Nove, Italy

First, I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my Step Dad, Scott!  I hope you have a wonderful day! I wish I were there to go out to dinner with all the family tonight!

Today a friend and myself went to Nove, it’s about an hour and a half away from here. I’ve been here a few times before, it’s one of those towns you will never get sick of.  It’s known for its ceramics and pottery.  A few places sell Tiffany and Co., Lennox, Williams and Sonoma, etc.  There aren’t too many stores there, but there are a few really nice bigger stores that have so much to choose from. 

The first time I went to Nove was with some friends and we went to the most popular store there, VBC.  I got a Tiffany and Co. ceramic basket thingy, I figured I could use it as a fruit basket.  Most things there, like Tiffany and Co products, have flaws in them and that’s why they are sold there for a really, really good price.  I got my friend a gift there today for her kiddo and I couldn’t find the flaw in this piece.  Now, the others had flaws and I put them back on the shelf and kept searching for one that didn’t/wasn’t as bad, and I have to say…I didn’t see any flaws with it at all, so I was happy.  I can’t post what I got for her because it would ruin the surprise, but it’s something a lot of people get here for their friends that are having babies. Maybe I will mention it in a blog once she gets it, with a picture of course!

Here are some pictures I took while in the store.  Pottery/ceramics galore!

Below is a picture of the basket I bought the first time I went there. You can see that the weaves in it aren’t perfectly straight, but hey, it gives it character!  I can’t find this online anywhere, so I don’t know how much it retails for, but I got it for 21 Euro I believe.

The second time I went to Nove was with Dan and we got a serving set from another store there.  It’s Ralph Lauren and we got a pitcher, 1 serving bowl, 1 big salad bowl, a 15 inch round serving plate and a soup bowl that has a lid with a ladle, it’s too cute. There was also a large serving plate, but at the time they didn’t have that in stock, so we bought everything else and figured we could get it later.  Those 5 items were 71 euro, at that time, less than $100USD.  They gave us all of our items in boxes and they were sealed with plastic, ready for shipping.  The boxes had a label on them with the USD prices adding up to over $500 USD!  Good deal!  I went back today to see if they had the other piece and the place was closed down. Not sure if they are renovating, or what, but their signs were even gone.

This is one of the items we purchased last time.

We haven’t taken them out of the boxes yet and probably won’t unless we use them.  I would hate for them to get broken in the move!  But maybe we will bust them out for Easter Dinner since Debra, my Mother in Law, and her friend Wanda will be here. 

Now, on to what I bought today!  At VBC I got a salt and pepper shaker

While in VBC, all the other people in there were Americans. I ran into the Major in CE here at Aviano that works with Dan and also some ladies that are stationed up in Garmisch, Germany.  The ladies from Germany told us of another store right down the road that I hadn’t been to get.  It was very nice and that’s where I got my other stuff.  I wanted to get a big serving platter because that’s what I was missing, but needed to find one in white.  VBC had only cream colors.  So, this is the one I bought at the other store. It’s pretty darn big, you can’t really tell in this photo….Heavy too. It was 18 €

A cute little pitcher for gravy, baby! (7€ )

Veggie platter (14€ )

I thought this was cute. A bowl for chips or whatever you want to put in it! (15€ )

Side view

A picture of everything I bought at the second store

The pictures don’t do justice, they are simple, but I love them.  I f I ever decide to get out my Ralph Lauren set, I will take pictures and post them on here. If you haven’t been to Nove and are around this area, you have to go, you won’t regret it.

My weekend has been pretty good so far, I hope yours is going just as well!