It took eleven years, perseverance, and incredible Novica customers for Johnny Jimenez to build a home for his family. If you ever wonder whether your Novica purchases have an impact, listen to the story of this Peruvian artisan.
“Today, I look back on my life and evaluate everything I have gone through — and I feel so grateful. I promised my father I would do my best to make our dreams of building our own home come true and, because of customers at Novica, I was able to do it. Brick by brick, room by room.
My artistic journey began when I was young. In 1977, when I was eight years old, my father made leather and wood furniture, and I collected the scraps, creating coasters and other small pieces of art. In 2000, I married the woman I love, and we had two children. Even though I worked hard at my craft, we had no material goods of our own.
We lived in a small prefabricated house made of pressed cardboard, wood, and corrugated panels. It was very precarious. We didn’t always have basic services or utilities. In spite of this, we tried to fill our home with love, but my children were growing up and we didn’t have enough room.
It was Novica that brought out the best in me eleven years ago. Before then, I never really felt the success of my products. I had worked for big companies, but my own art had not found its place. In 2016, I was invited to make a large number of leather trays for the UNICEF marketplace. It changed my life — and my family’s life.
My father, my wife, my two children, and I have always worked together. We have each developed our own specialty, and manage a different part of the production process. We support each other and try to support others in our community.
Our house represents something important for me. It is a way to give security to my family. It is a reminder of our effort and the patience required to achieve it.
Each one of us contributes to making the house more beautiful. The most exciting thing for me is to know that my leather trays — and all my Novica customers that I have never even met — helped me create a better future for my family.”
