Busy Busy Busy

With the cooler temps we've been able to get out more, and the plethora of fall festas has been a blast.  From the porchetta festa to the onion festa, the pasta, celery and chestnut festas, we're enjoying them all.  Our time here is quickly coming to an end so we're spending our days driving through the beautiful Umbrian hills.  Even though most of the fields are brown, we still love the patchwork hills and the ever-changing light.  We're also organizing long, lazy lunches that last nearly until dinner, spending time with friends who we don't see nearly often enough, yet we all stay connected through our love of Umbrian food, wine, and people.

As I've written about before, I've been trying to decide on what ceramics we'll take back to the states.  I have to admit that I really don't need any more plates, or serving bowls, or knickknacks, so what I'm really buying is a memory.  Having something that was made by our friends, something we can see and use every day, is very special. Most of the artwork in our house has a story, and I smile every time I look at the poster from Rotecastello, the photo from Zermatt, the miniature cottages from England or the various other trinkets we collected over the years.

I'd been checking in at Tassi on a regular basis to see what new designs and color combinations Valeria has on display.  As soon as I saw these plates I knew I was headed in the right direction.  We're moving a television out of the living room and will have an entire wall to fill, so we ordered 3 plates in 3 different sizes.

Valeria and Marco were so patient and so helpful, showing us various designs and lots of different color combinations.  I wanted the plates to complement one another, but not be exact matches, but unfortunately I just don't have the imagination to 'see' what the finished product will look like, and that's where Valeria and Marco came to the rescue.  I thought I knew what I wanted, but as we began to discuss, I realized there were things I hadn't considered - but they knew the right questions to ask.

We also ordered a small key rack - a ceramic piece, framed in wood - to hang our keys on as we come in the back door.  Once again, Marco and Valeria helped us figure out what colors to use for the ceramic piece, then what wood tone for the frame.  They showed us sample after sample, allowing us to see a variety of colors and combinations.  Although I still can't 'see' what the finished product will look like, I have complete confidence in Valeria's skill, and I know I'll love our pieces when they're ready.

One of the pieces Marco showed us was done in a beautiful turquoise blue.  I asked him about the pattern, just assuming that it was a traditional design.  As it turns out, Valeria had seen the design as a carving on a piece of furniture.  She fell in love with it, took a picture, then drew the design for these ceramic tiles.

   We also saw our plates, not yet fired.  They'll go into the kiln on Saturday!  I think it's so cool to be able to see a 'before' shot of our ceramics!



As always, all our travel photos are on Flickr - Just click the link in the right-hand column!