"My business is my passion. I love to do what I am doing."

I started in 1999 as a young bride on a factory floor, learning to weave and dye. In time I came to lead Le Pashmina, the label of our family business, Alps Industries.

In 2009 the family decided to close the label. I couldn't let it go. I took it over, renamed it Leh Pashmina, and in 2010 opened our own design house in Ghaziabad.

Since then I have designed and sold more than 5,000 shawls. Our pieces have gone into corporate and client gifting for Taj and Oberoi hotels, have been retailed in hotel boutiques at Taj, Oberoi and Trident properties, and have been ordered by Agnès b. and Espace Cachemire in Paris. In 2013 our pieces were gifted at Agenda Aaj Tak and the CREDAI Conclave.

COVID nearly stopped us, as it did so many small businesses. We rebuilt one customer at a time. I still choose every piece myself and work with our partner karigars in Kashmir on weaving and hand embroidery. Many designs begin on my travels: the reds of Wadi Rum, the white salt of Salar de Uyuni, the blues of Jardin Majorelle. Every piece is labelled honestly: pure is pure, and blends say exactly what they are.

Come and see us. My desk is an old Portuguese dining table from a house on Divar Island in Goa, and our logo is carved into the showroom's stone floor.

Archana Chaudhry

"Leh Pashmina" is our brand name. It is not a claim of Leh or Ladakh origin.

Archana Chaudhry, founder.