Arts and Crafts from Italy at La Bottega
In the wonderful garden of the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park there is a real gem of a store- La Bottega, run by two vigorous and enthusiastic ladies from Italy, Susanna and Lucia. Bottega in Italian is the name of the artist’s workshop. Leonardo and Michelangelo created many of their masterpieces in their bottega, and still today it is called a bottega the place where artisans create their pieces, express their creativity and teach their art.
At La Bottega in Menlo Park you can find only artisanal products hand made in Italy by jewelers, pottery artists, linen- and also a few great food items hard to find elsewhere, like the wonderful dried figs produced by Colavita in the small coastal town of Amantea in Calabria. But the center stage at La Bottega is taken by the products of artisans all over Italy.
You can find here the prized Deruta ceramics, as well as hand painted ceramics from Florence and the famous paper products that make the Tuscan artisans known worldwide. Along these well-known products you will also find amazing leather handmade pieces, like purses and wallets (my favorite is a red man’s wallet- so unique!), luxury linens, and quite original jewelry pieces.
My favorite piece inside La Bottega, aside from a necklace I am lobbying my husband to buy for me!, must be the original, whimsical Orange Chair- a chair handcrafted in Sicily by a very original artisan who took a branch from an orange tree, covered it, and upholstered the entire chair in theme! Crazy, and fun, and a piece of art in and by itself! Since learning about this little shop, I head there for original Italian wedding gifts- I have just bought a wonderful Deruta for a wedding later this month.
La Bottega
75 Arbor Drive, St N
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650.488.8339
thank you for reminding me about Allied Arts — I used to live around the corner and it had totally slipped out of my mind.
Can you believe I have only discovered it a few weeks ago because of La Bottega?? I was thrilled (and found a shop for wedding gifts!)!
[...] world, so for making pan di spagna I recruited the very expert help of Lucia, one of the owners of La Bottega in Menlo Park. Making pan di spagna is not hard, but it requires discipline- mix the ingrediens in [...]