Talking about gifts… okay, so I’ve traveled to more than 50 countries, searching the furthest reaches of the earth — always meeting with locals, learning about their cultures (especially artisans), and discovering hidden treasures. Of all the unique gifts I’ve seen, I can most highly recommend the following for this Mother’s Day (and I’ll show you why, below). Each will make a mom’s heart overflow with love and appreciation!

1. So luxurious her eyes will well up (with tears of love!). I brought this home for myself recently, and so wish I could order another for my dear mom, who sadly passed away. I promise yours will treasure this scarf forever. It’s overwhelmingly gorgeous. Tactile. Sumptuous. And so well made. ‘Java Sea’ hand-painted batik silk scarf from Indonesia. At NOVICA $59.99 (retail value $105.95)

2. Emotional … from the legendary Silk Road region. If your mom treasures keepsakes, she will love safekeeping them in this intricately hand-painted jewelry box from Uzbekistan. The artisan explained that visions of the Garden of Eden inspired the name of this box: ‘Luxury Eden.’ At NOVICA $107.99 (retail value $204.95).

3. These Peruvian flowers won’t wilt. One year mom asked me to stop sending flowers. She couldn’t bear to see my gifts fade and wilt. She was so happy when I began sending lasting gifts instead. This hand-painted ‘Spring Flowers’ decorative vase from Peru is a perfect alternative to fresh flowers. And it will remind Mom of your love year-round. She’ll smile whenever she sees it, wherever she displays it. At NOVICA: $34.99 (retail value $46.95)

4. Environmentally conscious moms will love these. Next time Mom pours refreshments, she’ll enjoy telling her guests the story behind this ‘Oceanic Depths’ pair of hand-blown glasses. We found these at an artisans’ cooperative in Guatemala — one that focuses exclusively on repurposing / recycling / transforming glass. Each of these is a unique work of art. Oceanic Depths is a great name, too, isn’t it? A perfect mother’s day sentiment. At NOVICA: $44.99 (retail value $72.95)

5. Embrace her year-round with Kashmiri warmth. Oh my gosh, wait until you feel this featherweight ‘Kashmir Dreams’ handwoven wool shawl. A few years ago I bought one like it for Mom. She said she felt “wrapped up in love and warmth.” Your Mom will enjoy dressing up with this shawl just as much as she’ll enjoy draping it across herself while lounging on the couch, thinking of you. At NOVICA $69.99 (retail value $112.95)

6. Hearts say it all — and earrings are a sure thing.I’m loving these  ‘Harmonious Hearts’ sterling silver hearts inlaid with chalcedony gemstones. Aren’t they lovely? A perfect combination for Mother’s Day. Chalcedony is believed to absorb negative energy, bringing mind and body into harmony, and supposedly it possesses nurturing powers. Anyone who’s made it to motherhood definitely needs an extra dose of all that! Above all, these are absolutely gorgeous earrings, meticulously handcrafted, sentimental in nature, beautifully gift wrapped — and your purchase helps change the world for the better through fair trade. Mom will love knowing that part, too. What could be better?!

7. Mom will keep this where she sees it every day. And she’ll gaze at this statuette adoringly every time she walks by. Isn’t it gorgeous? ‘Mother’s True Love’ is handcarved in Bali from a single piece of sustainable suar wood. It is signed underneath by the artist. Such a perfect representation of motherhood. I find this sculpture’s gracefulness reassuring and inspiring, don’t you? $79.95 at NOVICA

8. If your mother loves teatime, buy her this. Okay, I’ve seen some gorgeously unique handmade tea sets of all shapes and sizes, all over the world. This year, the ‘Hibiscus Leaves’ tea service from The Island of the Gods really stands out for its simple elegance and meaning. Historically, Hindus believe hibiscus is auspicious — representing devotion and purity. And of course the hibiscus emoji has come to mean all things beautiful. Perhaps mention both contexts in your Mother’s Day card, along with your own personal sentiments. At NOVICA $137.95 (retail value $119.99)

9. I loved twinning with my mom. Do you ever do that? Especially if your mom appreciates a Bohemian vibe, she’ll love sharing this set of mother-daughter friendship bracelets with you, helping keep you both connected across the miles. Of all the friendship bracelets I’ve seen,  ‘Always Connected’ is my favorite pair this year. Handmade by a wonderful artisan-designer in Guatemala. At NOVICA $39.99 (retail value $65.95)

10. Ask her to write about it. From India, this uniquely gorgeous ‘Peacock Glory’ leather journal really caught my eye. I gifted a different journal to Mom in her later years, asking her to please share some personal sentiments (she didn’t tend to express her innermost thoughts). I didn’t think Mom ever wrote in it, but after she passed, I flipped through it to discover some truly meaningful memories she’d begun to jot down. Such an important gift for me now. I wish I’d given it to Mom sooner, so every page might have been filled. Seize the day! Now’s the time. At NOVICA $39.99 (retail value $47.95)

Imagine giving Mom or any beloved mother figure in your life one of these precious gifts from NOVICA. Each of these gifts carries an individual’s name and story attached; imagine that! Mom will enjoy receiving those details with her delivery. If you love these suggestions, please share with any friends who might be searching for gifts too. I’d be so grateful! Happy Mother’s Day to all.

Diego Chacon, NOVICA’s National Representative in Central Asia, is featured in this news segment on Channel 24 Uzbekistan. The segment took place in Tashkent, where local reporters and artisans gathered to learn about NOVICA’s innovative online fair trade platform. Chacon, a key figure in the establishment of NOVICA’s new Artisan Empowerment Hub in Uzbekistan, explained the platform’s unique features and benefits to the audience.

A local artisan is also featured in this segment, as well as a government spokesperson, and Kamola Shavkatovna Sobirova, advisor to the Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

More about NOVICA’s Artisan Empowerment Hub in Central Asia:

At NOVICA’s virtual Silk Road marketplace, visitors around the world can now explore and purchase the offerings of master artisans in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Central Asian handcrafts embody a fusion of influences from the Silk Road, Persian, Chinese, and Russian traditions, resulting in a diverse and intricate reflection of the region’s rich cultural heritage. Central Asian artisans are particularly renowned for their expertise in textile work, ceramics, metalwork, and jewelry, which exhibit exceptional craftsmanship.

NOVICA’s Silk Road Artisan Empowerment Hub launched in Spring 2023 thanks to the Ready4Trade Central Asia project, a project funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and NOVICA.

Days of Our Lives actor Bryan Dattilo (who plays Lucas) gifted his wife Liz a gorgeous NOVICA necklace by Neeru Goel.

“A family member turned me on to Novica and I loved the idea that it creates opportunities for artists to sell directly to customers all over the world,” Dattilo explains in the article, adding, “They have teams of people … seeking artisans who might otherwise only be able to sell their products locally. They make sure the artist earns fair pay, and the sales help uplift their small communities.”

The actor explained his choice of unique gift: “This amazing silver and lapis necklace featuring a peacock caught my eye. The design resonated with me since I just celebrated 30 years on Days, which currently airs on Peacock. I also found it interesting that the artist, Neeru Goel, a 63-year old woman from West Bengal, India, learned the craft from her grandmother, who taught her how to search for interesting gemstones that turn them into art.”

Find more details in the attached magazine clipping. We love seeing NOVICA artisans publicly recognized for their exceptional work!

At NOVICA’s Silk Road marketplace you’ll have the opportunity to explore the offerings of master artisans in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, each of whom expresses a deep reverence for the region’s distinctive legacy.

Combining elements from the Silk Road, Persian, Chinese, and Russian traditions, Central Asian handcrafts are a diverse and intricate reflection of the region’s cultural heritage. Central Asian artisans are particularly renowned for their exquisite textile work, ceramics, metalwork, and jewelry.

Our new Silk Road Artisan Empowerment Hub was established thanks to the Ready4Trade Central Asia project, a project funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and NOVICA.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for artisans of the region who currently have limited access to international marketplaces that cater for the European and US markets. It opens up a whole new online sales channel for them and additionally enables them to benefit from NOVICA’s extensive product development and business support services,” explained Annabel Sykes, the ITC’s e-commerce and SME digital transformation expert.

We invite you to join us here today, to learn about and savor the beauty and artistry of the legendary Silk Road and its peoples.

LOS ANGELES, April 12, 2023 — Artisans and art lovers in the U.S. and around the world plan to celebrate World Artisan Day next week on April 18. World Artisan Day is a relatively new holiday recognizing artisans for their essential contributions to history and humanity. The holiday was officially added to global calendars three years ago, thanks to the efforts of Los Angeles-based fair trade giant NOVICA.com.

This year, interest in World Artisan Day is spreading around the globe. Artisans and art lovers are planning celebrations across continents, ranging from street fairs and festivals to house parties and religious ceremonies.

Why does World Artisan Day Matter in 2023?

“Today, in this age of anonymous mass production, a new shift is becoming evident — indicating that we’re collectively yearning for a return to craftsmanship — and perhaps to our own artisanal roots. Keep in mind that historically, most of us were artisans. We used our hands to create everything that filled our world,” commented NOVICA’s Ben Kiblinger, who spearheaded the successful 2020 effort to get World Artisan Day recognized on global calendars.

“This renewed desire for handmade over machine made is evidenced in the significant rebirth of ‘artisanal’ goods we’re witnessing today,” Kiblinger continued, adding, “From corner stores to big box stores, ‘handmade’ and ‘ethically made’ labels are popping up everywhere, across all sectors. Shoppers are craving a return to handcrafted authenticity and human connection — a connection to the source. World Artisan Day helps bring this tangible, positive trend out into the spotlight, while at the same time honoring our world’s keepers of the arts.”

How to celebrate World Artisan Day on April 18? NOVICA suggests the following ten ideas:

1. Make something with your hands. Bake cookies for a neighbor. Try painting with watercolors. Create something that brings joy.
2. Host a craft party, or an artisan-themed dinner party featuring handmade decor and artisanal foods and drinks.
3. Attend a local art fair to discover new artists and their crafts.
4. Take a workshop or class to learn a new craft or skill from an artisan.
5. Share your love for handmade on social media with hashtag #WorldArtisanDay.
6. Visit a museum or gallery, and learn about your favorite works of art.
7. Write a thank-you note or leave a positive review for a talented artisan.
8. Organize a community event to elevate the visibility of local artisans.
9. Visit an artisan friend or family member to learn about their craft and share in their passion.
10. Support artisans by choosing handmade and fair trade whenever possible. Patronize local artisans, and discover a world of exceptional craftspeople online as well, at NOVICA.com and other marketplace platforms.

NOVICA’s ten Artisan Empowerment Hubs around the world are planning a variety of events to celebrate World Artisan Day. In Thailand, for example, NOVICA’s regional team will honor World Artisan Day with visits to artisans’ homes, bringing with them traditional offerings of respect including flowers, candles, and incense. NOVICA’s Brazil team will join festivities at the Ipanema Fair, and will deliver breakfasts to participating artisans. NOVICA’s India team will host a World Artisan Day party in New Delhi honoring master artisans.[/caption]

“We are thrilled that people everywhere are joining in celebrations this year to honor the incredible craftspeople who tether us to our rich, creative past and future. Artisans preserve disappearing arts, protect age-old traditions, and ensure that vibrant cultures continue to thrive. Likewise, they lead us into the future through innovation,” Kiblinger concluded.

A new website, WorldArtisanDay.org, invites event organizers to add year-round artisan-themed listings to its global public calendar.

Statistics: The global handcrafts sector is enormous; it reached $752.2 billion in 2022 (source: Handicrafts Market Size, Share, Industry Analysis Report 2023-2028, by International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group). Historically, only a small percentage of that global sales figure trickles back to artisans, and working conditions for the majority of the world’s artisans are abysmal and inequitable. That dynamic is what NOVICA and other fair trade purveyors strive to change.

About NOVICA: NOVICA’s unique online listing and fulfillment platform cuts out multiple layers of middlemen, making it possible for global artisans to earn more and customers to pay less. Founded in 1999 to empower artisans and preserve endangered cultural art forms, NOVICA has become the leading online fair trade marketplace in the world. NOVICA.com showcases named, featured artisans and ships their handmade jewelry, unique gifts, home decor, and ethical apparel creations directly to individual customers’ doorsteps. An estimated 75,000 people in emerging nations already benefit globally from NOVICA, including artisans and their dependents.

LOS ANGELES, LONDON, and TASHKENT, March 14, 2023 – Fair trade impact leader NOVICA, in collaboration with International Trade Centre (ITC; the joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization) is expanding its reach to assist more artisans around the world. In addition to NOVICA’s existing global artisan network – from Ireland to Africa, Asia, and the Americas – its unique fair trade ecommerce platform will now also benefit artisans across five nations in Central Asia.

In partnership with the International Trade Centre, under the EU-funded Ready4Trade project, NOVICA’s new “Silk Road region” Artisan Empowerment Hub in Central Asia (centrally located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan) will help artisans in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan reach NOVICA’s existing direct-to-consumer ecommerce market.

NOVICA is already home to the largest collection of fair trade handmade jewellery in the world (nearly 40,000 SKUs), in addition to its vast offerings of fair trade unique gifts, ethical apparel, and handcrafted decor. NOVICA’s new collection of Central Asian arts and jewellery will introduce some of the best up-and-coming artisan designers the region has to offer.

“The rich arts and handmade jewellery traditions of Central Asia will impassion our millions of fair trade customers,” said Roberto Milk, cofounder and CEO of NOVICA, adding, “We are working hard to help preserve and strengthen the region’s incredible decorative traditions, in which ornate amulets and talismans still rule – and where the jewellery arts are passed from generation to generation.”

NOVICA’s Artisan Empowerment Hub in Central Asia, its 10th such Hub around the world, launched sales today, and will grow in the years ahead to include thousands of Central Asia artisans.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for artisans of the region who currently have limited access to international marketplaces that cater for the European and US markets. It opens up a whole new online sales channel for them and additionally enables them to benefit from NOVICA’s extensive product development and business support services,” said Annabel Sykes, ITC e-commerce and SME digital transformation expert.

Some of NOVICA’s Central Asia jewellers are preparing showcases of embossed, engraved, and meticulously fillagreed designs made of precious metals – typically encrusted with turquoise, carnelian, and other regionally-favoured gemstones. Soon, other artisans will offer exquisite cloisonné enamel bangles and beads, and simpler designs. Some designs recall the heavy dowry masterpieces of centuries past, still prevalent today, while others provide a strikingly modern style – one that still nods respectfully to the region’s storied history.

NOVICA’s upcoming Kazakh jewellery showcase will tend to express that region’s deep reverence for symbology and sacred meaning. Many of the Uzbek designs reignite a traditional belief that jewellery can bestow magical properties, bringing good fortune, health, happiness, and protection to the wearer. Simple Kyrgyz earrings and rings will be offered alongside more elaborate Kyrgyz jewellery ornamented with ancient pagan symbology. The Tajiki listings will typically feature precious metals displaying zoomorphic, floral, and solar signatures. NOVICA’s Turkmen offerings will be weighty, and impressively elaborate.

To assist artisans, NOVICA’s global Hubs help manage the complexities of international ecommerce and shipping, while overseeing all aspects of end-customer satisfaction. NOVICA provides artisans with digital assistance, translations, quality control, inventory updates, marketing, packaging, shipping, and customer return services to ensure seamless online service internationally to NOVICA.com’s retail and wholesale customers, as well as to customers at its partner sites GlobeIn and Undiscovered Artisan Box, and to customers at NOVICA’s extensive stores on Amazon (AMZN), Overstock (OSTK), and Wayfair (W), and more than 20 other sales platforms.

An estimated 75,000 people in emerging nations already benefit globally from NOVICA, including artisans and their dependents. NOVICA has sent more than US $128 million in sales to artisans globally, to date, and has provided tens of thousands of zero-interest capital loans to artisans. NOVICA direct-shipped fair trade purchases to customers in 80 countries over the past 365 days alone, from artisans around the world.

The global handcrafts sector is enormous. It reached $752.2 billion in 2022 (source: Handicrafts Market Size, Share, Industry Analysis Report 2023-2028, by International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group).

Historically, only the tiniest percentage of that global sales figure trickles back to artisans, and working conditions for many of those artisans are abysmal and inequitable. That dynamic is what NOVICA strives to change.

About NOVICA: NOVICA’s unique online listing and fulfilment platform cuts out multiple layers of middlemen, making it possible for global artisans to earn more and customers to pay less. Founded in 1999 to empower global artisans and preserve endangered cultural art forms, NOVICA has become the leading online fair trade marketplace in the world. NOVICA.com showcases named, featured artisans and delivers their handmade art forms directly to individual customers’ doorsteps.

About Ready4Trade Central Asia project: The Ready4Trade Central Asia project is a joint initiative of the European Union and the International Trade Centre. It aims to contribute to the overall sustainable and inclusive economic development of Central Asia by boosting intra-regional and international trade in the region. Beneficiaries of the Ready4Trade Central Asia project include governments, small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular women-led enterprises, and business support organisations.

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The NOVICA team is proud to announce that our Cofounder and CEO Roberto Milk has received another social impact award this month. This week he received the Momentum 100 Award, recognizing him as one of the 100 Top Impact CEOs for 2023. “This award identifies the 100 most impactful leaders catalyzing positive social and environmental change.”

NOVICA’s unique online listing and fulfillment platform cuts out multiple layers of middlemen, making it possible for global artisans to earn more and customers to pay less. Founded in 1999 to empower global artisans and preserve endangered cultural art forms, NOVICA has become the leading online fair trade marketplace in the world. NOVICA.com showcases named, featured artisans and delivers their handmade art forms directly to individual customers’ doorsteps – from handmade jewellery and ethical fashion to unique gifts and home decor.

NOVICA’s partners include the International Trade Centre, USAID, UNICEF, Kiva, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and Road Scholar.

Founded in 1999 to empower the world’s artisans and preserve endangered cultural art forms, NOVICA is the leading online marketplace providing artisans in emerging markets a platform to sell their handmade fair trade goods to the world. Since its inception, all artisans selling through NOVICA have signed and committed themselves to NOVICA’s fair trade and child labor agreements, including agreeing to undergo unscheduled workshop visits. Today, as a result of the NOVICA/Nest partnership, NOVICA’s existing protocols just got even better.

Founded in 2006, Nest is the leading nonprofit specializing in ethically handcrafted certification and works to support the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan and maker economy to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion. Nest certifies and lends its “Ethically Handcrafted” seal of approval to artisan groups, specific products, and supply chains worldwide – for clients ranging from West Elm to Patagonia.

Unlike most companies, NOVICA doesn’t have a centralized production location or a specific product for Nest to certify, or a feasible number of artisan groups for Nest to accredit. NOVICA supports many thousands of individual artisans and small artisan groups around the world, who sell more than 70,000 individual handcrafts on the NOVICA.com platform.

In light of NOVICA’s ongoing global expansion, NOVICA engaged Nest to help strengthen NOVICA’s existing fair trade requirements and its monitoring protocols. As a result, Nest has created a series of training modules to help NOVICA’s in-country region teams educate and assess artisans, leveraging Nest’s Standards for Homes and Small Workshops (the Nest Standards). The new “NOVICA Ethically Made” badge is the result of these efforts – a NOVICA verification protocol based on the Nest Standards, in addition to NOVICA’s long-standing additional requirements for handmade quality and authenticity.

“Nest’s new training modules are helping us work proactively with artisans during this new phase of our continued growth, to ensure that all existing and future NOVICA artisans meet the very highest standards of ethics and safety in their workshops,” commented NOVICA Cofounder Roberto Milk, adding, “The Nest protocols are superb, and the new training modules our teams have created with Nest’s guidance are helping our artisan partners become the very best they can be – the best workshop owners, and the best small business employers, for the benefit of all.”

About Nest: Founded in 2006, Nest is a leading advocate for the handcraft sector. Nest believes in the power of craft to advance gender equity and economic equality through handcrafts. Nest believes that crafts, the second largest employer of women around the world, holds the power to educate children, feed families, build communities, and unite cultures. This is why Nest is committed to supporting artisans, makers, and creative entrepreneurs by bringing radical transparency and economic opportunity to the global handcraft sector. Nest has found that when employers – including artisans with small businesses – prioritize fair pay and safe conditions for their workers, the impacts ripple out beyond workers into their families and communities, advancing social and economic equality for future generations.

About NOVICA: Founded in 1999 to empower global artisans and preserve endangered cultural art forms, Los Angeles-based NOVICA.com has become the leading online fair trade marketplace in the world. NOVICA’s key partners include UNICEF, Kiva, Upworthy, Smithsonian Folklife, USAID, Nest, and the International Trade Centre. National Geographic was a major early investor. NOVICA’s unique international platform cuts out middlemen and removes unnecessary markups from the supply chain, resulting in higher revenues for artisans and lower prices for customers. NOVICA’s eight global artisan empowerment hubs onboard individual artisans, handle all aspects of showcasing, selling, packaging and express shipping their wares, and provide artisans with business counseling as well as interest-free microcredit loans when needed. NOVICA has sent more than US$125 million in funds to artisans to date and shipped fair trade gifts to customers in more than 80 countries directly from its global network of artisan empowerment hubs.

The handcrafts sector is enormous. Globally, it reached $680 billion in 2021.* [*Source: Handicrafts Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast, 2022-2027, by International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group]. Historically, only the tiniest percentage of that global sales figure trickles back to artisans, and working conditions for many of those artisans are abysmal and inequitable. That dynamic is what NOVICA and Nest both strive to change.

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There is a quiet revolution sweeping the world.

You’ve noticed.

In almost every store. In almost every refrigerator. Restaurant. Closet. Winery. Bakery. Beauty counter. Service provider. Two words: Artisan-made. It’s right there, boldly on the label, silently staring back at us.

Why? Because people really do care. In a world increasingly anonymous and consolidated, we seek balance. Instinctively and purposefully. We crave meaning and authenticity – now more than ever. And perhaps, just perhaps, we begin to remember who we are. Not so long ago, most of us were artisans. A hundred years ago? Less? Welcome home, we might start saying to each other. Welcome home. And let’s start talking about it.

Handmade is a movement of We. It belongs to all of us. It is core to our beings. It is a partnership of many. Fundamental to those of us who choose to vote with our dollars for quality, fair trade, and authenticity – in every realm of our lives. The Handmade Movement is fast outgrowing its original niche of artisanal companies and supportive customers. We are many, many millions, everywhere.

Handmade is a very powerful concept. It is a belief system. One that appreciates quality. Culture. Heritage. Nature. Accountability. Fair trade. The Handmade Movement is relevant in all aspects of our lives, and bridges all lines of work, all cultures, all borders. It’s apolitical. Handmade is the alternative to a future most of us won’t accept. Where everything is the same. Where everyone looks the same. Eats the same. Where meaning and culture and tradition are lost.

Handmade is the beautiful, attainable alternative.

We are so honored to be one of the founding voices in the Handmade Movement. We work very hard, every single day, to assist the world’s keepers of the arts. Handcrafts are our realm, our passion, our focus. 

We are so thankful today to each of you – you make a difference every single time you choose handmade over factory made. We’re profoundly grateful to you for this choice.

In every aspect of our lives, each of us encounters handmade choices every day. The choice to support our fellow human beings and small businesses, rather than anonymous conglomerates. The choice to buy or grow organic, rather than factory farmed. The choice to invest in meaningful products that endure – and a healthier, sustainable, equitable future. Because it’s the right thing to do.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.  

Oh, and welcome home.

With love,
Your Novica Global Family

An interview with Jose Antonio Echeverría Espinosa, NOVICA’s Vice President of International Operations and Finance

Q: Antonio, which of Novica’s long-term goals most inspires you?

A:  I see Novica as a global icon of goodness, coherence, fairness and love, honoring lives and cultures. We dream of Novica expanding further to reach all artisans in need.

I believe that by loving what you do, what you do will love you back a thousand times more. Novica has already accomplished so much, and we continue evolving both externally and internally, training and growing our teams through our international human resources group, and through Novica University – training great leaders to lead complete lives, and to share their knowledge and experience with our regional teams and artisans, helping to take everyone to the next level.

Novica has also established various philanthropic projects that we call Happiness Projects around the world, as well as creating a successful program of interest-free microloans for artisans. We continue to expand these programs and look for new ways to benefit artisans, team members, and customers.

Q: What is it like to observe artisans’ lives improving as a result of your work?

A: It is a blessing, a mission of love growing in front of your eyes. Sometimes we meet artisans arriving without shoes or resources, and yet they carry with them – they own – an ancestral skill that no university in the world could give, a degree called heritage.

My twenty-plus years with Novica continue to be amazing, and fulfilling in every way. What else can a person hope for? Life is abundant in all aspects. To embrace a gift, and convert it into a life mission – giving your best to cultivate it – for me this is a motivating purpose. I’m so grateful for the experience of seeing so many artisans – our VIPs – develop into successful entrepreneurs, able to provide their families with better lives while fulfilling their dreams. This is an amazing feeling.

Q: Antonio, can you please share with us a story about Novica’s International team, and your role in it?

A: Okay get ready for ten more pages (lol). My thoughts overflow when someone asks me that question. The Novica international team is my family by choice. A very united family that I trust literally with my life. I recall a time when traveling to certain places was very dangerous. I literally trusted Novica with my family’s future, were something to happen to me. For me, my word is all I really have, and what counts. The Novica team is the same, built on honor – and that makes us family.

We work as one, all decisions are made as a group. Novica gave me freedom in my work, trusting my judgment, and in return I’ve always delivered excellence. They have my back, and if I fall, I know they will catch me as they know I’ll catch them. Novica’s founders – Armenia, Mina, Rob, Andy, Joey and Charles. I respect and honor all of them, and am forever grateful to be part of such a family filled with love and respect. Their hearts are just too big to fit in their bodies. This is why Novica is successful.

Words are never enough to express my gratitude. I remember in the year 2000 when I first got invited to be part of Novica. This started as a favor to my cousin Joey. I am from Mexico, but I was living in Paris growing my own company. I went home to visit my family in Mexico, and to oversee my other companies. Then Novica knocked on my door (as do all the best things in my life). Joey asked me if I could help him move the office from Mexico City to Guadalajara where there were so many artisans. We traveled together to Guadalajara and set up the whole office in five days without money. Joey was concerned because we didn’t have funding to move the office. I said to him, “Who told you that you need money to get something started? There is another way, by using creativity.” 

After the office move from Mexico City to Guadalajara  was finished, Joey called Rob, Novica’s cofounder and CEO (Joey’s former roommate at Stanford), and told him what we did. Rob said, “That’s incredible! But you had no budget for that?” And Joey replied, “Who said you need money? You need creativity.” It was funny. Rob said to Joey, “Who is this guy?” Joey explained that I was his cousin, and then Rob invited me to Los Angeles, to learn more about the project. 

A week later I flew to Novica’s Los Angeles headquarters, where I met Novica founders Rob, Mina, Armenia, Andy and Charles. I fell in love with them and Novica. Some souls just recognize each other. We connected instantly. They explained Novica’s mission, and I told them my story, including the part about my young daughter who had been kidnapped in 1995.

Two days later I was on my way to Bali on my first international mission for Novica. This time, not knowing what to expect, I was nonetheless confident that I was at the right place at the right time. At the airport, departing for Bali, I said to Rob, “If something happens to me, you must take over the search for my daughter, and take care of her. Will you promise me that?” His answer was, “Yes I promise.” No written contracts were necessary. For me Rob’s soul is his binding contract. So I gave him my loyalty and commitment to Novica’s mission, and at that moment Rob and the Novica team truly became my family. I’ve continued traveling to many countries for long periods to help with the ongoing opening and development of Novica’s many international offices. 

In those early days, I also traveled to India, where I joined Novica’s president, Armenia Nercessian, to assist her in establishing a Novica office there. After a week of working together, Armenia told me, “Antonio, you are no one’s assistant, it is not in your nature. From now on you are going to be Novica’s VP of International Operations.” At that moment I became part of the international  team, and a Novica cofounder.

Q: Does one particular artisan story come to mind that especially inspires you?

A: There are so many. I have the fortune to travel to all Novica regions and witness these histories firsthand. Artisans who don’t know me come to say thank you. They share their stories with me. In fact our in-country regional representatives and teams are the ones who really help the artisans directly. The positive stories we experience together are just overwhelming.

In Mexico, Armando Ramirez, Alejandro de Esesarte, Higinio Hernandez, and Teresita Gonzalez Marin all really stand out in my memory – artisans who overcame great adversities. There are so many compelling and inspiring, life-changing stories.

Another touching story came to light just before the pandemic, when I was at Novica’s Guatemala office. Ruben and Gilda Perez, mask maker and jeweler, knew I was visiting and came to the office to meet with me. Gilda told me their story. As a child, she had grown up living in a house literally made of cardboard, always dreaming of having a home. She shared with me that years later, she and her husband Ruben had lost everything to a hurricane in 2005.

She described what an ongoing struggle life had been until 2012, when they found Novica. She said Novica was the positive turning point in their lives, and that they’re now able to own a real home. While Gilda was explaining to me how they rebuilt their lives, she was really emotional. Her tears of gratitude were overwhelming. I could feel my own eyes watering and turning red – I was trying to keep it together. A huge hug at the end. As a surprise they’d brought lunch with them for the whole office to celebrate together. This experience was just amazing, and full of love and gratitude.

I empathize with them. I understand their story, their desperation and pain. There was a time where I lost everything trying to find my daughter, and reinvented myself. So I felt and understood their deep appreciation. And that is one of the reasons that I do what I do, and love it.

Q: Antonio, please share something with us about yourself – your own personal story.

A: I always wanted to live multiple life experiences, have a happy family, be a successful businessman, and travel the world. And that is what I did.

I was a kid with an entrepreneur’s soul. At eight years old I had my own business selling fruits that I harvested from a small country place that my father owned, selling them to the neighbors. I invested those earnings in chickens that I kept at my father’s ranch, in partnership with a son of the ranch manager. He took care of the chickens and sent 50% of the eggs home with my father. My young friend – my partner – kept the other 50%.

I was a fast learner. Maybe too fast to fit into a regular education, so I had to find my own way. I learned many things from my father, who was an expert cattleman specializing in genetics. He was called by presidents of different countries to start genetic programs to breed more productive cattle for meat and milk.

At the age of 15 I traveled to Adelaide, Australia, to study computer systems engineering in Macintosh. This was something very new at the time. I was a nerd, skinny and introverted. By working with horses there in my free time, as I’d learned to do at home on our ranch, I earned enough to pay for extra studies, and also managed to travel the whole continent of Australia, as well as Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

When I returned to my hometown (Merida, in Yucatan, Mexico) the fastest computer available was a Commodore 64 running in BASIC language. This was a big setback for me. So I decided to study chemistry too, and soon started a company selling pool and industrial chemicals for cleaning hotels and homes. I ran that company for 12 years. I always studied on my own terms and time frame, learning from the best universities and institutions (in Australia, France, Mexico, Spain among others)  subjects and languages that matched my objectives as a fast track to reach my goals. I wanted to grow professionally, and as a person, which I continue to focus on now.

I have always believed in abundance, and lived in that mode even when I had no money in my pockets. My mind has always been resourceful, and I’ve never let scarcity limit my creativity.

 I was successful at business at the age of 19, working 20 hours per day. My old way of thinking was that it had to be hard and painful to achieve success. When I got married at 21 I was running three companies – the chemical company, a home decor startup, and a restaurant.

When I was 25, on Dec 12, 1995 my daughter and wife went missing. I believed they had been kidnapped for ransom – very common there. I waited by the phone all the time. Eventually I learned it had been my wife’s family who took them both. I had to comply with certain demands before I could see them. I complied, but still didn’t see my daughter or wife again. It took me a year to realize the kidnapping had been planned to erase me from my daughter’s life, as part of a divorce my wife wanted.

At the end of 1997, while I continued looking for my daughter everywhere, an aunt advised me not to look for her anymore. She said my daughter had been told I was dead. She said my daughter had been too young when she disappeared to remember me. She said my daughter would only be confused if I found her.

Meanwhile, I’d lost all I had trying to find her. I almost went crazy with pain. I surrendered myself to a higher self, gave her to my God and to his will, and promised Him that I would work on my inner self to become a better being. With a humble prayer I asked Him if he would bring my daughter back to me once I had something of value worth sharing – whenever he considered me ready. With the help of good friends and many strangers (whom I call angels), I began to recover my sanity. During that time I went to Vitória, Espírito Santo, in Brazil, where as a part of my own therapy I opened another restaurant. Then I returned to Mexico and further reinvented myself. I recovered my businesses, then grew and expanded them.

In my late 20s I decided to go live in Paris. There, with a friend, I opened a company called Novitech, for training executives from Europe, Russia, the Middle East and UAE to use Windows NT and MS Office. I traveled to various countries and learned new languages, and experienced some rough times before I gave that company away and decided to retire from the idea of money being the objective. Instead, I became determined to only do what I truly love. That became my way of life, focusing more on performance, excellency and working inside “the zone.” Which means flowing fast within uncertainty towards a goal.

At the age of 30 I came back home from Paris after celebrating the year 2000 at the Eiffel tower. Back home in Mexico, someone knocked on my door, coming to visit. A dear uncle. I asked him about my little cousin Joey who was working at NASA at the time. He told me that Joey and his best friends had just launched a company that sold handcrafts online, which had just achieved $1,000 in sales for artisans. I called Joey to congratulate him, and he asked me to help him open a regional office in Guadalajara.

That company, of course, is Novica, and my cousin is a cofounder – Jose (Joe) Cervantes from our international team. Joey invited me to invest in the company, and to join the adventure. Novica involved all things I loved. Décor, languages, cultures, computers, traveling – but mostly helping people. That was the most interesting aspect for me. A way to give back all the love I got from those who helped me reinvent myself in my own time of need.

I always say that I do not have a job. I have a hobby that helps provide for my family. Because I do something that I believe in and love.

By the age of 33 I had helped open and establish many Novica offices, and also had a son conceived with a dear friend. After that, the love of my life found me. Literally, she knocked at my door. Now we travel together, living and working in different countries.

At the age of 38 I received a text saying, “Your house is on fire.” I was in Guadalajara at that time. It was true, my home and everything in it burned to ashes. Luckily no one was home. All I had left was the contents of my travel bags. So, I realized it was time to marry the love of my life, and start a new life. We were engaged the following month, and married shortly thereafter. With my sweetheart I’ve had two more kids during my 40s.

When I turned 50 in 2019, I was invited to represent Novica in Guanajuato, Mexico at the Foro GO 3 summit in Guanajuato, where I spoke publicly about my story for the first time in my life – this story that I have just shared here with you. I found that doing so opened new doors to grow my inner self.

I continue studying, always upgrading my education in regards to finances, economics, marketing, quantum physics, bioneuroemocion and epigenetics. During the pandemic, this continuing education helped me create Novica’s international human resources program, to improve our global communications and reinforce Novica’s family bonds and to share – celebrations, cultural richness, our teams’ regional and personal news, and to recognize achievements. All of this has already created tremendous benefits, opening more bonding channels.

And I worked to create Novica University, a place for company members to get training and be updated in our company procedures, expand their career possibilities within the company, with more options to grow, and mindfulness programs to expand their perspective towards wellness as an integral view and a fulfilling way of living, and to be better in what we do.

Since then Novica University has been expanded to include our artisans, showing artisans new ways to expand their business, and sourcing programs, certification training, cutting edge export methods, workshops about trends and seasonal color demands, international apparel fitting, among others courses taught by Novica’s beloved national representatives and others who share their expertise with the intention to create the biggest artisan community in the world. Novica University is currently available to our Latin American teams and artisans, and we are working to soon expand these programs globally.

I’ve also founded a philanthropic organization called Abundance Mode, and a personal startup called Abundance SKooL (ASkool), to share life experiences, and to give support, hope, and trust, while providing examples of an easier way to grow from the inside out – which I believe is the organic and fastest way to wellbeing.

In April this year, 2022, more than twenty-six years after she was kidnapped, my daughter found me through my ASKooL project. It turns out my daughter is an artist. Imagine that. She is now 29 years old. As usual, the best things in my life knock on my door. I opened it with love, peace, respect and gratitude – with my heart full of joy that we are finally getting the chance to know each other.

Life is amazing when you let things happen, focus on the essentials, and follow your intuition. Success will find you. And I think that is something worth sharing.

Q: Antonio, what is your wish for the future?

A: I already have what I always wanted. I’m at peace with life. I love to learn, and look forward to creating and sharing more. I enjoy continuing to help fulfill Novica’s mission and vision, and I love helping others by walking with them and sharing knowledge through ASKooL and philanthropy. I look forward to having more life experiences worth sharing, and to having grandchildren. To keep loving and living life in this fantastic world.

A: We would like to invite all artisans, designers and artists in the world to join Novica. We are always open to new ideas, new challenges, new visions. We are constantly upgrading ourselves to serve artisans and customers better. We continue working to build the largest artisans’ community in the world, where fairness and experience will help us all to contribute to creating a better world – a world based on unity, tolerance, respect, diversity and peace through art, traditions and culture.

Q: Antonio, will you also please share with us your view of how Novica changes lives?

A: Novica impacts artisans’ lives in many ways. Novica offers hope, equitable pricing, and individual recognition. Recognition is truly important. Novica artisans are experts whose skills have typically been handed down through generations. By naming and carefully profiling each artisan, we help customers learn about and further honor artisans’ cultures, traditions and family heritages.

Novica’s unique platform empowers and  encourages artisans to continue cultivating their legacies. Artisans tell us about the pride they feel as they achieve a better life, and how their improved economics further motivate them to rescue, preserve, and grow their family traditions.

Novica brings history and culture into the digital era in a fair, loving, and appreciative way. Novica helps artisans showcase the uniqueness of their creations. We interview each artisan about their personal history and the meaning of their crafts, and share these fascinating and important stories with the world. For artisans, becoming part of Novica motivates them further, because they receive global recognition and fair value. This is Novica’s way – to serve as a global channel for art and love, expressed through culture and traditions.

For more than two decades now, we continue working efficiently to shape Novica as a disruptive company, breaking historic molds and inequitable international business standards. Starting from the way we established regional artisan empowerment hubs to work directly with artisans, interrupting historic supply chains dependent on multiple middlemen.

Novica’s efforts especially benefit historically underpaid, underserved artisans, particularly in remote regions. It was challenging to establish Novica, working in countries entirely new to e-commerce. We have worked tremendously to create deep, long term partnerships with artisans. We’ve also practiced a different way of hiring Novica team members, based not on the limits of their curriculum vitae, but on their knowledge, common sense, intuition, potential, and passion. We’ve trained our team members with trust and support, providing room to learn by experience, always valuing above all each team member’s respect, care, and  service to our artisans and customers. These are Novica’s core values.