FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We hope your shopping experience is a good one. If you can't find the answer to your question in our FAQs, please reach out via email at info@mulxiply.com or by phone at 207-332-7320.

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Yes, our brick and mortar shop is called Ember located at 5 South Street, Portland, Maine 04101. A link to our google maps address is here.

Yes, you will receive an email confirmation once your order is placed. If you cannot find the confirmation in your email, please check your spam folder as sometimes it does end up in there. If you still need help, please email us at: info@mulxiply.com or call us at 207.650.1766.

We will ship your order within 48 hours after your order is placed. We ship Monday - Friday, but not on weekends or holidays. Please email us if you need special shipping care or are curious about expedited shipping, we will do what we can do help.

You will receive an email indicating that your order has shipped with a tracking number that you can use to follow the shipping progress of your order. Before contacting us, please track your order via the provided tracking number. If your order appears to be missing, contact us and we will help you investigate the matter.

We offer several methods of shipping so your order will arrive based on your chosen shipping method, as well as your location. MULXIPLY ships all orders from Portland, Maine. Most of our orders on the eastern seaboard will arrive within 2-3 days. Points west will arrive within 3-5 days. If you have chosen USPS Priority Express your order will arrive within 2-3 days anywhere within the country however, we do not take responsibility for delayed shipments due to USPS. For expedited or international shipping, please contact us at info@mulxiply.com.

While we do not offer this as an option in our online checkout, please email us at info@mulxiply.com and we will provide shipping rates for your order and location. Depending on your choice of carrier and location, shipments will arrive between one week and one month.

Yes! Your order will ship via USPS First Class or Priority Shipping.

Yes, we offer in-store pick-up. Please select this option at offered at checkout. View our hours for pick-up here.

Yes, please email as us info@mulxiply.com as soon as possible, and we will do everything we can to adjust your order.

Once your order is picked up by the carrier, it is no longer MULXIPLY's responsibility. As all of our items are shipped via a traceable method, please use your tracking number to file a claim with the carrier. Please double check your address as we cannot be held responsible for incorrect addresses. If you need to modify the address on your order, please contact us as soon as possible after your order is placed. We will do what we can to help you if your shipment is lost in transit, but MULXIPLY does not assume responsibility for carrier negligence.

We want you to love your order. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you can return it for a refund or exchange within 14 days of your order. Please note -- our items are artisan-made, which means they are not factory-made, but rather uniquely made by hand. If, however, you are not satisfied with your item or there is obvious maker-default, please reach out to us at info@mulxiply.com or via phone at 207.253.4000.

Please reach out to us at info@mulxiply.com or via phone at 207.253.4000, and we will provide instructions for replacement or refund. Please ship your item via a trackable method within 14 days of purchase to 5 South Street, Portland, ME 04101. Please include a copy of your receipt or packing slip.

You can return items for a refund or exchange within 14 days of your order. Items noted as "Final Sale" are not eligible for return or exchange. Once your order falls outside of 14 days, it is no longer eligible for return or exchange.

Return shipping is the responsibility of the customer. When returning your item, we request that you send your item via a traceable shipping method. MULXIPLY will not be held responsible for items we do not receive. We cannot receive returns or exchanges for international shipments.

MULXIPLY offers wholesale accounts to qualified buyers. Please contact us at info@mulxiply.com to discuss this opportunity. Please note we honor relationships we have with our current stockists and are sensitive to locales. However, we cannot offer exclusivity to your area unless the annual order is $5,000 or more.

Our minimum opening order is $350. Our reorder minimum is $250.

Yes, if you are an interested or existing stockist, please email us at info@mulxiply.com for access to our current line sheets and catalog.

Please email us at info@mulxiply.com to discuss custom orders or private label. All projects are charged a design and coordination fee and require a minimum $1000 commitment for made-to-order or white label opportunities.

Natural metals will tarnish based on your skin's chemistry and humidity. To keep your jewelry as shiny as possible, we recommend wearing it except for when you wash your hands or shower. To shine your pieces up, we recommend using a soft polishing cloth -- we like these microfibre polishing squares.

DO NOT POLISH OXIDIZED JEWELRY. The black finish on these brass pieces will patina over time and is hastened by moisture. The black finish will gradually antique showing the brass metal beneath but will never become the bright color of brass.

Our leather bags are sturdy and meant for arduous everyday wear. To keep the leather clean and soft, we recommend first cleaning your bag with a moist cloth then using a natural leather cleaner such as this beeswax cleaner.

The wool used on our animals and slippers is felted by hand and is not synthetic. They can become fuzzy or pilled over time. To remove pill or lint, carefully "shear" with scissors, a lint roller or a shaver, such as this one. Felt is water-resistant, but we do not recommend immersing these items in water. Rather, spot clean them with soap and water. 

Our felted animals are meant to be loved by big or little kids, but as they are made by hand, they will not withstand excessive pulling or stretching. We do not recommend our felted woolies as dog toys, although your furry friends will be very tempted to make them their own.

Our apparel collection is made of hand-dyed and woven cotton and bamboo. It is possible to wash these pieces on the gentle cycle in cold water and tumble dry on low. However, we recommend washing them initially by hand and hanging them up to dry. Iron on the cotton setting. Our knit items vary from cotton, wool, or cashmere blends. We recommend dry cleaning these items or washing them by hand only.

No, we cannot repair broken or damaged items. If your item has a flaw due to the maker's fault, we gladly offer return or exchange within 14 days of your purchase. Please see our return policy above.

MULXIPLY is pronounced "multiply". The X in our name is the multiply symbol telling the story of a ripple effect. There are many hands that touch our pieces from start to finish. In this way, our business is a true collaboration -- touching and changing many lives. Our products are created by fair wage artisans in Nepal, and we are committed above all else to supporting their livelihood and success. Ultimately, our products end up in your hands as either a direct purchase or as a gift. Our intention is that our creations bring you joy, making you the last ripple in what we call "the multiply effect".

Pronounced "multiply", we are a design-focused social enterprise that collaborates with artisans and skilled craftsmen and women in Nepal. Our modern handmade collections consist of jewelry, bags, apparel, and hand-felted gifts. We believe in employing artisans in a society that often marginalizes their skills as low-tier labor. By providing a market for their products, we are interrupting a cycle of poverty, as well as elevating their skills as a vital part of Nepali heritage and tradition. Read more about our story here.

MULXIPLY partners with fair-wage artisan groups and emerging designers in Nepal to create our modern collection of jewelry, bags, and hand-felted gifts. Please read about our artisans and process here.

MULXIPLY was founded in 2012 by Tanja Cesh and Annalisa Oswald. The idea for this business was born out of an extensive research trip taken by Tanja Cesh in 2010 to understand the place of indigenous craft in South and Southeast Asia, as well as the impact that artisanal businesses could have in elevating marginalized and at-risk people groups, particularly women. While Annalisa is no longer part of the company, her support and inspiration still touch many aspects of the business. Oswald currently teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and is a prolific illustrator. Cesh continues to lead the day-to-day operations of MULXIPLY and is their creative director.

People are at the core of our business. We recognize that our business would not exist without the collaboration of our artisan teams in Nepal. While our ethos upholds fair-trade and fair-wage principles, our process is deeply focused on keeping heritage handicraft alive by providing a viable, profitable platform to showcase artisan craft. Although we utilize age-old techniques to produce our designs, our collection is contemporary, bridging an ancient and modern aesthetic. Read more about our design philosophy and ethos here.

We currently partner with six fair-wage artisan groups in Nepal. We've been working in Nepal for nearly ten years and have built close relationships with our teams, seeking to grow and learn alongside them. Each group has been carefully vetted to align with our "people first" principles. All of our teams ensure fair wages to their artisans, provide opportunity for career growth, and invest in the livelihood and happiness of each of their artists. 

Most of our teams are small groups who employ around 15 artisans with a true focus on honing skill and craft rather than mass production. We partner with these teams and are not their sole source of income. We commit to producing with our teams on an ongoing basis so as to ensure a consistent flow of work/income to each group. Two of our teams employ larger groups of artisans -- many of which are women who seek to work from home. Some of our felted pieces are produced in this manner allowing for income-producing opportunities in a village-based setting. Read more about our partners here.

While we don't pay direct salaries to our artisans, our annual infusion of payments to our teams equates to approximately 30 full-time salaries and many more for seasonal contribution.

No, we are a social enterprise business, meaning we place people over profit. From time-to-time, we donate funds to non-profits in Nepal that are providing relief in impactful ways. All our revenue is put back into our business to facilitate growth and create more jobs both locally and in Nepal.

We pay our artisans outright. We do not operate on a per-piece quota system but rather agree on a fair-wage market-rate for each piece produced and commit to purchase orders that are fulfilled on an ongoing basis. The duty to make a profit falls squarely on MULXIPLY's shoulders alone and not on that of our artisans.

We go to Nepal once a year to work with our teams, design and sample products for upcoming seasons, and to explore potential partnerships. The month we spend with our teams is time that we cherish, as it creates so much inspiration and understanding for the environment in which they live. Nepal is rich in culture and heritage, and we seek to know more of the history and texture of the country we have chosen to invest in. There are a lot of challenges to work through in any developing nation, and we are grateful for the friends we have made over the years that have made our work in Nepal possible.

Currently, our collections are not available in Nepal, but we are working on partnering with several retail outposts in the Kathmandu valley. Please email us at info@mulxiply.com if you have a specific request regarding a piece in our collection that you wish to buy while you are in Nepal, and we can try to work on a solution.

We are staunchly against "fast fashion" which means we choose to work with artisan groups rather than large factories to produce our collections. We understand that there are human hands and lives that touch each of our pieces and with that comes the ebb and flow of real-life. While we do our best to commit to deliverables, we work together with our teams for realistic timelines. We believe that handmade items carry a story and value that cheap alternatives do not offer. We strive to source raw materials that we can trace to their origin although we are not always able to do so. When possible, we seek to use materials and methods native to Nepal. While our collections are designed with relevant market trends in mind, our intention is to create items that will last and that you will enjoy using and wearing for years to come.

When possible, we recycle unused materials to reuse in future projects. We also create pieces with material overages so that little is wasted. We still have a long way to go, but where possible we choose the natural, sustainable, and handmade option for the least impact to the environment and the greatest impact to the human race.

MULXIPLY works very hard to ensure that above all else our artisans feel important, invested in, and provided for. Ethically speaking, humans are our greatest resource. We will only partner with artisan groups if they align with these standards of provision and investment. Their workspaces must feel safe and life-giving, their contribution must be valued and fairly compensated, and their futures invested in.