# NOVICA

> NOVICA is a fair-trade ecommerce marketplace that connects shoppers with handmade jewelry, decor, apparel, art and gifts from artisans around the world. Its unusual advantage is operational: regional empowerment hubs help discover makers, document their stories, check quality, package orders, handle international fulfillment and provide business support, including zero-interest microcredit. That makes NOVICA less frictionless than a conventional marketplace - and more credible when provenance matters.

- **Founded:** 1999
- **Headquarters:** Santa Monica, United States
- **Founders:** Roberto Milk (Co-Founder and CEO), Armenia Nercessian de Oliveira (Co-Founder and President), Mina Nercessian (Co-Founder and Company Advocate), Andy Milk (Co-Founder and COO), Charles Hachtmann (Co-Founder and CTO), Jose Cervantes (Co-Founder), Michael Burns (Co-Founder and Board Chair)
- **Team size:** 119 employees in the March 2026 Form C; LinkedIn lists 51-200 employees.
- **Products:** NOVICA Marketplace, Artisan Empowerment Hubs, Artisan Microcredit, Corporate Gifts, Undiscovered Artisan Box
- **Notable:** Customers have helped send more than $130 million to artisans, according to NOVICA's current impact counter., Opened its first six international regions in 1999 and had relationships with more than 500 artisan groups by the end of that year., Reached $25 million sent to artisans by 2009, $50 million by 2014 and $75 million by 2017.

## Products & services

- **NOVICA Marketplace** — Direct-to-consumer marketplace for handmade jewelry, home decor, apparel, accessories, paintings, sculpture, tableware and gifts, with artisan profiles and regional provenance.
- **Artisan Empowerment Hubs** — Regional teams that discover and onboard artisans, provide business counseling, photograph and describe products, verify quality, and coordinate packing and international delivery.
- **Artisan Microcredit** — Zero-interest working-capital loans that help makers buy materials, build inventory, hire workers or expand workshops; expanded with Kiva in 2012.
- **Corporate Gifts** — Custom and volume gifting for holidays, incentives and hospitality, supported by in-house specialists.
- **Undiscovered Artisan Box** — A recurring curated box featuring handmade goods and the people and places behind them.
- **Fundraising** — Customized shopping pages that allow organizations to raise funds through purchases.
- **Handmade.com** — A sister marketplace extending the group's reach to a broader population of verified handmade sellers with self-onboarding storefront tools.

## Achievements

- Customers have helped send more than $130 million to artisans, according to NOVICA's current impact counter.
- Opened its first six international regions in 1999 and had relationships with more than 500 artisan groups by the end of that year.
- Reached $25 million sent to artisans by 2009, $50 million by 2014 and $75 million by 2017.
- Facilitated more than $1.5 million in artisan microcredit with Kiva by 2018.
- Acquired key National Geographic catalog and artisan ecommerce assets in 2018.
- Celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019.
- Named a Real Leaders Top Impact Company for 2025.
- Built an artisan marketplace group offering more than 50,000 authenticated handmade SKUs, according to Handmade.com in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Handmade.com said its curated seller rollout was continuing, with self-onboarding storefronts and AI-assisted listing and translation tools in development.
- **2026-03** — Novica United filed a Regulation Crowdfunding offering for Series A-4 preferred shares, with a $19,998 target and $2.55 million maximum.
- **2025-11** — NOVICA announced the death of Indian master jali carver Gulam Rasool and documented his legacy.
- **2025-04** — The company marked the fifth World Artisan Day with events and participation across its global network.
- **2025-01** — NOVICA was named among Real Leaders' 2025 Top Impact Companies.
- **2023-03** — NOVICA and the International Trade Centre announced a Central Asia artisan hub in Tashkent serving Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

## Links

- Website: https://www.novica.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/novica.com
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NOVICA
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@novica
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novica/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/novica/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/novica-com
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-22