From a homeless workshop in Deruta, Italy to the homeless in the United States

This pattern is called "Ricco
Deruta", the portrait of
the town. 

Last year Cama donated forty beautiful ceramic coffee cups and saucers for the fundraiser of October 22nd, 2011 called "Hats and tea fashion show and silent auction". The event was a success attracting 300 supporters. Attendees were thrilled and the bidding on the cups was fierce! 

The Church of Mary Magdalene and Mary's Place organized the event which is going to support the homeless women and children of Seattle. 

The event took place in Mercer Island , Washington but the cups and saucers were originally sent out to California, where the beautiful 

and original story of the Friends of Cama started back in 2010.

This is the cup and saucer
from the movie "Mrs.Doubtfire"
by Cama. 

                               

In May 2010 a group of fans of Cama gathered together to support Cama for love and out of their heart and passion for the art of Cama. These customers and fans first thought of starting asking for donations to send to Cama. We agreed to do this but after a little we thought this was too much. The second idea was organizing fundraisers for Cama called  "Coffee for Cama" to raise money. 

                                      

In the meantime we sent out coffee cups and saucers, dessert plates and mugs for the event in the United States. 

A historical pattern from Deruta
"Raffaellesco"

Indeed back in Italy we were feeling that none of the ideas to support Cama  would have brought Cama back to life, because soon after the workshop and the painters were no longer available to make new orders. The workshop officially closed in June 2011 but the production had stopped earlier.

More ideas came up and at the end the project became "Coffee with Cama" and we tried to organize a fundraiser for a hospital for children in California but because of my lack of experience, the difficulty with laws and other matters, we were giving up. It was not the right moment for the fundraiser.

The group of friends in California was called "Friends of Cama". 

The cup and saucer seen on the
cover of the book
"Passion for Coffee" by Starbucks,
first edition. 

In the beginning of 2011 we were feeling hopeless and my friend Mary in California was ready to send the ceramics back when I met Lisa from the Church of Mary Magdalene in Seattle, Washington. When I heard the word "homeless" I did not hesitate a moment to send the ceramics to their Church and to the homeless in Seattle.

We look forward to the success of Cama
in resuming their work.
(Photo credit: Angela Tunner) 

"Home" was the word in common with Cama!
This is how the story of the Friends of Cama has come along.

The dessert plates and the mugs are now ready for the next appointment with the Church of Mary Magdalene and Mary's Place in Seattle, Washington mid-May 2012! We will keep you posted and send you a "save the date" note for the next and final fundraiser with the Cama Deruta ceramics. 

The latest updating is that in this moment Cama is still without a home while I have opened a page to honor the Friends of Cama on facebook following the happy ending story of Cama. We look  forward to the happy ending hopefully within this year!  

It would be wonderful to celebrate this upcoming event in May with good news from Italy. In the meantime at Cama we have been happy to help our American friends in Seattle. 

Cama Deruta on facebook: www.facebook.com/friendsofcama

Church of Mary Magdalene:   https://www.facebook.com/churchofmarymagdalene 

Mary's Place: https://www.facebook.com/marysplacedaycenter   I love your logo! 

Lisa Connolley's Blog: www.gowithmarys.blogspot.com   (on the 15th of August 2011 Lisa bacame my god-daughter). 

For donations to Mary's Place: http://marysplaceseattle.org/Marys_Place/How_to_Help.html

For donations to the Church of Mary Magdalene: https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/ExpressDonation.aspx?ORGID2=943176609

                                                  

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- Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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The Niccacci families in Deruta and the Franciscan friars

The famous friars that you could find in Assisi were
made by Fratelli Niccacci.
The workshop closed about 2009/ 2010.
(Photo credit: Fratelli Niccacci)

The Niccacci families are probably from Tuscany but have been established in Deruta for many generations. The Niccacci families are all related, a total of five main groups of families in the same town. By being in Deruta, members of the Niccacci families were involved or are still involved in ceramics.

Mr.Aldo Niccacci of the "Fratelli Niccacci" closed his business around 2009/2010 after his retirement. He used to produce the famous ceramic Franciscan friars for Assisi and also the "Della Robbia style" reproductions on white clay. The workshop was located on the edge of town, beyond all the touristy shops and exactly in the "Barche" neighborhood. The "Fratelli Niccacci" have served Assisi for decades and it is still possible to find some of his friars in the touristy shops in Assisi. His friars were fun!

The reproduction of the Annunciation of the Hospital of the Innocents

in Florence was made by Fratelli Niccacci. (the photo is mine, 

a replacement service I did

for the St. Bede Parish in Pittsburgh PA)

On the contrary the "Della Robbia style" ceramics plaques of "Fratelli Niccacci" were interpretations of the original plaques made in Montelupo Fiorentino, Italy located in Tuscany ( also known as the furnace of Florence) and originally on red clay. Most American customers preferred the plaques on white clay, which are smoother, with fewer flaws, and more precise, these ones in particular.
The "Fratelli Niccacci" still has pieces in stock and I had the opportunity to visit Aldo Niccacci last year to serve a Church in Pittsburgh, PA for the replacement of a broken piece. I was lucky to find the last piece available and the exact one the customers were looking for:  the perfect match and a beautiful experience of service!

Curiosity: the signature on the pieces was "Maioliche F.lli Niccacci Deruta", followed by the article number.  "F.lli" is short for "Fratelli" the same as "Bros" for "Brothers".


Additionally in Deruta, the activity of the Niccacci families is very well represented by Francesca Niccacci,  who specializes in the field of Renaissance reproductions of ceramic portraits and historic scenes. She is a pupil of Maestro Romano Ranieri and she has been carrying on the tradition of portrait plates for many years. She also makes large urns and home accessories.

A classical ceremony plate of the Renaissance times in
Deruta. Tr. Art and Love, original writing in Latin according
to the 16th-century tradition (photo credit: Francesca Niccacci). 

Francesca Niccacci opened her own workshop many years ago when she was single, later on, helped by her husband, and recently moved to the area where her family is originally from, the famous "Molinella" neighborhood in Deruta, located in the Northern part of the town towards Florence. Francesca is closely related to Padre Rufino Niccacci, the famous Franciscan friar who saved the Jews in Assisi during the Second World War.

To see the work of Francesca Niccacci visit: www.vecchiaderuta.it. Francesca Niccacci is mentioned in the art literature in the United States as one of the few women in Deruta to start up her own business.

Another group of the family is represented in ceramics by Maria Assunta Niccacci and her father Domenico. They have a workshop where they produce white slip clay pieces that they export and sell nationally. Last, not least Renato and Elena Niccacci, my parents, owners of Cama Deruta, by whom this blog is inspired and who are carrying the longest tradition in ceramics and the most wonderful audience.

Antico Deruta pattern by Cama created by Elena Niccacci

We encourage buying directly from the workshops in Italy, this will help the artists save their art. If the workshops are closed and/or you are looking for specific pieces, please feel free to contact us at: friendsofcama@gmail.com. With our "ceramics hunting service" we will be happy to help you finalize your research. Thank you in advance for your patronage.

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Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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As perfect as decals

A mosaic planter seen in the front garden of a home
in Deruta, Italy. 

"Your products were beautiful and so perfect that they did not look to be handpainted" wrote Mr. Robert P. from Middletown, MD about Cama Deruta handpainted pieces. Nowadays the fact of ceramics being as perfect as transferwares seems to be quite a compliment.

Perfection in Deruta handpainted ceramics is part of the recent history of the past twenty/thirty years, when Deruta ceramics were in the best retail stores in the United States at expensive prices and in large quantities.

I remember when I was at Biordi's in San Francisco as a resident expert in the early 1990s and more recently in 2006, a customer from New York sent back a beautiful Ricco Deruta rectangular tray because of a tiny little hole on the surface of the glazing. We sent another one back as a replacement without any comments. In Italian there is a saying "Customers are always right" ("Il cliente ha sempre ragione").

When you reach such a perfection as part of the demand of the market, you crash defective pieces into mosaics or you sell these pieces at lower prices to friends or to returning customers at the workshop, making sure that the irregular pieces will not be subject to requests of exchange. In retail stores in the United States you may find sometimes corners of ceramic pieces with the "as is" sign.

I remember a customer visiting Cama and looking for pieces to be adopted, horphans. How sweet of her! The customer looked at the irregular pieces with lots of love and interest. Indeed in defective pieces there is the same amount of work, of love and of passion and some sort of uniqueness. Most of the time there is even more work, because the piece goes through at least one touch up and refiring. Additionally when refiring oval platters, wall plates or cake plates for instance the chance of losing the pieces is very high. The pieces are likely to crack or split in half.

The striving for perfection made us into such perfectionists at Cama Deruta that sometimes it was difficult even for us to spot the defects. To the United States we sent out only flawless pieces and in flawless cardboards. A lot of work and great satisfaction.

In the world of high-end quality porcelains (ceramics made of kaolin such as by Richard Ginori in Italy or the more famous German porcelains) the rule is that irregular pieces will not enter the market and will be destroyed without any attempt to recover them, which makes the cost of porcelains raise considerably.

Hopefully resuming work soon, I miss the work of Cama, it has such a distinctive personality, I would recognize it everywhere, I love it so much!

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- Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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