NEW YEAR MESSAGE 2026
As 2025 draws to a close and we reflect on the outgoing year, we recognise it as one of our more ambitious years. The number of projects launched required sustained effort across our atelier of 108 artisans, administrators, and creatives, where the yak and the khullu it gives back to the land sit at the core of our artisanship. Guided by our proximity to the land and the rhythms that shape it, we moved through the seasons of the plateau: transition and accumulation in spring, opening and release in summer, and a return inward in autumn. We arrive at the end of the year tired but resolved, and clear about the value of what has been accomplished.
The design and production teams, together with the wider atelier, carried forward the development and launch of SS25, AW25, and a capsule children’s collection. These collections were photographed in the landscapes of Ritoma during brief windows of sunshine in a persistently snowy spring. As always, nature set the pace.
Alongside the seasonal collections, spring marked a significant expansion of our scope. Norlha led the design and production of the soft furnishings for the renovation of Norden Camp. Each cabin was developed around a distinct theme, with handmade yak-khullu carpets, bed coverings, cushion covers, and yak-and-silk curtains created specifically for each space. In total, over 300 individual pieces were produced. A Norlha showroom, inspired by traditional Tibetan homes in the region, was also integrated into the camp. When Norden reopened in early June, it became a place where Norlha’s approach to handmade work and local production could be experienced directly.
In parallel, construction was completed on the ‘Circular Building’, which includes eight rooms, two apartments, an exhibition space, and two large studios. Conceived as a place for creation using leftover materials of fibre, thread, and offcuts, the building has begun hosting artists working directly with these resources. Within this space, a ceramics studio was established with Elise Gettliffe, resulting in over 300 ceramic pieces created for Norden Camp. The building also houses a new canteen and kitchen for Norlha staff.
In May, Norlha opened its first wholly Norlha store in Sanlitun, Beijing, in partnership with Huasheng Media. Later in the year, renovations were completed at the Lhasa store, with each retail space maintaining its own design identity, distinct in material language and atmosphere, while remaining connected through shared values.
Community remained central throughout the year. Over the summer, Norlha gathered for its annual three-day picnic on the grasslands, bringing together more than 100 artisans to share meals and time together. In the autumn, we marked Norlha’s 18th anniversary, welcoming a visiting professor to speak on unity, community, and compassion. Every member of the atelier, including retirees, received a Norlha gift. Toward the end of the year, all 108 Norlha employees went together to Ritoma Monastery for our annual tea sponsorship.
Now, as winter settles in, with blue skies and air thin as a blade, the pace has slowed. The year’s work has been extensive and sustained, and its weight is felt. There is fatigue, but also steadiness, a sense of having carried a full cycle of work through to completion.
As we approach the New Year, with Losar arriving in mid-February, we welcome the pause ahead. We do so with appreciation—for the people who carried this year’s work, for the land that sets our rhythm, and for the shared effort that continues to shape Norlha.
