This necklace is the creation of two very talented women. The ceramic piece was designed by artist Mirella Pipia in Bagheria. It was intended to be a decorative ornament of some kind, perhaps, for your Christmas tree. In 2014, Barbara Shiller, an American jewelry maker, came with me to Sicily on our September small-group tour….
Tag: gioielli
A Convenient Souvenir
When I (conveniently) forgot to wear earrings one day in June while in Ortigia, I saw these in a jewelry store window. I walked in and asked to see them. The salesman began his pitch to sell them to me, which I thought was hilarious because I knew exactly what they were… “Hand painted ceramic…
Sicilian Holiday
Buona festa! It’s Ferragosto! This week marks “ferie” throughout Italy. Italians and Sicilians close up shop in the cities and flock to the sea or mountains to meet-up with friends and family to enjoy vacation. For Sicilians who live outside of Sicily, it’s a time to return to Sicily for Ferragosto-related feasts in honor of…
Wearable Sicilian Art
This work of art… I mean, bracelet… was hand crafted by Marilita Borgese for Pizzi & Merletti of Palermo. Available exclusively in the U.S. from Gelsomino Imports, LLC, it was created using a technique called tatting in English. In Italian, it is known as “chiacchierino,” which literally means “little chatting” because women chat while they…
Sophisticated Shopping
Coral jewelry is a popular item to purchase from Sicilian craftsmen in towns like Taormina.
Irrisistable Kitsch
On my recent visit to Taormina, I couldn’t resist purchasing these earrings featuring Sicilian carts.
Coral Salt Earrings
Jewelry-designer Daniela Neri created these unique earrings that recall Sicilian ceramics with tarantella dancers. Daniela is a native of Trapani, and she takes the salt from the local salt flats and makes “coral” out of it–in other words, the beads that you see are not made of semi-precious stones, shells, coral, or glass, but of…
Delicate Craft
Delicate enough to be framed, this lace necklace (photographed at Villa Trigona in Piazza Armerina), was created with a technique called tatting. Tatting, which is called “chiacchierino” in Italian, is a craft that’s been practiced by Sicilian women for centuries. Designs are created using thick thread that is manipulated by hand in a series of…
Salt Jewelry
Jewelry-designer Daniela Neri created this unique necklace that recalls a Sicilian cart. Oh, I would have loved to buy this, but for now, I’ll settle for the two pairs of earrings she designed that I purchased. Daniela is a native of Trapani, and she takes the salt from the local salt flats and makes “coral”…
Tatting and a Little Chatting
Signora Pipia, the mother of artist Mirella Pipia, is quite a talent herself! Here, she proudly displays earings that she crafted. With beads and specially chosen thread, really a type of high quality strings of different colors and fibers, she utilized tatting to make these exquisite pieces of jewelry. Tatting in Italian is known as…