The blogosphere is a great place to meet interesting people that we wouldn’t otherwise meet. We get to learn about their lives, their arts, their likes and dislikes, and the world seems more familiar. Robbie is a prolific author, a professional baker and a great painter. If one examines her animal paintings, one will see that Robbie has captured the soul of the animal. My interview focuses on my life as an immigrant in the United States and my colorful accomplishments as a designer. Head over Robbie’s blog to read it. Thanks again, Robbie. I am honoured. Ciao, Valentina
I have been part of a project called “Travelling Kaftan” by Gale Low, one of my digital friends on Facebook. The whole project started with an unusual idea. The psycho-pandemic was chaotic. I think the world was played up. While we were all on forced lockdown, she wanted to spread joy and love in the world. She aimed to do this by sending a Kaftan to various places. She invited her most active Facebook friends. I was one of her favorite friends in this project and surely lifted everyone’s spirits.
Gale lives in England. She received the colorful Kaftan from her sister in South Africa. Gale sent it to someone she knew. From that moment on, it travelled to many locations in the world before it reached me. I received it from someone in Texas and I sent it to someone in Malta. After receiving the Kaftan, Gale required the participants to wear the piece. We had to photograph ourselves and write a small inspirational phrase. Finally, we had to post it on Facebook and share it on our pages. I was told this Kaftan was hand-embroidered in Hawaii. It is a spectacular work of art.
I wrote: “Where there is color, there is music. Where there is music, there is love. Where there is love, there is happiness. Where is happiness, there is food. Where there is food, there is wine. Where there is wine, there is warmth. Where there is warmth, there is a fire crackling and a sense of home.” From @The Drawer Of My Thoughts”
Today, a Kaftan is a fashion statement. Modern designers have made it from silk, bamboo, linen, cotton, printed fabric or encrusted with jewels and beads. It is mostly used as beachwear and loungewear. Its history goes back to ancient Mesopotamia. It is also found in Middle Eastern countries, Northern Africa, and some parts of Europe and Asia. Worn by royals and high-roller, powerful people, it meant “social status”. The shape has always been large and flowy. This design allowed for riding horses and enabled comfortable sitting on the floor with legs crossed.
I suggested that Gale write a book about the Travelling Kaftan, with all our pictures and our stories. I hope she is doing it. Ciao, Valentina
Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, color therapist, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a longtime blogger. She was recently certified as a “Color Analyst.” Her books offer non-fictional, practical ideas. These ideas can be applied in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble
One day, I woke up and found myself in a Renaissance town. From my window, Brunelleschi’s dome greeted me every morning. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Such a treasure was only a five-minute walk away from my hotel. It was a historical building as well. I woke up in history and went to bed in history. Excitement filled me every moment of the day. Being born in an exceptional country, where beauty is the password, is an indescribable feeling. Dreaming of being in a historical place and pretending to be in a different era was a reality. Every corner and every small detail of the buildings spoke of history. I had all the intentions of enjoying and soaking in beauty. This was Florence. It is one of the most prominent Renaissance towns in Italy. Travellers, artists, financiers, and tradespeople have been invading it since the first building was erected.
Everything interested me, and not only architectural details. I took pictures of designs on street pavement, store displays, building corners and niches. I snapped photos of stairs, roofs, ceiling designs and stores’ entry doors. I photographed patisseries, gelato stores and restaurants. I immortalized statues, windows, balconies, artwork and horse-drawn carriages. Florence is a concentration of beauty that got me to tears a few times.
It was a sad moment when I spotted a tourist yawning in front of the Davide by Michelangelo. Those are the fast travellers. Those are the people who visit 10 countries in a week. They take a selfie in front of a masterpiece just to say they have been there. They buy a t-shirt and go home. During their travel, they learn nothing and don’t even remember where they have been. It was also sad to see Florence turned into an amusement park for tourists. This transformation is happening in all the Italian art cities.
My speaking engagements were well received, and I decided to repeat the experience next year. The talks were on “Color Intelligence” and “House Harmony”. The same subjects for more speaking engagements took me down to Puglia, my native region. The landscape in this region is very different from Florence. The countryside is flat. The coastline of the Adriatic Sea is long. It covers 900 km of many cities and small towns. The air is fresh with sea breeze and all four winds of the Mediterranean. People of this region are happier, friendlier, louder and more creative in the living philosophy. Food in Puglia is lighter than Florentine food. There are no heavy sauces and no creams. There are no braised meats and no heavy stuffed pasta. The cuisine includes fish, a wide variety of vegetables, lightly cooked meats and fresh fruit.
The main city, Bari, was built by a Frenchman, Joaquin Murat. He was Napoleon’s brother-in-law. The city was constructed in the style of French architecture of the 1800s. Later, the fascist dictator Mussolini brought many modern upgrades to the infrastructure. He also refurbished the city centre in the Liberty style. This was a floral, ornate, romantic and appealing style of the early 1900s.
The city of Bari today is no longer the city I left when I emigrated to America. People’s mentality now is open to novelties. Throughout the years, the city managers added many public events that changed people’s lives. Tourists flock to the area as there are more things to do and see. There is more harmony and willingness to keep the city alive. Traffic, I must say, is still chaotic and disorganized.
Walking along the promenade on the Adriatic Sea, I pondered what is there on the other side of the pond. Was it all worth it when I decided to move away from all this beauty? I was in Italy for two months and completely forgot about the world; I didn’t even open the computer once. I was happy to live that life. It was too familiar to me. Despite the changes in society, it is still a society that highly values human personal relationships. I remember one day I walked into a very small family-owned haberdashery store to buy a couple of buttons. After fifteen minutes of conversation, the store owner offered me a cup of espresso coffee. We were conversing as if we had been friends for a long time. I didn’t even know the woman, nor had I shopped there before. Her hospitality was genuine and I ended up buying more than two buttons.
I walked along the promenade on the Adriatic Sea often, pondering. I thought that after two months, it would be difficult to return to a modern society. In that modern world I live in now, buildings all look the same. There are no embroideries on the façade or balconies with flowers. There are no phantasmagorical designs, statues, or antiquities to admire. People are too busy grinding through their day. No one offers me a cup of coffee just because I entered their shop. I created a good life in America, no doubt. I will never know how my life as an artist might have turned out. What if I had lived in one artistic city? I could have fed my soul with all artistic expressions. In that special place, where even just looking at a building or a panorama could ignite a spark of emotion. Ciao. Valentina
Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, color therapist, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a longtime blogger. She was recently certified as a “Color Analyst.” Her books offer non-fictional, practical ideas. These ideas can be applied in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble
September is for me the month that changes many things. It’s the beginning of the Autumn dominated by the water element through which everything moves and changes. Autumn is not only the new season in nature, but it’s also the Autumn for people when most of us take stock of the situation and make more sensible life plans for the year to come. Autumn brings a great charge that stalls temporarily in the Winter time and explodes in the Spring with new ideas and vibrations that we have felt inside of us exactly in the dormant lulling September. This past September, I wanted to turn the page of my events, I wanted to look ahead and evolve myself into something new. Confident I was going to find what I was looking for, I boarded the plane to Europe and stayed gone for two months. I went through Germany for the October fest, Austria and as soon as I crossed the Alpes, the warm sun of Italy appeared among the grey clouds of the Teutonic countries and my heart started to sing, I had a distinct feeling that new ideas were appearing on the horizon already.
I spent two months seeing and connecting with people with whom I could lay the foundation of new enterprises. I spent time with them going to street markets, getting ideas, talking about new things at aperitif time, and soaking in the local culture. Living in the US makes me forget that life is not only about work and being productive. Unfortunately, I have become part of a grinding society that requires us to do more and takes all our energy until we have nothing else to give. In Europe, people are more relaxed and don’t feel guilty for spending time doing nothing when necessary. On weekends they don’t even answer work-related phone calls and don’t talk business at parties. They work to live, in the US people live to work. Growing up in Italy, I knew nothing else but how to balance work and play, life was much easier. However, when I moved to the US, I felt the urge to be competitive in my work and forgot how sweet life used to be.
After so many years in the US, I miss the street market scenes, the loud people screaming about having the best merchandise, the noisy streets, the colourful conversations between vendors and clients, the bargains, the socialization, the satisfaction of having found something fashionable at a reasonable price and to have spent a good day under the sun with much humour.
At the street markets, one can find home décor items, new and vintage clothes, shoes, fashion accessories, kitchen stuff, food and much more. There is something for everybody, every size, every taste, for women, men and children. People often exchange recipes at the food kiosks, while strangers tell you how good this or that garment looks on you at the clothes kiosks.
Home Décor.
Sweaters
Winter Fashion
Jewellery
Women Clothes
Sparkle Clothes for everyday use
The bread Lady was so gracious.
Typical baby octopus of the Mediterranean.
Cheeses and cold cuts.
Olive, nuts and dry food.
Red Onions
By this time, European street markets are already decorated with Christmas products. The atmosphere has changed, in some parts is snowing and very cold, but going to the market is still a great experience, especially at nighttime. Hot chocolate, mulled wine, chestnut roasting, pastry cooking and Christmas music fill the air.
Two months later, I am still thinking of the aroma I smelt, the food I tasted and the people I met. Life is certainly different in those parts of the world, my new plans will take me there again and often. I miss that lifestyle terribly, I want to be part of it just like I was growing up there. Ciao, Valentina
Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a longtime blogger. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble
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Valentina Expressions 