Artisans in Armenia now have an efficient way to sell their products to US Customers

· November 14, 2024

Los Angeles — NOVICA.com (based in Los Angeles), launched globally in 1999, is now the leading Armenia-produced products website in the world.

2024 is the first year NOVICA is promoting Armenia’s artisans after establishing the Artisan Empowerment Hub in Yerevan in private sector partnership with USAID. NOVICA markets handcrafts directly to its existing (1 million+) customer email list, and to its partners’ lists. Armenia sales are now in full swing as the holiday shopping season nears. NOVICA connects artisans in Armenia with retail customers around the world by overcoming the complexities of direct-to-customer global shipping, product restrictions, tariffs, etc, so that artisans can focus on creating, and retail customers can enjoy a seamless, speedy shipping experience.

NOVICA.com operates Artisan Empowerment Hubs in 10 countries, all staffed by locals. The many thousands of artisans that are assisted are all featured on NOVICA.com’s all-fair trade, all-handmade online marketplace, where shoppers discover products while searching by specific category or by region. Each region, including Armenia, has its own landing page as well — here’s the direct link to all the Armenian artisans and their current handmade offerings: https://www.novica.com/armenia/.

Maral Shohmahlian, a noted Armenian embroidery expert featured on NOVICA.com, said: “NOVICA gives us, as artisans, the opportunity to spread our creative manifestations of ancient traditional handcrafts all over the world. We are thankful for NOVICA’s support to improve our sales, which also helps create new job opportunities for more Armenian artisans. My primary focus is preserving and promoting Armenian culture. For me personally, as an artisan, embroidery is one of the most important parts of Armenian culture. My goal is to share and make our embroidery traditions known to the international community.”

NOVICA’s Cofounder and President Armenia Nercessian explained that NOVICA’s new Armenia marketplace is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream: “NOVICA.com now showcases the talents of Armenian artisans. Our vast community of global customers values unique, handcrafted items, and we’re eager for them to explore the diverse and culturally vibrant crafts of Armenia. We also hope that Armenian communities worldwide will support this meaningful initiative by purchasing from Armenian artisans at the NOVICA.com online marketplace — a step toward preserving our cultural heritage and contributing to economic growth and stability in the region.”

NOVICA’s Spokesperson Catherine Ryan said: “This significant undertaking is designed to elevate the worldwide visibility, popularity, and sales of Armenian handmade goods. NOVICA’s new Yerevan-based Artisan Empowerment Hub, made possible through private sector partnership with USAID, helps foster economic growth while preserving the region’s cultural heritage — by sustainably marketing Armenia’s handcrafts to millions of global e-commerce shoppers at NOVICA.com and its dozens of partner sites ranging from Amazon to Smithsonian.”

NOVICA.com has grown to become the world’s leading fair trade artisan marketplace, connecting millions of global customers with tens of thousands of artisans around the world. NOVICA features a vast collection of more than 75,000 unique handmade works of art, including fair trade handmade jewelry, ethical apparel, unique gifts, and home decor all handmade by talented artisans.

Each artisan and artisan group is profiled at NOVICA.com’s online marketplace. Customers learn about the artisans’ lives while shopping their corresponding offerings. Every product’s description likewise shares its own story of technique, tradition, and culture. All this editorial and visual content is designed to help bridge the divides between artisans and global customers, encouraging greater interest and understanding between cultures.

Photo of Maral Shohmahlian and her hand-stitched wool ‘Armenia’s Blossoming’ wool holiday ornament, and her red ‘Pomegranate Delight’ tray, two of her many available handmade offerings. Photos courtesy Novica.com.