Buon Giorno Amici, this holiday season we have focused on the beauty of the hand painted Italian dessert plate. Every cucina and every host and hostess will greet their guests with character and charm. There is a place in every kitchen for this piece, and for the beautiful appetizer sets, salad servers and cake servers from Lago di Garda. Enjoy, Gioia!

We at Gioia are honored to be a part of Italian celebrations in our area, representing the Arts of Italy, a beautiful part of our Italian Heritage. We congratulate Nick Figone and his crew in San Francisco for a very successful Boss of the Sauce event, check it out at www.bossofthesauce.org. We will be in Carmel Saturday, November 22nd with Carla Almanza de Quant and her husband Johan, www.carlaalmanza-dequant.com  for the opening of the Otter Cove Winery Tasting Shop featuring masks and sculptures by this famous artist.  We will celebrate “Holiday in the Vineyards” December 5th and 6th with Deer Ridge Vineyards in Livermore, and Italian American Heritage Foundation of San Jose, “Opera Night” in addition to our own Festa Gioia. Please contact us for any of your shopping needs, we have many items that are not featured on the web and excellent prices. Grazie

Saturday August 16th found Gioia in North Beach celebrating our Italian Heritage with the San Francisco Athletic Club on their 90th year anniversary. www.sfiac.org. Congratulations! The artist and sculptor Carla Almanza de Quant, www.carlaalmanza-dequant.com , joined Gioia as a Venetian Mime and unveiled her latest sculpture, “Amici” inspired by the collection of Professor Agostino Dessi of Florence Italy. The Festival was a grand success and we look forward to what the spirit of Italy may bring to the SFIAC and to all of us in the future.  We work together to promote the history of Italians and our contributions in California and what we have inherited from our ancestors in Italy.  We will celebrate with the Italian American Heritage Foundation in Willow Glen, California, Saturday and Sunday September 27th and 28th. www.iahfsj.org Ci vediamo!

Buon Giorno!  Gioia is constantly on the move and not just to meet with our Italian Artists which we have done in January, February and March, especially for ceramics from Deruta and Tutto Mio, featured on the Food Network, Inlaid Wood Clocks from Sorrento, Flatware from Lake Garda, Murano Glass Vases and Glasses, Jewelry from Roma artisti e ancora, e ancora.  We are so happy to be near launching our Wedding Category for beautiful Italian Items for any bride and especially the bride that is looking for an Italian touch.  We have donated Venetian Masks made in the 17th Century Style of mask making to the Aids Coalition Silicon Valley for their annual fundraiser “Unmask the Mysteries”. If you would like to buy a mask from us before this event in June, we will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Aids Foundation. Please e-mail us as we have many more masks than are pictured on our website and we will send you a slideshow.  And finally, in the first quarter, we also have a display, “A Table for Two in Umbria” to be auctioned at the Santa Clara University Catala Club Fashion Show Scholarship Fundraiser March 26th, and we will be present at the Global Village on the SCU Campus in April to represent l’Arte d’Italia. Meanwhile, we are always grateful to our customers so send an e-mail or call and we will be happy to share the GIOIA with ”those who give and those who receive”.

‘Tis the Season and Gioia Company has been bringing cheer all around our area.

First of all we have donated beautiful ceramics to several places for fund raising including Villa Montalvo, The New Millenium Foundation, The Los Gatos High School Senior Class Auction to name a few. We have been hosting groups here for the Festa Italiana, with great Italian food, spirits and la musica Italiana.  We enjoy our group events, especially the ladies from The Peninsula Regent and the wonderful group from Hollister. The Amici d’Oro Club invited us to be the speakers at their last meeting and we will be at the Italian American Heritage Foundation Opera Night. Our Masks of Carla Almanza de Quant, www.carlaalmanza-dequant.com, adorn the tree in the main living room of the historic Ainsley house in Campbell. (Picture attached).

We wish you all a very very Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas. Our Festa Italiana Dicembre will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 14, 15, and 16th. Please e-mail Gioia Company if you would like to attend.

“Tutto Mio” means all  mine, and we are fortunate to have met Marguerite, the owner and designer. We are happy to affiliate Gioia with her Tuscan, Umbrian and Venetian Ceramic Designs. Marguerite describes herself; “…I have the heart of an Italian artist.” Her artwork found a special place. Many of her pieces have been chosen by well known chef’s and magazine photographers as a perfect compliment to the art of Italian Cooking. Tutto Mio ceramics are featured in magazines such as Tastes of ITALIA, and on various cooking channels. Her ceramic tableware combines the traditional Italian features with modern day scenes and colors. Watch our website for new Tutto Mio additions. Brava Marguerite!!

New ceramics have arrived from Florence and they are beautiful!  They are produced and painted by two Florentine Family businesses. We are now awaiting a Deruta shipment of most popular style ceramics. We feel that the ceramic art we chose in Florence and Tuscany is unique with the signature fleur de lys of Firenze on several pieces. Others have tuscan scenes, designs, sunflowers. If you are interested in seeing the beautiful new ceramics please call for an appointment. 408-640-6628 or send us an e-mail to gioia_company@yahoo.com The next Festa Gioia luncheon will be in October.

 Gioia will have a booth at the Italian American Heritage Festival in Willow Glen Sept 29th and 30th, near Willow Street and the theater on Lincoln Ave. Saturday 11am - 10 pm, Sunday 11 am - 6 pm. Hope to see you locals at the Festa Grande in Willow Glen, California.

The month of June found the Gioia crew in many wonderful places. We took our gioia products to a couple of local hospitals, to the Italian Festa in Casa de Fruta, and to our mask artist Carla for a Roseville Festa. We met many new people, enjoyed their support and the support and joy of many friends and family. We heard Pasquale Esposito, ate some home made cannoli’s, and lots of good Italian cuisine. We have many magical masks from Carla for sale. If you are interested in Venetian mask and sculpture, send an e-mail and we will send you a slideshow of what is available. Ciao

Our recent trip to Italy was alot of driving and meetings and we feel it was a great success. Gioia Company represents the joys of life and there is great joy in meeting with the people that produce the things we buy for you to enjoy. We personally choose each product that we represent. Each product is a result of the long heritage of the family business in Italy and we feel that this results in the artisan’s taking pride in their creations. We met with jewelry makers all over Italy, a family owned Italian flatware company in the northern lake area, a family pewter business in Brescia, our friends in Burano and Venice for lace, linens, jewelry and some sculpture and masks. We spent time in Volterra with the family that produces the statues from ”marmo polvero” so that it is affordabe for all of us to have these beautiful pieces in our homes. In Florence we met with the famous mask maker Agostino who continues to produce world renowned pieces (we love his pinocchios), also we met with a special artist and tapestry producer that we have been working with since the beginning of “Gioia” . This trip we visited the Textile Museum in Prato to learn the history of the textile industry in Italy and were moved by the coins that people included in the rags that were sent to the mills post war to help families restart the now world famous manufacturing of fabric.  Our trip was not complete until we visited the inlaid wood manufacturers of Sorrento where we really got an education about the process of “intarsiato”. The afternoon before our departure we visited our favorite statue Paolina Borghese in the Villa Borghese museum in Roma. This is a most incredible collection of statues that we have seen. “Noi lavoriamo sostenere le gioie nella vita”. We work to sustain the joys of life. Please e-mail us to inquire about products you may be interested in. What is represented on the website is a very small number of items we have for sale. Ciao

Gioia will be visiting Italian artists from March 20th - April 7th, 2007. Check the travel journal when we return.