Novica Review & Giveaway (Closed)

I was contacted by Novica a few weeks back and they asked if I'd like to order from their website, write a review and host a giveaway. I was given a gift certificate code to place an order for anything on their website, but I was not paid to write this. The opinion of their products and website are purely my own. I'm just now getting to share with you my purchases because it took me forever to decide on what I wanted. They have so many wonderful and unique gifts that it was hard to narrow down. Seriously, I spent hours searching through all the treasures Novica has to offer.

Before I tell you about my goodies, I wanted to tell you a bit about Novica. Ever heard of them before? I hadn't until I saw a review done by Barbara Bakes and as soon as I went to their website I found a beautiful amethyst pitcher in their corporate gifts section. When it was actually time to place my order that pitcher was no where to be found, but that's okay because I still got some things that I'm happy with. I'm not generally a fan of ordering online because I like to support local businesses and I'm cheap and don't like to pay shipping, but Novica is different. Novica is associated with National Geographic and they don't have run of the mill stuff. They offer one-of-a-kind handmade gifts, eco-friendly green gifts, jewelery, clothing and home decor all made by over 2000 artisans from all over the world. How cool is that?

What I liked about this website and company and what made me feel good about ordering from them was that you know who you're ordering from. When you view an item, the website shows you a picture of the artist as well tells you a bit of their history. It's personal. It's almost like shopping at a world market and these talented artists are offering you the fruits of their labor. It's a beautiful concept and I wish there were more websites like Novica. And it gets better... Novica offers a program called microfinance that helps people like you and me support their artisans. Microfinance allows anyone around the world to give their artists loans at 0% interest so that they can keep on creating, building and crafting. It's a perfect scenario, because it's people helping people, and that's a company I can get behind.

Now onto the goodies I ordered. I got the Contempo Tray and Pineapple Spoon Rest from artist Luis Martinez in Mexico, and my favorite, Silver Plated Coffee Bean Earrings from artist Danai from Thailand. The tray and pineapple arrived in about a weeks time and were gift wrapped in thick paper and tied with a raffia bow. The earrings were tucked into a little pillow in a handmade paper box. Both came with postcards from their respective countries as well as a handwritten note from the artisans. I continue to be impressed by them. The only drawback was that the spoon rest wasn't quite big enough to accommodate my spoonulas, but I'm using to cradle my jewelery instead. Not only are they beautiful, but they're quality too- you can see and feel it.

Novica has kindly and generously offered to give one of you a $50 gift certificate to use on their website. Anyone and everyone is eligible for this giveaway. Here's what you need to do in order to qualify for this giveaway:

1. Go to Novica's Corporate Gifts section and find something you'd like to have.
2. Leave me a comment on this post (one comment per person please) telling me what you'd like to have and who the artist is. Make sure both of those details are in your comment or your entry will be void.
3. Please make sure you leave your contact info if you should win.

A winner will be chosen and revealed on October 1st. Best of luck!

Thank you Novica!