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Alicia de la Paz

"I was born in Taxco, the crib of Mexico's silver artistry. I went to Mexico City to study a career in law, and I also studied art and poetry – I actually won first and second places in various national and state art contests which led me to pursue my artistic side. I attended several workshops in fine art and gradually began to make jewelry designs on paper.

"At first I was designing for other jewelers, but when I got married and had my first daughter, my husband and I decided to set up our own workshop - which we named after our daughter. Suddenly, I was thrust into the realm of jewelry-making, crafted by hand, and soon enough my work became recognized and the Mexican government awarded us, along with only seven other workshops, with the prestigious national quality distinction award.

"Thus began a period of personal and professional successes. My work was being recognized while we celebrated the births of our other three children. However, we met a lot of challenges during the economic crisis of 1994, because all the money we had was invested in our workshop. There was a terrible recession and we were left with a lot of unpaid orders. Then, my husband Antonio and I suffered a grave car accident and we were both seriously injured. My husband lost the use of an arm and I was left semi-paralyzed.

"These were hard times but with our love for one another as well as our family's support and team work, we managed to pull through. Physically we began to recuperate and get our workshop up and running. We were blessed with the birth of another daughter.

"We've been through some difficult, trying times, and only through the strength of love and the support of our family have we been able to overcome these. I found inspiration in Patrick Dome's words, 'when life's at its worse, that's when you need to insist more – do not desist.'

"We design and handcraft jewelry and decorative items in sterling silver (.925 rating). We started our own workshop because we wanted to present silver artistry through contemporary and innovative designs. Our capricious designs combine silver and gemstones; silver and leather; burnished silver and many other techniques of working with silver.

"There are quite a few advantages to silver – as an investment in jewelry it tends to retain its value; it also has healing and energizing properties and its beauty is incomparable. I hope all of our clients at NOVICA can enjoy our pieces and see first-hand the time and extra attention we put into each of our creations. Thanks!"