December 13, 2024
Franki Rudnesky/PhillyVoice
At the Tibet Collection booth in the Christmas Village, Tenzin Choephak sells jewelry and handicraft that were imported from Nepal and India.
At his Tibet Collection booth in the Christmas Village, owner Tenzin Choephak has been selling jewelry, art, apparel and decor for the past 15 years — and the holiday market, which runs through Dec. 24, is the only place shoppers can find his imported goods.
During the other 11 months of the year, the Wayne resident works in a completely different profession. Choephak, who is Tibetan but was born in India, came to the United States nearly two decades ago and launched his business soon after.
Tibet Collection is located in its same spot as always, at booth No. 78, near the LOVE sculpture and next to another long-time vendor that sells imported goods: John Murray's Irish Shop.
We stopped by Choephak's booth to learn more about what he sells, and even got a demonstration of some of his Tibetan singing bowls which instilled a sense of tranquility amid the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Village:
PHILLYVOICE: How did you start this business?
TENZIN CHOEPHAK: When I came here in 2007 to America, I wanted to do something with small business. This is my 15th year now, same as the Irish Shop. So I saw this market, and then I said, 'Okay, let's do it.' Then we started and I kind of liked it. So I just do this for only one month of the whole year. I went to school and now I work as a nurse all other months.
PV: Tell me about the merchandise you have.
CHOEPHAK: I sell Tibetan jewelry, Tibetan handicraft, but all made in Nepal and made in India. There's so many Tibetans over there, in Nepal and India. But (the products I sell) are more like a Tibetan design, Tibetan style.
PV: What are some of your favorite things you're selling?
CHOEPHAK: My favorite thing is a Tibetan singing bowl, or Tibetan sound bowl. It's a meditation bowl. This is my 15th year, so I sell it every year and people love it. They're still coming back for the singing bowls. All my bowls have a different shape, different size and different sound. It's like a meditation for stress release, for calm, you know, just for listening to sound and just quiet. ... My favorite other one is my shawls, like the wool shawl, they love it.
PV: How do you pick out which merchandise you want to import for your shop?
CHOEPHAK: I try to go to India because I'm a Tibetan, born in India. My mom used to live there; she passed a couple years (ago). I would go and visit my mom and my brother; my family is still in India ... and then I go and shop and then I ship it here. ... It's been more than 10 years, so now I know what people like. And I have regular customers every year, and I know they need this and that.
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