Norlha Voyager is unafraid of change. Adaptable yet constant

 

The Tibetan Plateau is a land so vast that traveling was a full time occupation and an integral part of culture. There were Nomads on the move, following their flocks with the seasons, mystics looking for destinations not on maps or merchants crisscrossing the Plateau bringing goods from towns into more remote areas. Now there are roads and cell phones and travel may take place in trucks, buses or motorcycles, but the spirit of voyage still remains.

Voyager is a state of mind; wide expanses, blue dawns, mighty rivers, endless lakes and an infinite sky, the heart and soul of the Plateau. Like the endless clouds that float by, voyager is unafraid of change; adaptable yet constant.

Norlha’s new Voyager Collection captures its spirit, now and forever.

Norlha designs, produces, and sells timeless yak wool pieces handwoven by nomads on the Tibetan Plateau (Yak scarves, throws and textiles)

Situated between earth and sky, the Norlha Textiles workshop develops products that draw on the natural qualities of the raw materials in the immediate environment. The yak grazes at altitudes over 2,500m and thrives in temperatures below 30c. Under its rough black hair is a dense layer of precious brown fiber that the nomads call khullu, which protects it from the extreme cold. Yak fiber combines the softness of cashmere with the strength of camel. Yak fiber has high insulation powers and is more resistant to wear and tear than cashmere.

The Voyager Collection includes Nomad All Weather shawls, scarves, tunics, beanies, and ponchos made from yak’s khullu. Soft and enduring, the unique properties of yak khullu translate into a range of exceptional products. Khullu naturally molts at the end of winter and the yak’s fiber is gathered at that time, before it falls, in a process that is natural and peaceful.

Khullu is a fiber of many virtues – durability, enduring, ethical, soft and warm. Yaks are neither clipped nor combed for their fiber and are never deprived of their natural protection. Khullu is gently detached from the yaks during their natural molting season. Norlha uses only the softest possible khullu, the baby yak’s first molt. Baby yaks, called yeko, are born with a soft layer of down that they shed at the end of their second year.