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Milagro Diaz

At Novica we are saddened to hear that Milagro passed away on September 2011. We knew her as a woman of courage and full of life, committed to sharing with the world the magnificence of alpaca wool knitwear. Milagro was also committed to helping women escaping family violence by offering them the opportunity to work by knitting accessories.

Milagro had three children and two of them will continue her work and legacy. Her son Eduardo wanted to share the following: "Carmen Lourdes del Milagro Diaz Rubatto de Rubio, known as Milo, was born into the bosom of a traditional middle-class family in Arequipa. To her parents’ amazement, Milagro was born at only five and a half months gestation. She spent her childhood playing in her beloved Vallecito district as well as enjoying endless summers on the coast at Mollendo. When she was 21 she married Oscar Rubio, the great love and inspiration of her life and, in search of a new horizons, they went to live to Lima where they had three children who they referred to as 'loves with feet.'

"After 32 years away from her dear Arequipa and having completed the beautiful duty of raising her children to adulthood, she returned to the 'white city' in August 2008 and to her beloved Vallecito district with her dream. However she did not return to create a business for her own benefit, but to develop and promote entrepreneurship in her home city by exporting prime quality alpaca garments synonymous with the names of Arequipa and Peru. Additionally, she participated in the Technical Committee for Alpaca Fiber, promoting the policy of fair trade.

"On the 4th of September 2011 God called her to his side but Milagro has not left us, rather the opposite, she remains with us through her example of perseverance, initiative, leadership and her very unique quality of being able to make things go well from the start, and to finish them even better. As a wife, a mother and a Peruvian she is an example whom we are proud and happy to have had with us.

"Rest in peace, Milo."

"Until 2008, I worked at a desk. However what I began as a necessity is now a passion and I've discovered an ability for textile arts that was dormant in me for many years.

"I was born in Arequipa in 1954, and lived at home with my parents until I was 21. My mother was an artist. She loved to paint and create handicrafts, and she was an accomplished musician who played the violin and piano. In fact, she crocheted my wedding dress entirely by hand, and I still have it. I remember that she taught me to knit and crochet when I was very young. Even then, I loved to see and touch the textures of her work, but I didn't crochet much until that special moment of my life.

"My work is an expression of an art I inherited from my mother. It permits me to create designs that combine distinct ancestral textile techniques with the fine natural fleece of the Andean alpaca.

"I've faced many challenges in my life. One of them has been to capture my inspiration in apparel, as well as to create and manage my own workshop with the conviction of triumph.

"I'd like you who read this to wear and enjoy fashion with art and a story of its own."