Celebrating Nine Years of Gioia!
One day in 2005, Lee and I were spending some time together doing arts and crafts which we loved. I had been thinking about what life was going to be like when my youngest son, then a junior in high school, would be off to college. I needed to work, but I had dreamed of having an Italian art business since I lived in Italy when I was 20 years old.
Lee said to me, “I am bored.” Lee had owned her own travel business for nearly 20 years, had traveled the world and visited most of the Wonders of the World. Lee had hired me right out of college to work for her at Travel Experience, and we had a great few years planning trips for groups and working on business travel in the then early stages of the Silicon Valley.
I asked her if she wanted to help me create a business to bring "Joy to Those Who Give and Those Who Receive” through the beautiful arts of Italy and the United States. I guess nine years later you can figure she said yes. Since that time we have loved this business, learned a lot, met some absolutely wonderful people and wonderful organizations. Please
click here to view the links page on our website and see some wonderful videos and websites for those we thank for helping us to grow Gioia Italian Art and Products.
We also thank our clients who mostly have become our dear friends. It was important to me to be able to meet new people and to contribute to the quality of life with this business. I worked in non-profit with K through 12 health programs while our three sons were growing up.
Gioia is fashioned as a vehicle that brings joy to others. Gioia is a business that celebrates the arts of Italy and
the US. We learn the history of the art, the ways of the Italian culture which our families both brought to the US. And we continue to celebrate and learn with our clients. Many have Italian backgrounds and at some Festas you will hear the beautiful language. Many have just come from Italy or are planning to travel. Some share family stories and recipes. Some just love art and shopping in a party atmosphere. We also are available online and by appointment. Some clients have visited Italy and wished they had purchased something there, but could not carry home. We also collaborate with many American Italian artists and artists that carry on the arts of Italy here in the US.
June Festivals in Italy are wonderful, and you can
read about them here.
A favorite of mine is the
Infiorata which will take place in many towns throughout the month of June. During this festival the townspeople create beautiful street art from flower petals. It is an amazing event with the fragrance of the flowers and the beauty of flower art. There is a hilltop medieval village called Citta’ della Pieve in province of Perugia. I visited and learned of this beautiful festival thanks to our dear friend Cristina Merisio, who along with her husband Giuliano, runs the beautiful Agriturismo Le Selve Centro Storico, an olive grove on a hilltop with 360 degree views of Tuscany and Umbria.
(It is available for rent. so please contact us for information.)
Other Festivals include
luminaries on the Arno in Pisa, and a regatta. In Tuscany they celebrate the Tuscan Sun Festival with outdoor concerts.
Happy Father’s Day to all. In Italy they celebrate Father’s Day in March during the Feast of St Joseph.We have thoughtful gifts of inlaid wood, outdoor stone motifs honoring our fathers, beautiful glassware, Venetian masks and more.
June is also a wonderful time for weddings and graduations. We have beautiful and traditional Italian gifts for the bride and groom, and just the right thing for the new graduate. Save the date for the Limoncello Class in June! We always have a great time.
.
June
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
Gioia 9th Birthday Festa
Date: Sunday June 14th
Time: Noon to 4 pm Join us for a grand party, please come early and stay the entire afternoon
Place: 16395 Roseleaf Court LG
RSVP: 408.640.6628
Limoncello Class with Valentina from Puglia Italy
Date: Sunday June 28th
Time: Noon to 4 pm
Place: 16395 Roseleaf Court LG
RSVP: 408.640.6628
Cost: $55
Registration in advance. Call 408.640.6628
What to Bring: Your Italian spirit!
Learn more by clicking here.
July
"La Notte Canta"
Pasquale Esposito in Concert
Date: July 26 (Sunday)
Place: Morgan Hill, CA
Tickets: 408-528-6308 or
http://www.pasqualeesposito.com/nv/
GIOIA ITALIAN ART AND PRODUCTS always opened by appointment in Los Gatos. Call Kathy 408.640.6628 or Contact
kathywinkelman@gioiacompany.com
And always at your disposal online at
www.gioiacompany.com.
CAMPANIA
Thinking of staying in the Vietri sul Mare region? Here is a B & B owned by one of our friends in Italy, check it out.
CASA IDA Historic House Rental & B&B Italy
Campania, near Vietri sul Mari,
Contact Raffealla Baldi
Cava Dei Tirreni, Campania, Italy
508-982-5622
Or on
Facebook
SORRENTO
Sorrento Emotions and Dreams
Italian Specialist and Local Residents
Luxury Tailormade Vacations
Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Isle of Capri and all of Italy
Enjoy holidays, short breaks, weddings, honeymoon, dining, cooking, shopping, scuba diving, water activities, coastal excursions with personal crew.
Contact Signore Tonino Pepe, pepetonino@hotmail.it, and tell him Gioia Co. sent you.
PUGLIA
Puglia, Italy with Valentina
May 27 to June 5, 2015 (She takes groups at this time each year.)
Travel through the Puglia region
A step into real Puglia with Valentina, author, designer, artist and native
For more information,
click here.
UMBRIA/TUSCANY-- Right on the border
Vacation at
Le Selve, an Agriturismo! Contact
info@gioiacompany.com or 408.640.6628 for a special introduction to the owner. Sleeps six or 12. Two stories. Separate units. Beautiful view. Organic olive grove. Walking trails. Full kitchen. Swimming pool.
See you soon...
