About our Italian Pottery Collections Our Italian pottery is created today very much like it was centuries ago, with skilled potters molding the pottery by hand and talented artists personally applying each brush stroke of the pottery's decorative artwork. In fact, many of the craftspeople creating the pottery come from a long line of artists who have been mastering the craft for centuries. Of course, everything isn't exactly how it used to be; there are a few small technological advances to help move the production process along, and we can deliver products much faster now!
About Italian MajolicaMajolica is an ancient style of pottery that's created by baking various forms of clay at high temperatures. Once that clay has dried, it's then tin glazed. In addition to the tin (white) glazing, Majolica pottery is often characterized by the use of intricate designs with colors found in nature such as yellow, green, blue, yellow, and brown. Even though Majolica is often called "Italian Majolica" and having Italian origins, historians believe that the pottery style actually originated in the Middle East (Baghdad) during the 9th century.
About Our Italian Pottery & Dinnerware
Q. Is your Italian pottery only Italian in style or is it actually made in Italy?
A. Our Italian pottery is based on Italian style influences and it is actually made in Italy—Tuscany, Deruta, and other regions.
Q. I received my order and noticed some variation between two of the same pieces. Why is it that the products are not identical?
A. All of our Italian pottery is sculpted and painted by hand. Therefore, even though styles and designs of various products are the same, the person molding and painting the pottery may not be. That is the reason you may find slight variations.
Q. Is the Italian pottery just for show or is it functional as well?
A. That’s up to you. Some clients opt to use our Italian pottery solely as accent pieces throughout their homes. However, many of our clients actually use the Italian ceramics in their every day lives. All of our pottery meets the FDA’s lead and food safety standards.
Q. Can I use my Italian pottery for cooking and baking?
A. It’s not recommended. Ceramic pottery is not designed to withstand the intensely high temperatures of today’s ovens, stoves, and microwaves. We recommend using the pottery for serving instead.
Q. What’s the best way to clean my Italian pottery?
A. For the best results, we recommend washing your ceramics by hand. However, all of our Italian pottery is dishwasher-safe. Whether hand washing or washing by dishwasher, take care with the handling and placement of the pottery as carelessness can lead to chipping.
Q. I’ve seen some Majolica Italian pottery that seems to have tiny lines on it. Why is that?
A. Those tiny lines, which appear in the glaze on the pottery, are a natural evolution of the aesthetics of Majolica. Currently, there is no way to stop the appearance of those lines (called “craze”) in authentic Majolica Italian pottery. The lines, however, are not cause for concern because they occur in the glaze of the pottery, not the pottery itself.
Q. Do you provide worldwide shipping?
A. Currently, we ship throughout the continental United States as well as Alaska and Hawaii, China, Canada, the United Kingdom, and various nations in Europe. If you would like to ship goods somewhere else, contact us and we’ll see what we can do.
Q. Can I ship my Italian pottery to an address other than my own or as a gift to someone else?
A. Sure! And best of all, there are no additional costs associated with this service.
Q. How do I include a gift certificate with the pottery?
A. Just add a gift certificate to your shopping cart for the amount you want to gift, and a personal message if you’d like. Prior to shipping the package, we’ll insert the gift certificate in with your package.
Q. I don’t see an option to have my Italian pottery gift wrapped. Why is that?
A. Sorry but the gift wrapping service is not available for our Italian pottery products.
Q. What happens if my pottery arrives chipped?
A. Chipping during delivery is uncommon because we take extreme care when packing and shipping all of our products. All pottery is individually wrapped and then double boxed before it’s handed off to UPS for shipping. However, in the rare case that a piece of pottery arrives chipped or broken, don’t worry. All of our pottery shipments are insured so we’ll make sure you receive a replacement.
Q. What is your return policy on your Italian pottery?
A. Quality and satisfaction are the hallmarks of all that we do and offer here at UpsideLiving.com. If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, we do offer a 30-day, money back guarantee. You will receive a full refund for the cost of the pottery plus a $10.00 gift certificate towards your next purchase of $100 or more. Monies paid for shipping, however, are non-refundable.
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