Nancy Quispe

"I'm Nancy Noemi Quispe and I was born in Peru's Paucara district in 1987. I think of myself as happy, responsible and dedicated. I grew up in an environment surrounded by nature and it was a beautiful area with very diverse flora and fauna. Thanks to this, most of my jewelry designs are inspired by nature.<br><br>"When I was young, I would help my mother take of my siblings. We would often play in the fields and sometimes find beehives and eat honey.<br><br>"One of the things that impacted me was when my parents separated when I was young, but I managed to overcome it and this experience made me stronger and more secure in facing obstacles.<br><br>"After graduating from high school, I enrolled in the university to study special education, but I had to drop out due to family reasons. As a young girl, I was interested in creative and artistic works. An uncle encouraged me to study jewelry-making and I discovered I loved it! I signed up for a jewelry workshop, then another and another. In each one, I learned new techniques and how to create the different alloys with Andean silver ? 950, 925 sterling, and others.<br><br>"All my new knowledge came together as I began creating my own designs, and I discovered that this is my real passion.<br><br>"Starting out on my own was complicated at first, because I didn't have the necessary tools. But with perseverance, I was able to buy the essential implements and materials to launch my own workshop.<br><br>"Today, I work with my husband and brother-in-law and we all have different tasks. My husband and brother-in-law help with the administrative work and assemble the jewelry. I am in charge of designing, weaving the filigree strands and quality control. I use silver, semi-precious stones, wood and leather. Like any other job, it's difficult starting out but, after becoming more skilled over time, I found that working with silver isn't that hard.<br><br>"I love looking at a completed piece of filigree jewelry. Seeing the beautiful and incredible results of my work motivates me to create even more designs. Peru's silver filigree jewelry is a part of my history, my culture, and my life. My designs reflect the natural world and the traditions of my country.<br><br>"Thanks to jewelry, I met my husband, the love of my life. He's very dedicated to this art and is very supportive of my work. We also have a beautiful daughter who makes me so happy and motivates me to get ahead.<br><br>"One of my future plans is to have a school to teach and train young people who are interested in crafting jewelry. I'm very grateful to you and happy to be a part of this group that is showing my art and designs to the world."