Arpana Rayamajhi
Photograph by Stephanie Geddes
Born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal, Arpana Rayamajhi grew up in a uniquely creative yet scrutinized environment as the daughter of Sushila Rayamajhi, one of Nepal's most popular actresses. Her childhood was marked by constant public recognition — “We would step out of the house and everybody would recognize us” — and financial struggles as her mother pursued art for love rather than money. As a young person in Nepal, she performed with local jazz bands while dreaming of making rock music and art, pursuits that didn't fit the conventional expectations placed upon her.
Seeking creative freedom, Rayamajhi moved to New York in 2012 to study painting and sculpture at Cooper Union, instantly feeling she had found where she belonged. However, her journey was interrupted when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, forcing her to shuttle between New York and Nepal until her mother's death that same year.
What began as making jewelry for her own outfits in 2014 has evolved into a celebrated career. Her whimsical, eclectic pieces incorporate unusual materials like synthetic neon hair from wigs, pencil erasers, and beads collected from travels worldwide, with each piece containing “a whisper of a memory, a token of her past”. She has showcased at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Paris, been featured in Vogue and Apple campaigns, and selected for The New York Times' 30 under 30.
Her unexpected rise to social media prominence began organically after graduation when she started sharing her work to find an audience for her art. Her social media presence—“all clashing prints and pounds of tassels” — reflects her philosophy of belonging emotionally rather than aesthetically. With over 50,000 Instagram followers, she has cultivated a devoted fandom drawn to her bold, colorful aesthetic and authentic storytelling.
Today, the artist is expanding beyond jewelry into music, recently releasing her first music video “If I Was To Tell You My Story”, while taking acting classes to honor her mother's memory and explore storytelling from her Nepali perspective. True to form, she resists being categorized, describing herself as simply “going through a phase.”
