The couple selected the name Apsara for their business because of its meaning. People who come in looking for the former store can’t even believe it’s the same spot.” “We’ve made a major transformation with the space here. “I consider Portsmouth to be ‘our’ town,” Chan said. Downstairs we have a collection for furniture from Nepal and Nagaland. “Apsara is a retail shop, but we also consider it a gallery, too. “Our intention is to vary the merchandise several times a year,” Mond said. There is a large selection of antique baskets from Borneo. There are prayer mats from Southeast Asia as old as 1890 that are not only functional, but can be hung as wall art. The textiles line includes hand woven scarves, shawls, blankets and quilts. This cuts out the middle man, so we can keep our prices reasonable.” “We work closely and design our own patterns. “We mostly work only with independent village producers or women’s cooperatives,” Mond said. The couple has been going to the various countries since 1990 to amass their collections and form relationships with small manufacturers. The textiles also come from Turkey and Afghanistan. There are many Tibetan and Indian rugs and carpets from the mid-19th century and beyond. site was right for their new store.Īpsara sells jewelry and textiles from the past and present. The couple looked at six or more locations before “knowing” the 130 Congress St. “We live in Eliot, Maine, but knew the store had to be in downtown Portsmouth.” “It was the right time for us to find a place to open our business,” Chan said. “We would go to Southeast Asia to buy and then sell at musical festivals and antique shows all over the United States,” said Thomas Mond, co-owner with his wife, Sally Chan. 25, the husband wife team had been selling antique and tribal textiles throughout the country.
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