Laura Morelli's Blog, page 11

The Gondola Maker Goes On Tour with iRead Book Tours

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be on virtual book tour starting today! Laura Fabiani at iRead Book Tours has organized a fantastic set of blog stops for The Gondola Maker over the next month.

Click on the image below for a list of my tour stops:

Join me at these great blogs, where we’ll talk about Renaissance Venice, gondolas, historical fiction, or whatever you want to discuss! I look forward to chatting with you there.

Click here for more about The Gondola Maker.

Click here for more about iRead Book Tours.

Things to Do in Paris: Be a Flaneur

Paris women’s fashion magazines, ca. 1910

Parisians possess an unparalleled skill for topping off an outfit with flair, leaving the rest of us feeling fashion-challenged. Paris is the natural habitat of the flaneur, a brilliant term of French origin that describes someone who likes to be seen and show off in public. Is it any wonder then that this capital of couture has nurtured thousands of makers of quality accessories, including hats, canes, and umbrellas, through the centuries? After all, to hit the streets of Paris, you must be fashionably prepared.

In addition to hats, canes, and umbrellas, across Paris a handful of artisans turn out other fashionable accessories–shoes, canes, fans, flower pins, and other wonderful treasures–all by hand. Even in our world of mechanization and mass production, this handful of Parisians operates much the same as in centuries past.

You can still find a milliner who will create a hat or a bridal veil just for you, a cobbler who will measure your foot and custom make a pair of shoes from scratch, or an artisan who will produce a fancy walking cane adorned with your choice of ebony, ivory, bronze, or silver. Fantastique!

For more on authentic shopping in France, click here.

Treasure-Hunting Along the Santa Fe Trail

The thrill of the hunt drives part of the appeal of collecting antiques. The chance to discover hidden treasures and explore scenic areas is especially rich in New Mexico, with its convergence of Hispanic, Native American, and Anglo cultural influences. Along the historic Santa Fe Trail even the most seasoned collectors can get their fill of quality antiques, as well as a healthy dose of history and natural beauty.

In the 1800s, the Santa Fe Trail cut a swath across the West from Franklin, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, serving as one of the country’s most important trade routes. Today, the Santa Fe Trail is designated a National Scenic Byway, and the towns along this old thoroughfare boast many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

Not surprisingly, many antiques dealers have set up shop along the route, which snakes across northeastern New Mexico. For intrepid antiquers, the itinerary provides a chance to bring home unique pieces of Southwestern history…

Click here to read more of this article at Su Casa Magazine.

For more on authentic shopping across the American Southwest, click here.

Santa Fe: Authentic Shopping at the Palace of the Governors

Seasoned collectors will tell you that buying from roadside vendors is a no-no if you want guaranteed quality and authenticity, but the Native American Artisans Program at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, defies that rule of thumb.

Spanish settlers established outdoor vending areas by 1700 in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and today, these lively spots constitute some of the most thriving hubs of artisanal exchange in the Southwest. Buying directly from the artisan is the main appeal, and it is exciting to rub elbows with Native American artisans of many groups assembled here with some of their best work.

As a mecca of art and antiques, Santa Fe is hardly a secret for treasure-hunters. The joy of Santa Fe is that it offers one-stop shopping among all three historic cultures of the Southwest: Native American, Hispanic, and Western. No matter how specialized your interest—from Navajo rugs to Hopi kachinas to silver spurs and Mexican tinware—you’ll find it in Santa Fe.

For more on authentic shopping across the American Southwest, click here.

5 Things to Know about Pysanky, Traditional Easter Eggs of Eastern Europe

1. Pysanky are traditional handpainted eggs made during the Easter season throughout Eastern Europe, especially the Ukraine, Slovenia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland and Bulgaria. Their origins are lost to history, but ornamented eggs have been excavated from archaeological sites dating as far back as the prehistoric era.

2.  Pysanky-makers use the wax-resist method, similar to batik, using a pin-like stylus to draw intricate designs in hot wax. The wax prevents color from adhering to the egg. Artisans apply wax and dye in alternating layers, building the design color by color from light to dark. The process may take many hours.

3. Traditionally people decorated raw eggs, but today many artisans prefer longer-lasting eggs made of wood, ceramic, or other materials.

4. Pysanky decoration varies from region to region, from village to village, from family to family. Many pysanky designs and traditions are handed down over generations, some carefully guarded secrets.

5. Recurring traditional motifs include geometric and plant forms, flowers and birds, and Christian symbols.

For more on pysanky, click here for my interview with Carolyn Flynn of the Albuquerque Journal.

For more on authentic shopping, click here.

What’s the difference between art & craft?

Was Michelangelo an artistic genius? Of course, but he was also born in the right place at the right time; pre-Renaissance, Western artists got little individual credit for their work. And in many non-Western cultures, traditional forms have always been prized over innovation. So, where do we get our notions of art vs. craft? In this lesson for TED-Ed, I trace the history of how we assign value to the visual arts.

Is there a difference between art and craft, and if so, what is it? I welcome your thoughts on this hot topic!

The original TED-Ed lesson can be found here.

Laguiole Knives: What To Ask Before You Buy

Photo: Dawn Smith for Made in France

The town of Laguiole (pronounced la-yull) is situated in a rural part of central France, where shepherds utilized a special kind of knife for many centuries. In the 1830s, a local man named Pierre-Jean Calmels transformed the traditional knife into a folding model, and the design caught on. Today, Laguiole knives are sold all over the globe, but they are not all created equally.

1. Where was it made? Today, many companies in France, across Asia and elsewhere make “Laguiole” knives, but the name refers only to the form of the knife and has little to do with the original versions. Only a handful of Laguiole knives today are actually made in Laguiole; even fewer are crafted by hand.

2. What materials were used? The classic Laguiole knife has a slender, curvilinear design comprising a handle in horn or wood and a carved metal spine. Handles may originate from different parts of the Aubrac cow or other mountain animals; the tip of the horn is considered more desirable than the interior parts, both for its durability and beautiful veining.

3. How valuable is it? Numerous factors can influence the price. What materials are used for the handles? Were the metal designs on the spine made by machine or by hand? Does the spine have a mark, like a bee, that is considered desirable?

4. Is the maker known? Some of the world’s best knife designers have created and signed models of Laguiole knives. Signed pieces and well-known makers command the highest prices.

By the 1930s, artisanal knife production in Laguiole had been subsumed by the more industrial knife making center of Theirs. In the 1980s, however, a company called La Forge de Laguiole was founded with the high-minded goal of reviving the town’s tradition of handcrafted knives by employing local, able-handed carvers. Today, the best-quality handmade Laguiole knives are made at La Forge de Laguiole. You can travel to central France to buy one, or visit one of their sleek Paris showrooms.

For more about authentic shopping in France, click here.

Giveaway: Subscribe to Dream of Italy and Get a Copy of The Gondola Maker!

Do you know about Dream of Italy newsletter?

I know that many of you are die-hard italianisti, and if you are, I feel sure you’ll enjoy this newsletter chock-full of insider travel information about Italy. Dream of Italy has been around for more than a decade. I personally know editor Kathy McCabe,  a trusted resource when it comes to curating insider tips about Italy that you won’t find online or anywhere else.

For this month’s issue of Dream of Italy I’ve written an article entitled “The Last Gondola Makers of Venice.” It includes traveler’s tips about visiting the historic gondola boatyards or squeri of Venice, as well as the workshops of makers of other gondola-related traditions you may have never seen. Here’s a little snippet:

Today’s remaining gondola makers, and artisans in related trades, cluster in the quiet section of town known as Dorsoduro, with a few more scattered across the other sestieri of Venice and its outlying islands. Visiting these workshops is not the same as visiting a museum or even, let’s say, a mask-maker’s shop or a glass-making factory, where you are much more likely to leave with a souvenir. It is important to reserve in advance and be respectful of the artisans’ time and the important work they are doing in preserving Venice’s maritime history…  To read the entire article, click to subscribe to Dream of Italy newsletter.

Dream of Italy is offering a copy of my new novel, The Gondola Maker, as a bonus to new subscribers of Dream of Italy. Want a paperback copy, or an ebook version for your Kindle, iPad, or other ereader? You choose the format you prefer!

Click here to get your copy of The Gondola Maker along with an annual subscription to Dream of Italy.

For more about authentic shopping in Italy, click here.

5 Great Collections of Ancient Egyptian Art in North America

If you live in the United States or Canada, you may not have to travel as far as you may think to experience ancient Egyptian art. Here are some great collections of ancient Egyptian art, some of which are little-known:

Kelsey Museum of Archeology, Ann Arbor, MI

This amazing collection started with Professor Francis Kelsey, who began collecting ancient objects in 1893 to help his students better understand the ancient world. By the 1930s and several Mediterranean excavations later, Professor Kelsey had amassed an incredible collection. Some 45,000 ancient Egyptian objects are now preserved in the Kelsey Museum of Archeology at the University of Michigan, making it one of the largest collections of Egyptian art in the entire world.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

One of the most amazing experiences of my graduate-school days was the opportunity to spend some time in the storage area of the Egyptian department of the MFA. The collections in the galleries represent just a fraction of the museum’s holdings, the result of long-term joint excavations between Egyptian archaeologists and a Boston-based team.

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose, CA

This museum claims to have the largest collection of ancient Egyptian works on display in Western North America. It began with a single object collected in 1915 by the founder of the Rosicrucian Order, an organization that studies the wisdom of ancient cultures. The collection now consists of some 4,000 objects.

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

The Royal Ontario Museum has the distinction of caring for an impressive collection of animal mummies–cats, crocodiles, falcons, baboons, and other creatures preserved for eternity.

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

This is one of the most impressive university collections of Egyptian art in North America. For decades, Egyptologists from the University of Pennsylvania have been active in important archaeological excavations in Egypt. Recently, a Penn team working in conjunction with Egyptian authorities, unearthed a necropolis that holds the remains of some 16 pharaohs never before discovered.

How to Haggle When You Travel

For many of us, striking a deal when traveling abroad can be intimidating. North Americans tend to feel uncomfortable bargaining and haggling over prices in markets and shops. We like for the price to be black and white. But haggling can be part of an immersive and memorable travel experience. Laura Morelli, art historian and veteran world shopper, shares some tips with Colin McEnroe of Connecticut Public Radio…

The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio, WNPR, can be found here.

For more on authentic shopping, click here.