BIG NEWS. A Partnership + A Love Story: Vietri
We’ve been keeping a secret for months now about a project that we’ve been working on and we are so excited to finally share the news. As you probably know by now, we love to throw a party and set a beautiful table, so when we set out to launch Table + Dine, it was with the idea in mind that we would offer just the right tableware that would fill the table with gorgeous details and make every gathering one to remember. We knew it would take just the right partners, designers and artisans to fulfill our dreams and we set out to find them.
Incanto Mare Turtles | Lastra Gray | Incanto White | Bel Mare
So, what's the BIG NEWS? We're getting there. Being of Italian descent and having an appreciation for hand-crafted Italian designs from our own family tables, it wouldn’t be long before we fell more head over our party heels in love with VIETRI and we set out to bring the “Irresistibly Italian” designs to Table + Dine. We're beyond excited to announce the launch of one of very favorite tabletop dinnerware, glassware, barware, accessories and gifts to our assortment and if you don't already, we know you're going to love VIETRI as much as we do.
image courtesy of VIETRI.
LET US SHARE THE VIETRI STORY, as told by the founders.
The Gravely sisters grew up in the South, where entertaining is a way of life and visitors are always welcome, especially around the dinner table. Susan and Frances remember well the careful preparation behind a special evening, and they were often asked, as most children are, to help set the table. Little did they know that very chore would turn into their life's passion.
Their story starts with a magical trip to Italy in 1983. Sisters Susan, Frances, and their mother, Lee, headed to the Amalfi Coast where they stayed at the San Pietro Hotel in Positano. During lunch, the three women found themselves captivated by the hotel's colorful, handcrafted dinnerware. They immediately arranged to meet the artisans at a nearby factory in the town of Vietri sul Mare.
They watched as the artisans painted, glazed, and fired each piece by hand. A friendship developed between the talented Italians and the charming southern women. The Gravely's returned home with an array of "mix-and-match" pieces that their friends and family quickly expressed interest in owning these unique pieces. Thrilled that others recognized what a treasure they had found, the women decided to import the dinnerware and sell to retail stores across the US.
The trio named their company VIETRI, a tribute to the town where it all began and a play on the phrase "tre vite," Italian for "three lives." That was thirty years ago. Today, VIETRI has become the largest importer of handcrafted Italian tableware and home decor products, working with family owned and operated factories throughout Italy. A leader in design, craftsmanship, and customer service, the VIETRI brand both complements the American lifestyle and celebrates all that is irresistibly Italian: a love of life, people, nature, and good living. Their mission today remains the same as it was over 30 years ago: to inspire the celebration of life with family and friends through the joy of handcrafted Italian designs for the table and home.
What do we love? Let us count the ways. The amazing quality and workmanship, beautiful designs, rich (and seriously perfect) colors of every piece of dinnerware and serveware, the unique patterns and weight of the flatware, the glassware, linens and then there's the details. We're talking details like we've never seen before.
As we read more about the Gravely's, we found there are so many similarities between their family and ours. Call it fate, a passion for tradition, a love for visitors around the dinner table or mother’s and daughters in business, but whatever it is, we couldn’t be more thrilled to have VIETRI at our table.
Now if everyone's ready, let's mangia, mangia!
xo // allie + deb