This new boutique is helping empower artisans worldwide

Tucked away in downtown Kelowna’s oft overlooked District on Bernard is NomadZz Boutique, whose storefront is hard to miss given it’s splash of international colour.

Owner Alemash Berhane, whose background is Ethiopian, stocks her shelves with bright, beautiful pieces from all over the world: from Peru, Ethiopia, Bali, India, Thailand, Mexico, Ecuador and Senegal.

“The idea of the store and my business is sharing values, traditions, cultures through this unique product,” Berhane told Kelowna10. “And that is also while empowering the people that are making it, because I'm getting it from family places to small, tiny businesses.”

Her decision to set up shop in Kelowna came after nearly a year of research while she lived in Quebec.

She was looking for a location that wasn’t too large and had a niche she could fill with her diverse products.

She would find that her unique wares and business model were a hit with Kelowna’s market.

“People love the uniqueness, they love the quality, and they love how we empower these artisans to continue providing for their families,” she said.

Berhane said some of her most popular items are her alpaca wool blankets and sweaters from Peru, her harem style pants from Thailand, and hand-woven Ethiopian baskets, made by her own sister and nieces.

“Every item that I have here has their own unique style,” she explained. “And that brings the culture, tradition, or values of those different countries.”