A new customer named Chris visited our outlet store last week looking for a birthday gift for his mother. When we asked how he found us he said he was recently in Ballard dining at Don Curtiss’s wonderful Italian restaurant, Volterra , and he was admiring our little Raffaellesco salt and pepper dishes on the table–the wine steward told him they were from Poggi Bonsi Gifts.
Continue Reading 1 comment April 27th, 2008
We have logged many miles on the winding roads of central Italy in our search for the perfect products for our web site www.poggibonsigifts.com. We often get tips from other suppliers or people we meet in restaurants or shops. Sometimes these tips lead to something wonderful and other times they lead to a dead end. It took us two years and a few dead ends to find an olive wood supplier.
Continue Reading Add comment April 23rd, 2008
One of the many perks of our job as importers is the opportunity to meet people from other countries and cultures. Every time we’re in Italy we must go through the region of Umbria to the all-important ceramic town of Deruta, near Perugia–the sister city of Seattle, and each time the story reads differently.
Continue Reading Add comment April 22nd, 2008
Wine and cheese is a match made in heaven because of the natural balance of the salt in the cheese and the fruit flavor and sweet of the wine. Planning a wine and cheese tasting is a fun way to interact with your friends and learn which matches work best. Assign one cheese type and the complimentary wine to each person or couple you invite to the party and compare your favorite combinations. Here are a few suggestions.
Continue Reading 1 comment April 21st, 2008
After the Moors were thrown out of Spain, Majolica potters set up small factories in Italy near the mineral rich river in the towns such as Deruta, Gubbio, and Faenza where the finest clay deposits and minerals for the glazes were found. In the 16th century luster glazes similar to those used in Valencia and Talavera, Spain were developed in Umbria.
Continue Reading Add comment April 17th, 2008
This rich lasgna is so wonderful all your friends will rave. It’s great to serve in the spring when the asparagus is fresh. It makes an elegant pasta course but also works well as an entreé.
Continue Reading Add comment April 16th, 2008
On our recent buying trip to France we were exploring the area around Vallauris. We searched for a suitable hotel in Vallauris and Mougin, but they were all either closed for the season, or too expensive. As darkness fell, time was running out, we were cold and wet from the rain earlier in the day and needed a home for the night. We ended up in Antibe at the Hotel Le Collier…
Continue Reading Add comment April 14th, 2008
Visiting my husband’s distant cousins in Arezzo has become a tradition on our Italian buying trips. Arezzo is a wonderful town situated on the northeastern corner of the Chianti region of Tuscany.
Continue Reading 1 comment April 13th, 2008
This elegant salad is as lovely as it is tasty. The sweetness of the Apple Balsamic with the pear in contrast with the tanginess of the Gorgonzola will make your tastebuds tingle with delight!
Continue Reading Add comment April 13th, 2008
We had arrived on the French Riviera and were about to begin our quest for some new products to add to our French Ceramic Collection at www.poggibonsigifts.com. We are searching for one artist in particular whom we had heard lived in Grasse, the fragrance capital of the world. Ah, the Riviera home to beautiful hand-painted pottery breath-taking views, gorgeous architecture, glamorous movie stars, and beautiful beaches warmed by the Mediterranean sun…except, we found, not in February.
Continue Reading 1 comment April 13th, 2008
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