Where do you live?- Shingle Springs, California, north of Sacramento in Amador County.
What do you collect?- Italian Pottery.
How long have you been collecting?- I have been going to Italy every year for the past 25 years. I started collecting on my very first trip.
Why do you collect these objects? - I loved the shapes and colors and designs of this pottery. Each region of Italy has their own particular type of pottery. I have collected chickens from Florence, small pots from almost every city I have visited and a wide variety of plates. But I am particularly fond of my boxes.
How many boxes do you have? - I probably have 200 pieces of ceramics but only 12 boxes. I hand carried each one of my 200 piece collection on the plane. Never lost one on route.
How much do you spend on each piece? - The boxes range from $10. to $75. Other pieces in my ceramic collection can go up to $500.
How do you display them? - I have a tendency to move my box collection all over my house to make it fresh and interesting.
Do you have a favorite?- That is my chicken on the top. It was not my most expensive but I use to raise chickens and it reminds me of them.
Any story you'd like to share with us on how you found a piece?- I always enjoy the hunt for boxes. Any box. We would often visit towns and small villages that are off the beaten path from Cortina in Northern Italy to Pompeii just below Naples. Each destination was a place to hunt.
