🇳🇵 Handicrafts of Nepal

Handicrafts of Nepal: an introduction

Nepal is one of the craft-producing countries where the product, not the factory, is what a buyer is really choosing between. It is known for pashmina and felted wool, lost-wax metal casting of devotional figures, hand-knotted carpets, lokta paper and thangka painting.

All fifteen craft families are shown below. The ones marked in blue are where craft output in Nepal concentrates; the rest are made or traded there on a smaller scale, and are worth a look if you are sourcing across categories.

• Handloom & Textile Crafts
• Embroidery & Needlework
• Handmade Carpets & Rugs
• Pottery & Ceramics
• Metalware & Brassware
• Woodcraft & Carving
• Stone & Marble Craft
• Handmade Jewellery & Beadwork
• Leather Craft
• Cane, Bamboo & Basketry
• Paper Craft & Papier-Mâché
• Lacquerware & Painted Wood
• Glass Craft & Beadmaking
• Handmade Toys & Dolls
• Ritual & Devotional Objects

Blue = strongest in Nepal · plain = also available

Each craft-family page explains what to look for in the finished product — quality markers, sizes, finishes, care and price behaviour — wherever in the world it is made. Read the family page for the product, and this page for the country.

Ask for the finished-piece specification in writing — dimensions with a tolerance, colour limits, weight and finish — and keep an approved sample. That one habit prevents most disputes in craft buying.