Vianagres

My first factory visit was at Vianagres in northern Portugal. John and Ana, who are in charge of sales at Vianagres, offered to pick me up at my hotel in the morning... and we ended up spending the entire day together. From a great lunch of grilled fresh fish and an extensive tour of their factory, to a home visit to meet their son who speaks perfect english, the day was nearly perfect. Vianagres ceramics are mostly blue and white designs -- and it's all hand painted! Here are some pictures I took during my visit.

My Itinerary

Here's my planned itinerary as I explore the mediterranean in search of hot new ceramic trends. I welcome any and all feedback and suggestions...

First stop - Portugal
I'll fly into Porto, rent a car and spend a few days driving to Lisbon. There are a number of large ceramic factories I'll be meeting with along the way in towns like


Then I'll continue east toward Evora, to a small town called Sao ... My parents and I visited this town known for their pottery about 4 years ago. We bought these plates, which I love!


I'm considering going down to the southern coast of Portugal. There's some blue and white pottery made near Faro that I like, but I'm not sure it warrants the trip down there. My next stop is Sevilla, where I'll be visiting friends.

Where else should I be going in Portugal? Any suggestions are welcome.

Spanish Pottery

I lived in Sevilla for a year -- that's when I really fell in love with the spanish people. There's a ton of ceramics in Spain and the most famous is from Andalucia. Personally, I find this typical style (below right) a little too busy though.





I do love the very basic terra cotta pottery from Spain. It's simple color and form is based solely on function - Sangria pitchers designed to keep the drink cold in the hot spanish summer and casserole dishes (shown below) perfect for oven-to-table dishes. In my opinion, it's the simplicity of these pieces that makes them beautiful.







I found some pieces that I love from Valencia. Here's a peice I think is really cool. I'm visiting this artist in Valencia.


A friend of mine in Lagrono said there's beautiful pottery made in a nearby town called Navarrete. I found a number of potters listed on the internet, but no pictures of their work. If you know what it looks like, please share. I don't really want to make the trip up to the Rioja region unless I've seen the pottery already.

Portuguese Pottery

While you probably don't realize it, pottery from Portugal is all the rage right now. Turn over most plates, bowls, and mugs you find at Williams-Sonoma or Crate&Barrell and you'll see "Made in Portugal." One reason I think we're importing so much from Portugal is that the country is doing an excellent job of promoting their handicrafts. When I started researching European ceramics, I found the Portuguese artists/manufacturers by far the easiest to deal with. They responded to me quickly via email, sent me high quality catalogues, and were eager to arrange meetings with me.