Mission Accomplished!

Mission is accomplished. Reseach is completed.  Looking forward to put my project into practice. The first requirement to me is a friend in the United States who works in pairs with me. Working in pairs is very important to me. I hope I can meet someone willing to do something innovative with me. Follow my journey. Participate to the change. Follow my daily life story on my facebook page. 

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to the change. 

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THE MOON IS BACK AT LAST

Celestial Vault, Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola, Italy 

Buongiorno from Arizona! I'm finally back with my blog's posts. I'm feeling so happy! Posts are my litmus test that inspiration is with me once again. It's definitely important for me not to stop my creative experience. Stopping means extra work to go back to where I was. That is so true. It took me a couple of months to get back on track. My last post goes back to a couple of months ago. 

Today the moon enters the friend sign of
the Scorpio.  This is so encouraging today.
Anything postive helps out!

This morning I ran into my horoscope of the day. It said that the moon has entered today the friend sign of the Scorpio and that this will bring new energies to my sign, the Cancer. I admit horoscopes nowadays cannot be considered as a  reliable source of information, however how can't we admit that the moon has an influence on people? A baby is born after nine lunar months, oceans and waters are influences by the moon, artists are inspired by the moon. It has much to do with water for the part that relates to our body. Aren't we made of water after all? It has to do with our life's origin as our emotions are concerned. We were born in water. It gives us much confidence. 

Regarding the importance of horoscope signs and planets in our lives, my mind goes to the concept of zodiac signs in Renaissance times. 

By visiting Renaissance residences such as Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, we will notice that horoscope signs are beautifully painted in many frescoes and portraits. 

In the Renaissance period horoscope signs were important. The zodiac was part of people's lives. Horoscope signs were a representation of the celestial vault divided in constellations. It was a poetical way to deviate the attention from ourselves to something universal and definitely more elevated. Nowadays we talk about mirror neurons. It looks like a scientific translation of such a concept of mirroring. We will probably end up discovering that our life experience is all a matter of mirrors, in which we see models that talk about ourselves. How about that?  

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'C' FOR CINEMA

For those of you who are following my story, you know that by tomorrow I will have been here in the United States for ten weeks. I came here to accomplish my mission of getting my startup going. It's been an amazing experience. 

While spending my time researching and networking - between virtual time and events in the city and in the Silicon Valley - I have dedicated some of my free time to watching movies. I have seen a total of nine movies in a beautiful art deco theater fully restaured and with the brightest screen in the world. 



This is the list of movies I have seen and I wish to understand why I selected them. For sure they are part of my startup story: 


1. American Hustle  (It was intriguing. I wanted to see it from the time I left Italy)
2. Pompeii (I was curious to see Pompeii's town reconstruction. Never seen it before)
3. Frozen (getting over my fears was a great accomplishment of mine in these five years)
4. Monuments Men (recommended by a new business contact. We will be in touch again and I will tell this person that I followed her suggestion)
5. Twelve Years A Slave (I wanted to see this movie following to its success at the Oscars Night)
6. 300: Rise of An Empire  (It was the only movie available when I went by the theater. I ended up liking it.)
7. NOAH  (I liked the preview and Noah's line: "I'm not alone")
8. Grand Budapest Hotel (I found it by searching a good movie to watch. Stefan Zweig is one of my favorite writers. The movie is inspired by his work.)
9. Captain America (My second 3D experience and a beautiful memory with one of my favorite actors: Robert Redford). 

There is an additional movie that I saw in these ten weeks and is linked to my startup story more than anything: Forrest Gump (1994). I wanted to see this movie and my friends set up a movie night at their home. The reason is that one of my best friends who is now our Cama business development assistant calls me Forrestina. Additionally the movie goes back to twenty years ago when I was in the United States for the first time. But this is part of a different story and it would take too long to write about it here.  Forrest Gump was my 10th movie and I loved it! I am definitely feeling like a Forrestina! 

The famous selfie at the Oscars Night 2014 that was published on twitter and went viral.

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This is my second edition  of short  stories entitled "Cake Stands for Cama": stories about my favorites starting with the letter "C". 

'R' FOR 'ROBIN'

Ardenwood Historic Farm was named after a forest
area described in Shakespeare's play 'As You Like It'. 

On Sunday I saw an American robin for the first time in my life. I saw it in a dream place. It is called 'Ardenwood Historic Farm' and is located in Fremont, on the way to Palo Alto. The farm takes its name from the William Shakepeare's play: 'As you like it'. I also saw a peacock and a ram for the first time. Big butteflies I had never seen before. These animals were all so close I could touch them.  

I was so happy to see robins hopping on the ground freely and confident in their own habitat. They live with other 99 species of birds spotted in the Ardenwood historic farm. Robins here are definitely in good company. 

I told the robins there that I have dedicated a few of my posts to them. I told them that I love them. I added that in Italy they are called 'red brests', pettirosso. I said that their cousins over in Europe are slightly different and do not lay blue eggs. However they are called the same: Robins. 

Hardenwood Historic Farm is huge. It's beautiful. I would live there. 

Ardenwood founder was George Patterson, an American 49er who came to California in search of gold. He ended up getting rich by way of the hard work coming from his art: farming. What a beautiful story! 
                          

George Patterson came to California with a dream like many other Americans in that time: finding gold. He ended up making his fortune with his own art: farming. This is the Patterson's family home. It's now part of the East Bay Regional Park District. 

To know more about 'Ardenwood Historic Farm' visit: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood
                                                                           

American Robin 

ROAR STANDS FOR ROBIN:  My new series of posts is inspired by my name: Roberta. In the United States Robin is the most common name variation for Roberta.

Robin's new borns
This is what I mean by roar. So sweet!

       

American Robin's eggs 

                          

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'C' FOR 'CITY CLAIMS'

Diet Coke Is Targeting San Francisco Techies With Tone Deaf Ads 

Upon my arrival to San Francisco I felt that the city was talking to me with a beautiful voice. Nothing had changed for me from twenty years before when I had visited the city the first time.  Things were even better as everything around me started sending written messages through witty, up-to-date campaigns. 

The first day I took the bus it kindly told me to 'hold on'. A few days later an ad on a large screen on the way home said 'there are no wrong turns'. I switch on the tv and they give me addresses of companies helping start-ups get going. 

Last but not least a sign said that it's never too late to be kind. That I certainly need a reminder for as it is the most difficult thing to do. However the most fascinating of all claims is the Coca-Cola ad, that goes like this: 

YOU MOVED TO 

San Francisco is the Renaissance city of modern times.
There are plenty of opportunities. It gives everybody a
second chance. 

SAN FRANCISCO
WITH AN IDEA
FOR A START-UP,
A NAME FOR A START-UP
AND ZERO MONEY 
FOR A START-UP.
YOU ARE ON
DIET COKE 

As of yesterday this ad was still around in the city especially in the area of the Temporary Transbay Terminal and along Market street. I love to live the moment with everybody around me fostering and playing along for making something happen.  

I love San Francisco. I love Renaissance cities! I love running with other people who are enjoying what they are doing. Making their art part of their lives. Giving their best for binging innovation. That's why in San Francisco I feel I am on! 

Follow my startup story. My startup is about shopping services and products for Americans traveling in Italy.

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This is my second edition  of short  stories entitled "Cake Stands for Cama": stories about my favorites starting with the letter "C". 

FIVE IS A MAGICAL NUMBER

Festina Lente is my favorite saying. It literally means 'make haste slowly'
which is kind of cryptic if we are not aware of its deeper meaning.
Let's go through this meaning together. Let's dig in. 

My Festina Lente research is getting more and more interesting. 

Not only do I wish to believe that the FIVE putti are the virtues' symbols of Cosimo I de' Medici: carefulness, patience, silence, and wisdom which are the virtues of the soul (slowness) along with strength which is the virtue of action (speed). 

Strength empowers speed while in action. The rest of the virtues provide the slowness that is necessary to take the right steps forward. 

Isn't that an amazing image? 

However, experts say that there is no written literature about this fresco's description the way we see it. Our best endorsement would have been the famous Renaissance scholar Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574). Unfortunately, he doesn't mention any of what I am writing in his 'Ragionamenti' (tr. Insights).  

The tortoise symbol is everywhere in Palazzo Vecchio.
Cosimo I de' Medici's motto was Festina Lente. The
tortoise is his motto's symbol. 

Indeed at that time symbols to public messages through frescoes were accompanied by more pieces of information. That's why they were called didactic paintings. 

Therefore the number of putti could be just a fortuity. Nevertheless, the number five is not a fortuity from what we learn by studying the Medici's coat of arms. In particular Cosimo I de' Medici's family coat of arms. 

The Medici coat of arms was composed of orbs from the beginning of the family's history. In Italian, these orbs ('palle' in popular Italian, balls in English) are technically known as 'Bisanti' (metal uncoined disks whose name derives from the Byzantine coins, known as bezants.)

In the beginning, orbs were 11 red+ 1 blue, then 9 red+1 blue, 7 red+1 blue, and finally 5 red+ 1 blue as we know it nowadays. 

It was Cosimo I de' Medici who narrowed down the original 11 red orbs to 5 orbs as last. What seems to be quite a coincidence with Cosimo I's five virtues that were so dear to him. 

The Medici family coat of arms has five red orbs and one blue
orb. The blue orb equals the blue dot, the world.  What are
the five red orbs standing for? 

Unfortunately in this case as well as above there is no scientific confirmation from art historians that what we are writing is true. It's yet an interesting interpretation. I like this story. What if we were the first ones to come up with this discovery? How can we prove that we like this story so much to think of it as a true story?  

Alternatively, we could think of the orbs as the continents. We could take into consideration that the blue dot is the world and think of the Medici coat of arms as a symbol of power to extend all over the world. However, in the Renaissance period, they only admitted the existence of four continents, known as the four corners of the world. The world at that time was ruled by the number four: four seasons, four virtues, four cardinal directions, four elements. But it's prime numbers that are magical. And five is a magical number in particular because five is the number of the fingers that make one hand! 

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SMART MOVE

A toad was sitting on my desk in my house
in Piegaro, Italy 

Three years ago I moved to Piegaro, Italy, a small village perched on a hill on the border between Umbria and Tuscany. The province of Siena is about ten minutes by car. Destiny brought me there. I wanted to breathe fresh air. Feel free. I needed some time to rest, research and meet new people. 

So I asked all my friends who had a home for me to stay in. One of my best friends had a home a little far from Deruta. A home he had never rented to anybody before. It was in Piegaro and at the entrance of town. It was the original village toll house.  

I spent the first days without any electricity. However this was a good reason to go out especially at night and discover what the village had to offer. I knew Piegaro for two things: their glass factory and an American lady who lived there. I had known this from Slow Travel. 

Later on I found out that people in Piegaro were fond of this lady as she had made the difference a few years before. She had remodeled the ancient glass factory behind the town hall. She had started bringing travelers to Piegaro from all over the world.  

The portrait my niece did of me when she visited me in Piegaro for the first time.

The first thing I discovered is that the piegarese were extremely curious about what I was doing there. So I said I was doing something on the internet. At that time this blog is everything I had brought with me from Deruta. I had no idea what I would have been doing there. 

I was by myself in a home in a new place. What could I do? I was really missing my interactions with real people, with the Cama customers, my life in the ceramic workshop: answering the phone, replying to emails, assisting shoppers, getting ready for my sales trips. 

However I did not desist. I started creating something new from scratch... 

Follow my story. The Friends of Cama story is not only about a ceramic workshop's revival. The Friends of Cama came as a package with a life change included. The Friends of Cama experience was about to change my life. 

FriendsOfCama is a lifestyle

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A TEN WEEK STARTUP STORY

A StartUp that's thinking outside the BOX

I am from Italy and currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I gave myself ten weeks total to get my startup going. My insight will take you first through my startup story by weeks up to date. That will be helping me a lot to look back to the steps done so far. Then we will head forward to the 10th and last week. Afterwards we will comment together along with the products' launch in the market. We will celebrate online and by throwing a party with the Friends of CAMA, the best clientele in the world. What is my startup about? Personal shopping services for American travelers in Italy. Welcome the ultimate startup story. Welcome the Friends of CAMA!

The First Week I settled down

No records of what I did the first week

The first week I arrived I was hoping to meet a friend of Cama who was in the city. However because of him getting busy with his clients, we did not meet. Whatever we do, we receive back. No matter what. Indeed it was originally my mistake from the time back in Italy. I didn't join this friend of Cama in Italy upon his invitation. And I missed a great opportunity of wishing him and his fiancée my best wishes. They were getting married in Italy by surprising their guests who were traveling with them. I will never forgive me for not going to the appointment that day!

The Second Week was a Surprise

I received the visit of a Cama customer who drove all the way from Arizona

We had been friends for many years but I had never known exactly that my business develpment assistant was about to show up at my house. She was driving from Arizona just to see me. That was incredible. Well, she stayed with me for a week. In that week we wrote down the Friends of Cama startup outlines.

The Third Week was just great!

I started writing down everything I did every day

While waiting for my outlines to be edited, I was feeling I was in the right place and in the right moment. Just a great feeling. I started writing down a to do's list. Receiving feedbacks from my Friends of Cama. Joined an association of entrepreneurs and networkers. Chinese New Year was starting the right way. A couple of horses were sitting on my fireplace. Looking at each other

The Fourth Week I started meeting new friends

Everybody would give me ideas

I was feeling so fortunate to have so many talented people around me. Everything spoke to me. From Italy my coach was also sending me excellent feedback about my page on facebook. For the first time in the five years of preparation we had spent together he said to me: ok, here we go. I started gathering all the information from the past that could be of help, I didn't want to waste any of the work done so far. I was about to get my revolution going. It was a revolution with love. I had wanted to make a change in the way of doing business for many years. From the beginning of my journey back in Italy.

The Fifth Week my brother joined the crew

I was so happy to have my brother back with me!

My brother Andrea has always been my best fan. He is younger and has always believed in my potentialities. He is the one who wanted me to be his beachhead for our family's company in the United States. However at that time we were not strong enough. As a ceramics workshop we depended on retail stores. In order to make a change it is necessary to be free. My quest for freedom was taking action. I was making my brother's vision come true.

The Sixth Week I went out scouting

My original scope of visiting the United States was looking for eligible partners

As a lean startup I wanted to be able to piggyback companies that were already established. So I went out scouting. together with my business development assistant skyping from Arizona. With the awareness of my success to come, I approached business discussions for the first time. But strangers who were not Friends of Cama were drawing me back. I cold not allow other people to do that.Nor take energies away from me. I started figuring out how to get the whip hand.

The Seventh Week I kept 

digging in

I had been productive on the facebook page and on my blog without interruption

I had spent most of my early hours by networking through facebook, twitter and by writing my blog posts. Working on the shopping services and shopping products. writing notes. I kept thinking I wanted to make my dream come true about my new way of doing business in unsetting economic times. This was my mission as a teacher, a caregiver and a shop keeper. This would have been my upgrade to my professional skills. Most of my skills are intangible. That's why I want so much to purveyor products again. I want to give life to my skills so that I feel part of this society again. I am gonna make it!

The 8th Week has just started and everything is heading us towards success

Join me on facebook and enjoy the most beautiful experience in my life!

Thank you for appreciating my startup story and for following me. I really wish to celebrate success and help other people reach their goals as creative startuppers. Because it is never too late and there are no limits to our dreams. It all starts with a wish. That's what I started with: lots of wishes!

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/FriendsOfCama
Twitter profile: www.twitter.com/FriendsOfCama
Blog: www.FriendsOfCama.blogspot.com

TO BE CONTINUED...

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"C" for "Chatting"

Attaccare (un) bottone (literally: to sew a button) is an Italian expression
which means to start up a conversation.  

I have learned most of my language skills by talking to foreigners visiting Italy. I grew up in my family's workshop and that was my international language laboratory in the first place. Additionally as a teenager I started looking for people to chat with outside of Cama. 

Wherever I went I would strike up a conversation with foreigners. How would I do that? By starting a conversation with them. This action in Italian is described by an idiomatic expression that comes from the seamstress world: 'Attaccare bottone (tr. to sew a button)'. 

The expression's closest English translation by using the word button is: to buttonhole. However we should deprive this verb from its negative implications of stopping someone and making him/her listen to us. Forcing someone to converse or even convince them about something. Maybe accost and greet are better choices. 

'Attaccare bottone' is such a sweet and dear expression to me. Its origins come from this image: a seamstress stitching a button to a person who is wearing a garment that needs to have a button attached. You are standing in front of this person. You have to keep the other person's garment still. And it takes a little while to stitch the button. 

To bottonhole comes from embroidery. It is called
bottonhole stitching. It takes way more time than
sewing a button. 

Plus the person is wearing his/her dress. You have to hold on to the garment. This action of keeping the other person still for a while has given this expression the negative connotation of bugging someone in endless conversations. In truth this expression in Italian means that you are making contact with other people by being the first starting a conversation. 

This is the buttonhole that we like! 

Of course learning foreign languages by chatting comes easier if you study grammar and read books at the same time. That's what I have been doing all my life. I have studied foreign languages all along my entire school career. Studying is actually a must in order to learn foreign languages thoroughly. Otherwise you will never button it up! 

This is my second edition  of short  stories entitled "Cake Stands for Cama": stories about my favorites starting with the letter "C". 

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