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About
Med Living's
Pottery:
The most complete line of authentic reproductions of classical French
regional and Provençal clayware available in the USA
Imagine what daily life in early 18th
Century life in France must have been like…Modern conveniences
that we take for granted, like electricity, refrigeration, or even
plastic containers just did not exist. However an abundance of
foods, grains, oils and beverages needed to be stored somehow.
Porcelain was at best available only to a select wealthy few.
Life in that era was filled with locally crafted
utilitarian objects that appeared in every household, varying in
shape and style from region to region. Today, the beauty we
attribute to such mundane every day utensils may have indeed
surprised Pre-Revolutionary French, who simply used items, rather
than admired their attractiveness. During this time lead glazes
became popular for their ability to make earthenware pottery objects
less porous, and therefore more useful to carry, prepare, serve and
store or conserve foods, oils and beverages. Such lead glazes
traditionally were providing local potters for the first time with
the opportunity to create artful objects with rich hues in browns,
yellows, and greens.
Our Designs and their Regional Heritage
It has become a labor of love for us to scour the
markets and merchants along the French countryside in order to find
rare antique treasures that are steeped in the history of the people
and their towns. Each shape and style in our Pottery line represents
our efforts to replicate these age-old designs from the various
regions in France. Our "Polka Dots" pattern, for instance,
was romantically known as "à
la Lune" referring to the small full moons that are found
in pottery from the Savoie region. Our two-colored drip-glazes,
known as "Degoulinant"
are typical of the town of Vallauris
in the region of "le Provence",
where you will also find the marbleized "Jaspé"
of the town of Apt.
About
Med Living's
Pottery:
The most complete line of authentic reproductions of classical French
regional and Provençal clayware available in the USA
How our Pottery is made
Med Living
recreates this era's pottery by using the same ancient production
methods: All pottery is truly hand-made. Authentic clays are selected. Shaping is done by
hand, without molds, on potter's wheels without motors. Pottery is
then fired in primitive wood fired ovens, anywhere from 7 to 24
hours, which is much longer than that of modern mass production
methods. All painting is done by hand. We carefully selected our
proprietary pigments to reflect true Provence and French colors.
Perhaps the best testament that we have as to the authenticity of
our reproductions is the fact that our pottery graces the shelves of
many Museum-stores in the USA and abroad.
Product Use and Safety Concerns
We have brought the brilliance of the ancient
glazes into the 20th century, without the use of lead. Med Living's
glazes have been determined by the U.S. Merchandise Testing
Laboratory to be lead/cadmium free, and technically, are food
safe.
"Antiqued"
pots may be dirty, just as true antiques would be.
Product Care
The antique production methods that we strive
to adhere to leave us with a beautiful, but fragile glaze on our
pottery. As such, our products are not resistant to high
temperatures and chemical treatment, and therefore are not microwave
or dishwasher safe. Occasionally, the delicate nature of the glaze
may cause pottery to seep. We suggest trying an old European remedy
handed down from one of our Grandmothers: leave some milk in the pot overnight and your problem should be cured.
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