Black and Gold Diamond

“Hello everyone, my name is Tania Ramírez. I present to you my mother Marielos Calderón; together we have formed a wonderful team. We are artisans in love with art, and it is an honor to be able to introduce ourselves. We are Costa Rican artisans; we come from a family where the love of art has… Read more been passed down from generation to generation.

“My grandfather was a shoemaker and my grandmother made clothes; she also liked to paint, embroider and knit. Within our family, my aunts also did crafts, so we are a very blessed family with these gifts and talents. My mom, Marielos, has always been very resourceful. She likes to work with different materials, so from a very young age she was involved in all kinds of arts and crafts.

“A few years ago, each of us worked separately, designing and making all kinds of products. Then both of us decided to get together and design, make and sell in a more formal way, making different options to offer to all kinds of customers. We both started in an empirical way; however, we have trained in different techniques, like wiring, macramé, beading and jewelry in general. We have participated in different workshops, training and courses, as well as obtaining technical advice on different uses of materials.

“Starting this team has been a process of ups and downs. However, with the collaboration of other people and institutions, little by little we have been able to consolidate details and processes. It has not been easy, but we have supported each other as family, and as partners we have tried to reach agreements that allow the growth of the enterprise for the benefit of both.

“Each of us tries to connect the pieces with the fusion of different generations that respect nature, peace, love, values and customs of living in an environment of respect and freedom. We love creating pieces that respect our environment, so we have some designs based on CDs or DVDs. This allows us to reduce pollution and give a useful and different life to materials that are simply discarded in many parts of the world.

“In short, this is us: mother and daughter, uniting their gifts and talents, innovative, proactive and hardworking, with many dreams in their hearts, focused on being an enterprise that can be recognized nationally and internationally, creating unique designs, in harmony with the environment and mixing various techniques in the development of different accessories. One of our goals is to be able to give work to other people--women who have the desire to get ahead. We dream of teaching them, and they can progress by themselves.

“Novica is a dream come true, in which we can bring our essence to each of the people who buys our products. It allows us to connect with the purpose for which we have been created, and that is to highlight the beauty of women as well as reinforcing their self-esteem and strengthening their self-confidence.”