Via Galleria Montelupo

Today was the best day I've had in the four months I have been in Italy. I returned to Montelupo to meet Matteo (see previous blog) and get a tour of his factory, Via Galleria. What an incredible experience. The factory imports to the US to Neiman Marcus, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, William Sonoma and on and on. If there is Italian Ceramics it is most likely from their factory in Montelupo. Matteo and his father Salvatore, his mother Elizabeth (Betty), and his brother Marco run this facility that has been in the family for 5 generations. Salvatore is a master craftsman and watching him spin the potting wheel and create a 2' ceramic pot in mere minutes was astounding. There is one man who is strictly in charge of putting handles on pots that require them. There are approximately 5 painters that hand paint the pottery and one gentleman who packs them in boxes and places them on pallets for shipping. What is astounding is the volume of pots that this small crew produces. Matteo showed me how they start with blocks of clay and then put it in what used to be a mixer for a bakery. The mixed clay is then put on the wheel and the magic happens. Marco removes the completed pot and stacks it on a pallet to dry.

After the drying process the pieces are placed in the Kiln at 2000 degrees. Once they are fired, they are hand painted then fired again at approximately 900 degrees. Then Matteo took me upstairs to show me the final products. It took my breath away. Room after room of the most beautiful creations. I was able to hand pick my shapes and Matteo helped me pick different colors and designs for all my pieces. Although it will take 3 months for them to be ready, I did walk away with 2 pieces from his showroom today.

This is a custom order made from Lava Rock.

And Voila...The finished products

matteo

Betty

MINE!