Twenty years ago this woman waltzed into our lives.
We weren’t sure what to make of her…and for those of you who know her…you know just what I mean.
It was the winter of nineteen and ninety five, Jane and I were peddling our Mexican artisan wares at a Junior League show in Atlanta. This strange woman named Margaret Proctor landed in our booth and started barraging us with questions about our “business” …what channels of distribution were we planning to use? from where were we importing? what was the point of entry? what markets would we attend? how long did it take us to craft our business plan? etc. etc.
She then revealed that she was starting a business selling Italian ceramics and wanted to compare notes. Of course she didnt realize it at the time, as we had just met, but we had no plan… business or otherwise…we were just winging it. That realization came to her slowly over the years as we got to know each other through the gift markets and, my goodness, was she horrified! We have very different business styles, but we get along just swimmingly. As a matter of fact, she is one of our favorite people in the whole wide world and godmother to our youngest child, Franny.
Fortunata has slowly morphed her offerings from pots, fountains and plaques in classical styles to some ofthe most unique and stunningly beautiful collections of geometric and organic shapes of dinnerware and pottery on the market today. The newest dinnerware collection Buon Appetito {seen above and below} is inspired by the colors of the Mediterranean-terracotta, sea blue, cloud gray and white. Fresh and crisp colors will complement any dinner party and place setting. You can combine the different shapes and sizes to create unique table settings. Just recently, Brick and Tin, a rustic, locally sourced restaurant with two locations in Birmingham, Alabama started using the Casa Mia collection to serve their salads and main courses. {How do you say ‘road trip’ in Italian?!}
Fortunta is Italian for “good luck” but, unlike us, Margaret was never one to rely on luck. She is as hardworking as they come, deeply passionate about her business, a natural and formidable salesperson, an incredibly talented designer, AND she’s a hoot! To know her is to love her, and if you don’t know Margaret or Fortunata then you need to remedy that….check out her beautiful website www.fortunatainc.com for the entire collection.
Everything from Fortunata is hand sculpted and thrown…there are no molds here and it is the lovely talent of the rich Italian history that shows through in new forms. Frequent trips to Italy to meet with the artisans keep Fortunata’s wares fresh and inspiring. We love Margaret and we love Fortunata!
{All photos curtesy of Fortunata and Graham Yelton Photography.}
