Team bios

Sanju Tamang - Managing Director

Sanju was born and raised in the small Bhutanese town of Samtse. When she was a child Bhutan was still an extremely closed, inward-looking country that had little contact with the outside world and it enforced strict dress and behavioural codes. Other than occasional western book, illicit TV or radio broadcast or black market VHS tape, the world beyond the Himalayas remained largely a mystery - but a very alluring one! Sanju grew up with a fascination for the secondhand western clothes that could be found in market stalls in the Bhutan-India border towns. They seemed alien and stylish and kindled in her a desire to go out and explore the wider world. Little did she imagine that her childhood interest would become a life-long passion and, much later, her career.

When Sanju got the chance of a lifetime to come to the UK to study, she grabbed it with both hands. During her time in college she set up a stall in London's Camden Market, initially selling Nepali and ethnic clothing and later, after finishing her degree, continued trading in the market, running a series of increasingly successful stalls and shops. However over the years, the world of fast fashion lost its shine as Sanju became increasingly aware of the waste and destruction wrought by the industry and so, in 2008, she changed direction - focusing solely on vintage and secondhand fashion, which at the time had yet to enter the mainstream. Today Sanju's passion for preloved and vintage clothes remains as strong as ever and she is the driving force behind Mero Retro's unique style and our curated collections of what we call 'eastern vintage' - preloved clothing from around the world with a focus on Asian and especially Japanese fashion.

Ro Rai - Creative Director

Ro was born the son of a British Gurkha soldier and spent his childhood living in different countries - Singapore, the UK, Hong Kong and others - as his family moved from one posting to another. As a young teenager he spent his free time playing in bands, drawing comics and making DIY t-shirts and badges. His youthful misadventures led to him spending a year back in his native Nepal, much of it with his grandparents in the Everest region of Solukhumbu. The experience was a turning point and an unforgettable education in his heritage and the skills that the proud 'pahadi jaat' (mountain tribes) use in their everyday lives.

Ro returned the UK to complete his education and in the early 90s, he found himself working in the emerging new media field. For over two decades he worked as a freelance designer, producer and consultant for blue chip businesses, educational publishers and new media agencies, founding two companies along the way. It was during this time that a fateful trip led him to the stalls of Camden Market where he met Sanju and the rest... is history 

In April 2015, Ro left Believe Creative, the educational software company he founded in 2007 and joined Sanju in the on-going adventure that is Mero Retro. He's responsible for our digital and creative output, designing our t-shirts, our visual merchandising, ferrying stock around on our bike trailer and building whatever's needed for Mero Retro Dalston, mostly from reclaimed materials he finds on the streets of Hackney.