Renato Peres

Artisan Organization: Renato Peres

Country: Mexico

From the time I was a child, I was known in my family as the 'little artist.' And from a tender age, I worked at some creative activity or another. At eleven years old, I began to build my own toys, always following the principle of reusing and recycling materials. I crafted things dear to me from different kinds of scraps I found at the car repair shops in my neighborhood.

When I was 16, I began a technical course in industrial mechanics and began working in an automotive garage at the same time. I used discarded car parts to create sculptures of every kind. Then I went to work at a carpentry shop where they crafted furniture, and during my lunch break I entertained myself making sculptures and miniatures with every type of recycled material – wood and metal.

"Some years later, I made my first necklace especially for my girlfriend, using seeds and natural stones, and it was such a success that I received several orders from friends. This was the beginning of my work as an artisan in natural jewelry. It gives me a lot of pleasure, and I still reuse and recycle, creating only pieces that express the love I have inside me. Now I am happy to cross the limits of my small city to show my creations to everyone through Novica.""