About

TentTom Shop is the showcase of Tom Glenn’s (aka TentTom) life’s work as a textile designer and graphic artist, beginning in Kathmandu, Nepal in the early 1970s.

The photos in this first series is a curated collection of photos beginning in Patan, Nepal, just outside Kathmandu. Tom was taking photos as studies and references for his recent commission to design the interior restaurant of the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu. While capturing architectural details and textures and marveling at the craftsmanship of peoples who lived hundreds of years prior, the series also captures the candid moments of daily life as it was in 1970s Nepal.

Origins

In 1971 Tom hopped on a bus in London along with Wavy Gravy, Dr. Larry Brilliant, and a handful of other American kids embarking on the famed Hippie Trail. Six months later the bus pulled into Kathmandu where Tom would plant roots for the next decade, became a textile designer, earn the name TentTom, marry a beautiful Tibetan woman, and have two kids.

Shortly after arriving in Kathmandu, Tom left for the countryside, living alone in the Himalayan jungle in a traditional Tibetan tent for six months. It was that experience that inspired him to become a textile designer and go on to open a tent and carpet factory in Bodha, where he would produce tents and carpets for the King of Nepal and other notable collectors.

Tom’s designs also took on a broader appeal through his infusion of Western geometric design elements into Traditional Tibetan motifs. His carpets, wall coverings, and furniture pieces were carried in Pacific Design Center in Seattle and featured in California Design Magazine.

The photos in our first photo series were taken in Patan Durbar Square, Kathmandu in 1977. At that time, the Soaltee Hotel was undergoing a major renovation that would render it Nepal’s first 5-star luxury accommodation. Biki Oberi, the then owner of the Soaltee Hotels, tapped Tom to design interiors for the hotel’s restaurant, as well as other areas of the hotel grounds, and a collection of rugs for his home in New Delhi.