from a deep love of Nepal, its people, and the extraordinary craft traditions of the Kathmandu Valley.
How it began?
I am Alice — a little hippie born and raised in the Italian Alps. Bikesh, my partner and co-founder, was born and raised in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal — in the shadow of the highest mountains in the world.
Junkiri began the first time we travelled to Nepal together. We spent nearly two months there, surrounded by beauty, warmth, and an inexplicable mystical energy that seemed to come from every corner — the Newari architecture, the hundreds of temples, the wood carvers, the potters, the silversmiths working quietly in their workshops.
We fell completely in love with it. And we knew we wanted to be part of it — not as visitors passing through, but as people who could help share that beauty with the world and give something real back to the artisans who create it.
Our artisans.
We began reaching out to local artisans and small family businesses in Kathmandu — silversmiths, textile weavers, hemp workers, makers of traditional Tibetan accessories and prayer flags. People who had inherited their craft across generations and poured that knowledge into every piece they made.
These collaborations are the heart of Junkiri. We visit our artisans, we know them personally, and we are committed to paying them fairly and directly. When you shop with us, you are not just buying something beautiful — you are supporting a living craft tradition and the families behind it.
Why Junkiri?
We chose the name Junkiri because it means "Firefly" in Nepalese. There is something magical about fireflies — they appear in the dark and take you somewhere timeless. That is exactly what we want every Junkiri piece to do.
Our core values are uniqueness, fair trade, sustainability, and slow fashion — all held together with a hippie and boho spirit that runs through everything we make. No mass production, no shortcuts, no compromise on craft.
Just beautifully made things, from beautiful people, for people who love beautiful things.