When the air turns brisk this Autumn, there’s nothing more comforting than wrapping yourself in the warmth of a luxurious cashmere shawl or scarf. The soft and sensuous natural fibers create an air of overall well being, keeping you warm, protected, secure. Hand Embroiderd in an environmentally conscious fashion high in the hills of Kashmir region, you can truly relax in the knowledge that your new cashmere creation is an authentic, sustainable, handcrafted and beautiful piece of wearable art.
]]>You’ve always loved summer. After all, the long days bring balmy weather, ample time to rest and rejuvenate from your hectic lifestyle, and a nonchalant ease that leaves you feeling energetic and youthful.
The warmer months are a time to ease into comfort at every opportunity, and the light cashmere or silk shawls from The Kashmir Company are a perfect way to add a chic dose of timelessness to your warm-weather wardrobe or to give as gifts of wearable style for all of summer’s special occasions. Whether you prefer classic white, bold primary colors or something in between, The Kashmir Company has taken all tastes into consideration when piecing together the one-of-a-kind Summer Seasons Collection.
The Kashmir Company Seasons Collection draws from nature and the beauty that each season offers NOW to ensure that your look is fresh and modern. Yet the classic designs and timeless fabrics are forged from traditional Kashmiri artisans who take pride in hand crafting an heirloom-worthy piece of wearable art that will become a family treasure.
Wherever summer finds you: sipping wine with your sweetheart on a holiday in Tuscany, exploring the museums of Paris or catching up with friends in San Francsico, you always keep a light cashmere or silk shawl on hand for when the sun dips below the horizon or the weather turns mercurial. Your handcrafted, beautifully designed shawl was designed to caress your shoulders, but what the unique piece of wearable art has really done is win your heart.
You’ll walk down the aisle, perhaps shed a tear through the first dance and spend a cherished day in the company of those most beloved in your life. Those are the important moments that weddings are made of.
It is a day for memories to be made and treasured, the most beautiful day of your life.
You spent hours, days, searching for the perfect dress, and when there’s a chill in the air, you reach for the perfect shawl. The soft cashmere fibers caress a bare shoulder, skim your décolleté, and you feel aglow in beauty—a beauty that flows from love within even as you’re wrapped in delicate warmth without.
You’ve treated yourself to the softness of this one of a kind shawl, because you are a one of a kind bride.
Maybe you also chose this gift of handmade individuality to bestow upon your bridesmaids, your mother, his mother, so they too can feel the softness of a Kashmir Seasons shawl around their own shoulders as they collect memories of your day for their own mental albums.
And a few decades from now, you’ll pull the shawl from its hiding place, and wrap the heirloom around another pair of shoulders, so she too can cherish the memories that this unique Kashmir Seasons shawl brings to her special day.
What’s makes a woman stand out in a crowd? This question has lingered for thousands of years and philosophers as timeless as Plato have struggled to come up with a suitable answer. The French just say she has a certain “Je Ne Sais Quoi.” Translated in English it means quite literally: “I don’t know what,” and this mystic, this searching desire to define is the inspiration for our Je Ne Sais Quoi line of shawls.
The beautiful and timeless pieces that you find in our spring collection are a testament to the founder of the company who believes in helping women who can’t decide what to wear.
With this boundless desire and inspiration to help, the goal is to ensure that as a discerning woman of timeless fashion, the right selection of “what to wear” can be made in the blink of an eye. Of course, if you do wear one of these shawls, you’ll no doubt stand out and when people remark of your ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi,’ you and only you will know thereal secret.
The Je Ne Sais Quoi collection is also for mothers and the woman who has grown graceful in age. The pastel and white/ivory colors are perfect since they provide the warmth and comfort that only pastel and white can give. As a gift to a mother you can do no better than one of these timeless and beautiful shawls.
Each shawl in the collection has been designed, colored and embroidered with allure in mind. We have gone above and beyond especially where colors are concerned and everything from subtle creams and lavender to the much bolder greens peppered with the a rainbow of colors have gone into making Je Ne Sais Quoi collection a sight to behold.
Of course each shawl comes with the usual Kashmir Company staples so the timeless and artistic beauty that emanate from the lush and historic region of Kashmir enriches every piece in the collection. The Je Ne Sais Quoi Aspen Green Shawl piece for instance, comes with a rich tapestry of floral motifs that draws you in and rewards you with stunning aesthetic appeal. The green reminds you of the effervescent charm of nature and the crisp breeze that makes spring an equinox worthy of unending praise.
Your wardrobe will thank you for breathing fresh life through our Je Ne Sais Quoi line of shawls. Each time you wear a shawl from the collection you’ll be guaranteed a splendid reception. You’ll glow under the adoration and praise that comes with wearing such artistic and timeless beauty—genuine works of art that have helped define fashion for hundreds of years.
There’s a color for everyone so why not add your slice of Je Ne Sais Quoi to your wardrobe today.
Je Ne Sais Quoi Pink Ivory Shawl
Je Ne Sais Quoi Lavender Ivory Shawl
Je Ne Sais Quoi Mimosa Ivory Shawl
Je Ne Sais Quoi Blue Ivory Shawl
Winter is....
...A time for introspection.
...A time for enjoying cozy nights by the fireplace, snuggling up with your lover.
...A time for letting your hair down at the coffeehouse with the latest best seller.
...And a time for exploring your timeless style with new layers and dimension.
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we get excited about the winter season. It gives us the opportunity to express some beautiful contrast in the colors, textures and looks we use to reveal ourselves.
The diversity of weather we’re afforded with here in Northern California is the ideal platform for timeless-fashion adoring, wearable art enthusiasts. We get to experience the dramatic moods of winter blowing in from the Pacific Ocean, coming over the Golden Gate – engulfing our cosmopolitan mecca of San Francisco. It looks absolutely magical... and feels even more mystical.
It’s also an amazing backdrop that gives us locals the chance to show off new and different aspects of our personality… and the way we feel… with fashion-art. We get to embrace the classic winter look – including staples like long cream-colored coats and jet black boots, while we shop for fresh organic vegetables at the Ferry Building Farmers Market.
We’re also just a stone’s throw away from majestic Lake Tahoe and Mount Shasta – alpine communities that are ideal environments to wear, cherish and demonstrate what makes us, distinctive, in the apparel we wear.
Indeed…
Mature winter style is the epitome of simplistic swank. And if you're a woman who enjoys, appreciates and embraces timeless fashion this winter season...
…you need an infusion of color and contrast to express yourself more completely, without damaging the classic style and grace that you hold in the highest regard.
Seasons by The Kashmir Company offers a sophisticated splash of vibrant colors to accent and accentuate your enduring snowy fashion statement.
That’s the essence of our Winter Seasons Collection; vivid reds, warm greens and sensual cream colors to add some artistic polarity to your effortlessly elegant look.
We want to bring some fantastic flare and flash to what’s in your closet this winter. In the same breath, our new collection mirrors the stillness, solitude and quiet of winter. Our designs symbolize the replenishing of nature, while exhibiting the inner-vibrancy that’s often overlooked in the sometimes drab, rainy, snow-filled days.
To Reflecting Seasons Beauty in the Fashion-Art You Wear!
Seasons by The Kashmir Company
P.S. There are a million ways to warm up. However, there are very few ways to elegantly warm up with truly timeless style. You’ll never know how blissful it feels to be warm – until you hold in your possession one of our exquisite pieces of fashion-art! That’s our money back guarantee!
Dear Loving Husband!
There’s a HUGE difference between giving your wife a Christmas gift she’ll like, love... and one she'll cherish, forever.
Of course…
I’m telling you something you already know!
That's the pressure of being a loving husband; you have to demonstrate you know who your wife is with a single gift.
This Christmas...
Your wife is looking for a present under the tree that makes her feel beautiful; she's anticipating a gift that helps her tell the world what makes her unique.
You can't do that with a carbon copy necklace from The Shane Company or a mass-produced, machine-made dress from Anthropologie.
Fortunately for you...
Just one of our Seasons Kashmir Shawls or Scarves can change your wife's look and style… almost effortlessly; a power every fashion-loving woman universally embraces.
And to help you understand what that
REALLY means, here are just a few
reasons for putting a Kashmir Shawl or Scarf from Seasons underneath the Christmas Tree:
Someone you love will appreciate your sensibility for honoring her deep desire to frame her body in exciting ways ........That much we promise.
To Giving Her a Christmas Gift She'll Love Forever!
Seasons by The Kashmir Company
P.S. Since our products are last-of-a-kind fashion-art masterpieces, our Winter Collection will go fast. Please, please, please don't make the mistake of waiting too long to make your wife the happiest woman on earth this Christmas morning!
Click here to see our Holiday Shawl Collection
]]>Hey Ladies… Let me ask you something:
Do you dress to represent pop culture and the latest fads?
Or…
Do you create your own style to express who you are and how you feel?
Think about that for a second.
But before you answer…
I wanted to discuss the huge differences between fashion that stands the test of time and the trending styles that the big corporations tell us are the way we should look.
The phrase Fast Fashion was created to describe how quickly styles are changing and how clothing companies have drastically altered their business model to maintain the illusion of setting trends.
That’s hardly your style, your way, right?
So what exactly is Fast Fashion?
The term Fast Fashion represents taking the new looks and styles you see on the catwalk…
…and rapidly getting them into retail stores, YESTERDAY!
Think Forever 21, Zara, H&M & Gap.
These companies have been anointed with the authority to not just influence how women feel like they need to dress, but outright dictate the way you look.
It’s fast because if it was any slower, we’d realize that the big corporations are selling stuff we don’t really want. (I mean… are you still super-excited about your studded booties or flannel crop top?)
Even worse…
The cheap fabric and quick production time used makes whatever you buy absolutely… disposable.
In fact…
Many fashion bloggers who buy Fast Fashion admit to throwing or giving away the stuff they buy after only wearing an article of clothing… just once.
Can you imagine your Grandmother throwing her clothes into the trash after wearing them once or twice?
It didn’t happen because what women bought back then was made to last and endure flippant trends.
However… These days…
Your style, which was once an expression of your own unique beauty and essence, is now at the whim of fleeting, superficial popularity.
And why?
Well…
Because if one company gets the new look out before the store a few doors down, they win.
That’s the gist of it;
Corporate fear and greed determines what’s in the closet for millions of women all around the world.
And that’s not who you are.
You don’t wear clothes because of what’s hot.
You wear clothes to express the beauty you are and feel.
In fact…
When everyone who works at The Kashmir Company get together to hone in upon our message to you, we always say that:
Fast Fashion is Soulless Style…
…It’s for women who don’t know who they are; women who count on designers and corporations to tell them how to look.
That’s not what fashion is all about.
That’s not why you go through your beautification routine every morning – when you choose the clothes, makeup and accessories you imagine will frame the way you feel in the best possible way.
I mean…
Do you really want to give Zara the ability to tell you who you are and shape the way you dress?
Of course not!
You’re a woman that knows who you are and what styles best represent the way you feel RIGHT NOW.
You’re a woman who is confident and comfortable in your own skin.
You’re a trendsetter who influences the way other women dress, not the other way around.
The Kashmir Company and The Seasons Brand were born out of the vision to accomplish two things:
What we offer is the complete opposite of Fast Fashion.
Our exclusive Kashmir Shawls & Scarves are symbols of Timeless Fashion.
Compare garments that take minutes to mass produce by machine…
…To our handmade pieces of wearable art that take sometimes as long as three years to complete.
Our message is:
To Your Style, Your Way!
- The Kashmir Company
P.S. Imagine the work environments that
poorly-paid people, who mass-produce Fast
Fashion, are exposed to. Is that something you really want to support when
you pay your money at The Gap cash register? We don’t. And that’s why we pay
our Kashmiri Artisans what they’re worth when we commission them to create our
one-of-a-kind pieces of original fashion art. That’s also why our Kashmir
Shawls & Scarves cost more than the department store stuff.
Where you buy matters!
Support real fashion.
Support art.
Support us!
P.P.S. Fast fashion is like fast food. At first blush it looks good, but you soon find out that something is missing; not only out of your wallet… but out of your soul.
]]>Hey Ladies,
We talked about Fast Fashion.
We also expressed to you how The Kashmir Company is different.
But what exactly IS Timeless Fashion?
Why do certain looks and trends endure the test of time?
When I was thinking about writing this blog, the one word that kept popping into my head was identity.
I'm personally fascinated by the looks and statements that women identify with.
The way you dress says so much about how you see yourself.
And how you want other people to perceive you.
Women who wear Fast Fashion are constantly waiting for designers and big corporations to tell them how to dress...
...how to be.
However...
Women who wear Timeless Fashion KNOW who they are.
They look to classic styles to communicate how at peace and comfortable they are with themselves.
Take a look at what stands up to the fads.
Timeless Fashion is almost always... simple.
Timeless Fashion is made of high-quality material that's meant to last.
Timeless Fashion comes from REAL, artistic craftsmanship.
Timeless Fashion feels good against your skin.
Timeless Fashion makes you feel good to be IN your skin.
That's not something that Fast Fashion can ever claim.
Timeless Fashion makes a bigger declaration too.
It takes a certain kind of woman to invest in fashion that will remain in her closet for years to come.
Timeless Fashion pieces are not cheap.
The quality you're buying isn't meant to represent you for just a month or two.
You buy the pieces that communicate who you are, underneath it all, now AND tomorrow.
Sure...
Things change.
Circumstances change.
People change.
You are always changing.
But there's something about you that stands the test of time.
Just like Timeless Fashion.
So you always make sure to buy dresses, skirts, blouses, shoes, shawls and scarves that look just as beautiful 10 years from now...
...as the day you bought them.
With Timeless Fashion, there's no sense of addiction.
What I mean is...
You aren't buying clothes just to get that initial rush of excitement that wanes after you wear your new items once or twice.
Timeless Fashion is like finding your soul-mate.
He just gets you, right?
Sometimes certain clothes and accessories can just brilliantly frame you and your energy like nothing else could ever attempt to.
...Your character.
...Your personality.
...Your essence.
Timeless Fashion has the ability to convey the simple-eloquence of who you are...
...while also projecting a sense of quality and integrity that Fast Fashion could never even begin to capture.
Believe me...
Nothing is more of a timeless fashion statement than a truly handmade shawl or scarf made by an artisan who has this stuff in his or her blood.
And during this exciting time when those classic fall pieces you stored away come out of their chests, boxes and drawers...
...rejoice in the added dimension that our exclusive Timeless Fashion-Art pieces add to your already distinctive wardrobe.
After all...
You still dress to express the way you feel.
Right?
The addition of a vivid, fall-hued, one-of-a-kind Kashmir Shawl gives your classic look an even more distinctive timeless feel.
But it also helps you tell the story of how you feel, today, in the most simplistically-elegant way possible.
That's what Timeless Fashion IS!
To Your Style, Your Way!
- The Kashmir Company
P.S. There's a whole other aspect to Timeless Fashion. It's about expressing and revealing a sense of art. Indeed, no longer are our bodies just for covering up. We are canvass' for artistic expression. More soon!
]]>The canvas of your body is ready for a whole new form of fashionable-expression.
Hey Ladies,
I'm curious...
Do you like to receive attention, but hate feeling gawked at?
As you get older, you look for confirmation from others less and less.
But it still feels good when people, men and women, notice the way you express yourself with fashion and makeup, doesn't it?
Part of feeling and looking timeless is treating your body like a blank canvas.
And what do you paint yourself with?
Well...
Timeless fashion-art, of course.
You paint yourself with the colors, textures, styles and interpretations of nature that makes your inner beauty come out and shine.
You paint yourself with the inspiration of the fashion designers who devote their lives to creating masterpieces of trend-defying clothing...
...just like you hang timeless pieces of artwork on your walls.
But no longer is art just for hoarding away in your home and office.
You are a woman who enjoys and appreciates the organic beauty of your own body.
Nothing brings you more pleasure than painting your body with clothing that makes you effortlessly appear like the timeless beauty you are.
Sure...
You enjoy the attention you get from loved ones and passerby's alike.
However...
You dress for yourself, first and foremost.
The way you paint your body is a creative freedom you could NEVER do without.
It's such a defining experience when you open up the closet door and imagine how you'll paint yourself today.
Every day, every season gives you a whole new palette of inspiration to draw from.
Just as we’re thrilled to unveil the Fall Seasons Collection, for you, you’re excited to find the right pieces of wearable art to accentuate the feelings you want to convey with your wardrobe.
You use the fall season as a springboard to show yourself (and everyone around you) a whole new version of who you are.
It fills you with anticipation to reveal how you feel as summer shifts into fall…
…and autumn becomes winter.
The canvas of your body is ready for a whole new form of fashionable-expression.
That’s the essence of The New Paradigm of Wearable Art.
It’s about simply, eloquently and creatively becoming a timeless-fashion-masterpiece with the clothes and accessories you wear.
It goes without saying…
You’re always on the lookout for the most high-quality, original, inspired, handmade wearable art to paint the parts of yourself you want to share through fashion.
The Kashmir Company is passionate about giving you the ability to do just that.
Every Kashmir Shawl & Scarf in our Fall Seasons Collection is rich with autumn colors to highlight your skin tone, compliment your make-up and bring out the mood that you want to create today.
Those around you will enjoy and appreciate the work of art you bare for everyone to see.
By collecting these timeless fashion-art pieces, you are acquiring the mediums in your wardrobe to paint yourself in virtually unlimited ways.
That’s truly…
Your Style, Your Way!
- The Kashmir Company
P.S. Art is meant to be shared. That’s the message here. But during those crisp, windy autumn nights when the only thing that sounds good to you is curling up on the couch, sipping a cup of tea, while reading a book… your shawl is the perfect companion to snuggle with. We won’t tell.
]]>We opened our offices here and have not looked back since. It’s been such an incredibly natural fit. We use the city and the fashionable women who live here as a platform to draw creative inspiration for The Seasons Collections. It's like having our fingers on the pulse of what's trending. More so, we're able to identify the timeless fashion statements that women of all ages remain incurably infatuated with.
The resurgence of retro fashion here in the city (and worldwide for that matter) is pushing women’s contemporary style to new and exciting heights. It’s like watching the past and present collide. The beauty of watching style evolve (and embrace older trends) is something we're incredibly excited about. The mix of new and eternal feminine fashion trends powerfully demonstrates our voice for spotlighting what remains timeless in women’s universal taste. (More about that in our next blog.)
It’s also important to us that you can feel our authenticity and sincerity as a company. In the past, we didn’t talk about our affinity with San Francisco. However, we realized that if we really want to create more exposure for our mind-blowingly beautiful one-of-a-kind products, we needed to make a statement. Likewise, we passionately want to reintroduce the ancient art of shawl and scarf making to a whole new, appreciative female audience. So we’re expressing who we are, as a company, by shouting our excitement to every woman with the ears to hear us.
You’re witnessing the next evolution of The Seasons Brand right now.
That being said…
We’re not just interested in sharing our admiration for San Francisco with you. No. We want to communicate our love affair with the entire Bay Area. Heck, it goes even further than that. We have an intense craving to articulate our total obsession with all of picturesque Northern California, because it’s our connection with nature that largely defines The Season Brand and the collections we create.
After living here for quite a while now, I’ve personally discovered some truly wonderful similarities between Kashmir and Northern California. For instance, the leaves changing their colors from the lush summer greens to the fall oranges, yellows and browns in Lake Tahoe or Mount Shasta brings me back to the exquisite alpine nature that paints much of the Kashmir landscape.
And that very same beauty is reflected in the handcrafted designer Kashmir Shawls & Scarves we’re so enthusiastically sharing with you right now!
For me, that’s what it’s all about. I want to see the magnificence that we’re absolutely surrounded by depicted in the wearable art we sell. And Northern California, as a whole, gives us that ability and stimulation. This city… and all of the exquisite nature we’re blessed with here is our muse for future collections. We take the wonderful ideas our team derives from the style-aware women and stunning nature of NorCal… and take those concepts to the Kashmiri Artisans who bring our visions to life.
The Fall Seasons Collection is the latest manifestation of this creative process. And the upcoming winter collection is sure to enliven your senses too.
We hope our love affair with San Francisco and Northern California comes through in the shawls and scarves we offer – just as much as we enjoy sharing how the Kashmiri heritage is transparent in every stitch of thread that makes these pieces of fashion-art a reality.
To Reflecting Seasons Beauty in the Fashion-Art You Wear!
P.S. The name of our blog is The Timeless Voice. In our next blog here, we’re excited to explore what Timeless Fashion IS… and its amazing influence in today’s feminine style.
]]>
The Kashmir Company was a vision I had as a child. Coming from a region with a history rooted in carpet weaving and shawl making, I was fortunate to witness all of the beautiful handmade products that my people traded in. I also got to see the master artisans and their families who created these world renowned works of artistry doing what they love. I fantasized about working in the local, handmade industry in a BIG way – I just didn’t know how it would one day become possible.
I was in total awe of the beauty the local people imagined-into-form.
But my love for natural beauty didn't stop there. As a young boy growing up in the picturesque valleys of Kashmir, I was fortunate to have been exposed to the rich cultural heritage of the Kashmiri people and the astounding beauty of the Himalayan Mountains. We had so much natural beauty at our complete and total disposal, and while there were definitely tough times, most of us knew we lived in one of the most magnificent places on earth.
Kashmir is a region that experiences four distinct seasons. My memories of Kashmir’s seasons are very strong… and how they dramatically impacted our rhythm of life. Shawl making also followed the rhythm of the seasons. Spring produced plants and flowers which were harvested to create the organic colors for the shawls and their embroidery. Summer was perfect for dying materials with color, as the heat would help with the drying process. Winter was long and cold in Kashmir. Much of the tedious embroidery happened and continues to happen in the winter months, while families wait for the snow to melt to start farming again.
Those are some of my most vivid memories I have as a boy. I remember watching the Kashmiri people work so hard to keep the art of shawl making alive, as they did their best to make a living. I have a deep respect and undying bond with the people of Kashmir; it’s a connection that’s so strong, it remains an extremely powerful influence in my life today. My kinship with the Kashmiri people is what inspired me to start The Kashmir Company and its Seasons Brand.
However, it wasn’t until about 10 years ago that I actually conceived of the Seasons concept. I thought to myself, “What if I could be the bridge that connects an artisan sitting in a small room, in a village that’s in the middle of nowhere, working in candlelight and help him or her show the world what he or she created? What if I could help the local Kashmiri artisans make a living wage, doing what they love; doing what is literally ingrained in their DNA?”
In the process, I thought to myself: “What if I could show the world the magnificent fashion-art creations that have endured beyond countless superficial trends & untold generations?” The Seasons Brand is the manifestation of answering those questions.
Fast forward to the present…
The Seasons Brand is experiencing its next evolutionary step. We’re continuing to make it easier for you see, experience and purchase our exclusively designed Kashmir Shawls & Scarves. In fact, we just recently went through a series of professional model shoots that you’re seeing here on the site right now. And I write with a smile on my face that getting the Fall Seasons Collection creatively designed, developed and photographed has been one of the most exciting times in BOTH my professional & personal life. Why? Well, our ability to create exposure for the Kashmiri artisans who handcraft these amazing pieces of wearable art is even bigger than ever.
Words can’t even begin to express how unconditionally happy that makes me.
Stay tuned for some of my amazing stories and thank you for supporting the Kashmiri Artisans who hand-create our totally original pieces of fashion art!
To Reflecting Seasons Beauty in the Fashion-Art You Wear!
P.S. I recently returned from another trip to Kashmir where I worked with our devoted artisans to complete the shawls & scarves for the upcoming Winter Seasons Collection. The amount of inspiration coming through in what’s being produced is simply amazing. I can’t wait to share everything we’re creating… just for you.
P.P.S. After I left Kashmir, I went into technology (another love of mine.) I worked for companies such as Intel and IBM and started some of my own. I also had a deeply fulfilling job as an executive at the GAP Corporation. In my heart though, I always felt a burning passion for Kashmir and its people’s rich heritage. The concept of creating a company that would bridge the artisan from a Kashmir village and showcase his/her brilliance to the world was my dream. And now, you’re seeing the result of a young boy’s fantasy to help the Kashmiri people have a voice for their timeless artistic expression… Life is good.
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