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It all started with a simple question.
What values matter most to you? We posed this question to our teams and
artisans spread out across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the United States
and Europe. Then we gathered in small group settings to discuss, prioritize,
and make choices about the values that most inspire, motivate, and drive us.
As powerful themes began to emerge, we realized something fundamental:
our lives are defined by the choices we make.
Below are the results of our global exercise. Whether we find ourselves
in the best of times or the darkest of moments, these are the ten choices
we strive to live by:
Choose handmade.Our vision of the future is not one of mega factories
producing cookie cutter products for all to cheaply
consume. We reject that future.
Instead, we see a vibrant future that celebrates artisans who take the
time to craft an item by hand. A future where artisans can thrive,
time is protected, stories are told, culture is preserved, and unique
details are honored. We believe that a future that is good for
artisans is good for all.
Choose to
be present.
In a world full of distractions, we choose to listen,
to have empathy, and to stand up for what we believe.
To be present is to honor the relationships that make
our lives meaningful. Our artisans are our family.
Our customers are our lifeblood. Our global teams are
our heroes. We hold these relationships to be sacred,
and we strive to be present to them everyday. We will
always have your back.
Choose to
explore.
Whether taking a first bite of durian fruit, joining
a new samba class, or presenting ideas to a room
full of strangers, we know that life is lived in the
small moments of risk. We seek to step off the
beaten path, book a flight to destination unknown,
and find ways to change our daily routines. Let's
venture outside our comfort zone and experience
the unexpected.
For too long, global artisans suffered at the hands of
middlemen who built barriers and earned profits off an
inequitable system.
At NOVICA, we took an important stand when we cut out the long
chains of middlemen and built a global fair trade infrastructure
with offices located near artisans. By re-imagining the artist-customer
relationship, we created something entirely new. This defining act of
courage continues to shape us and inform our work. It serves as a
reminder that only through courageous acts do people change the world.
Let's allow courage to be our guide and shift from being bystanders to
becoming protagonists, big or small, in order to leave the world a
better place than it was when we arrived.
Choose to
be open-minded.
We don't get hung up on labels. We don't put
people in boxes. We're intolerant of intolerance.
The world is a richer, more vibrant place because
of our differences. So we take every opportunity
to celebrate them. And we have no patience for
those who diminish others in an effort to
boost themselves.
Choose to
have grit.
No one ever said that changing the world would be
easy. It takes willpower to stay the course. We've
learned to dig down deep when the odds are against
us. We've learned to be nimble, to be tough, and
to be committed. We're happy to leave corporate to
the corporations. Instead, we'll channel our grit,
go out into the world, and create the changes we
hope to see.
We love it when people say we're dreaming too
big. It gives us a chance to prove them wrong.
We set our sights high and do not waver. We've sent more than $100 million USD
to artisans around the world, and our momentum is building. Now, we're
aiming for a billion. We know it's an enormous goal, but with your help,
we can achieve it.
Choose to
be vibrant.
Sure, we could play it safe, but that's not how we
roll. Instead, we choose variety over monochrome,
diversity over sameness, authenticity over
perfection. We celebrate the dynamic and vivid
cultures of our world. We honor the bold and
bright hues of the places we love. We see the
world through the vibrancy of its many shades.
NOVICA is color.
Choose to
preserve the planet.
We exist in the modern world, but live according to
the indigenous philosophy that we are one with
nature. In all things, we seek balance - with our
environment, nature, and the animals around us.
Inspired by ancestral tradition, most NOVICA
artisans work with natural materials and tools
passed down through the generations. The handmade
way is the non-factory way, and by supporting
handmade over factory-produced, we take a stand for
the environment. By reducing our use of plastic,
minimizing our carbon impact, and treading lightly
on our Earth, we strive to be proper stewards of our
planet. We have only this one home, and we must do
everything we can to protect it.
Changing the world begins with small, everyday choices. It's the
quiet act of kindness toward a stranger, an arm around a loved one, a
simple hello to brighten someone's day. The ripple effect extends
beyond our limited sight. We have the power to spread happiness
around the globe, to empower artisans, uplift communities, and
inspire customers. And it starts with doing something wonderful today.
With the discovery of these 10 choices
came a revelation.
Throughout our global team exercises, we realized that there is
one powerful core value that influences all the best choices
we make. One core value that inspires us to do everything we do.
It is the most talked about feeling among artisans, the biggest
theme from customer feedback and testimonials, and the most
powerful concept to come out of our conversations . . . LOVE.
Love is what unites us. Love is what drives us. When artisans craft,
they do it from a place of love. When our packers pack, when our
team talks to customers, when we confront any problem, we do it
through the lens of love.
The above 10 choices are what we live by.
Our mission is to spread happiness, and
most importantly...
is at the core.
