We sell some of the most beautiful terracotta pottery sourced throughout Europe; pottery that has been hand made the same way for centuries, even millennia.  I’m still amazed that designers and clients want us to glaze over it with today’s color choice as professed by Martha Stewart. It is not ours to ask why, we just do it, that’s why we offer a variety of custom services.  It’s what we do, sometimes even though we don’t want to.

Drilling holes, creating drip edges, adding spouts and yes, beating the crap out of a perfectly good terracotta pot so it looks old is what we call “custom services” at Eye of the Day.

Whether it is painting Greek pots in pastel colors for a Schrager Hotel in Miami Beach or sealing the inside of four large French Anduze pots for the Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip, we do what our clients request or need.

Call it what you want, custom, special, additional, we call it CUSTOM SERVICES!

I have to tell you this one:  a garden designer purchased a hand-carved French limestone fountain for a project. Needless to say, it had a bunch of zeros on the price tag.  The designer instructed us to paint it completely white, every inch. Go figure…

If you want a statue with its head knocked off, we’ll do it. If you want your fountain to drip better, we’ll do it, and if you want your beautiful terracotta pots painted in your school colors we’ll do it. We call it, “CUSTOM SERVICES” and we deliver. Just ask the guy in Malibu with the all-white French limestone fountain hand carved in Provence.

To learn more about our Custom Services, please contact us.

Edible Garden: All About Tomatoes

Emily Moore of Sproutabl, a lawn and garden blog, shares her best tips and practices for growing tomatoes. Check out her helpful infographic below:

And if you’re thinking of using containers, here are some great container garden pot options from our Italian terracotta Classic line and Contemporary terracotta collection.

Photo Credit: Emily Moore, Sproutabl

Nina Kincaid is the person behind Coco Rose Design, a floral design company specializing in elegant and charming weddings. Her Instagram account is a constant feed of beautiful floral arrangements from pretty and sweet bouquets to bold and bright centerpieces. Based in Santa Barbara but also drawing from her Hawaiian roots, Nina’s work is marked by flowers and plants that are both romantic and environmentally conscious. Her floral design for a wedding at El Encanto in the foothills of Santa Barbara illustrates this aesthetic. From centerpieces in the couple’s color palette to combining Classic French Anduze pottery in a simple antiqued grey with a striking arrangement of smoke bush and liquid amber. Nina graciously answered some of our questions.

Eye of the Day: Tell me a little about yourself and how you decided to pursue a career in floral and event design.

Nina Kincaid: I have always had a passion for plants and flowers as well as a great love of art, I discovered floral design as a way to express my art while working with a medium I feel deeply connected to. I was born and raised on the Big Island and then attended UCSB. My parents had a flower farm growing bird of paradise, anthuriums and tropical foliage, so from an early age I was always around flowers. At UCSB I studied Art History and Italian Studies while working in nurseries and flower shops which eventually led to discovering the wedding and event floral business. I was immediately hooked- it was exciting, challenging, creative and I dove in.

EOTD: How does your upbringing influence your design approach? Any rules you live by in your work?

Nina Kincaid: I try not to restrict my designs to any steadfast rules, but there are patterns that I seem to follow. Color is really important to me in my work. My background in studying art influences my designs in many ways- composition, balance, depth, color theory, etc.

EOTD: Tell me about the wedding you recently worked with at El Encanto in Santa Barbara?

Nina Kincaid: This wedding was for a couple from San Francisco. The bride and I really clicked over the phone and via email. She and her (now) husband have great style and I was so happy to work with a couple that was open and excited to use bright vivid colors. We came up with this color palette that was perfect for the end of spring/start of summer- watermelon and corals with hints of peach and burgundy for drama and dimension. They were a dream to work with and not to mention the photographer they hired is one of my favorite people in the business, Mike Radford.

EOTD: Did your clients have a specific idea for the flowers and how much does your own personal aesthetic come into play?

Nina Kincaid:The client did have a specific idea for the flowers. They love loose, organic, gardenesque, seasonal floral design which plays very well to my aesthetic.

EOTD: What was it about the French Anduze vases that made you choose them? 

Nina Kincaid: I am in LOVE with the Anduze line of vessels. I think I have 3 pairs in my collection now, and use them almost weekly. The proportion of the urn, the terracotta, the glaze, the ornamental swag, everything about them calls to me. They have an understated earthy elegance that really pairs well with my designs as well as the beautiful Santa Barbara venues were my events are hosted.

EOTD: What was your favorite part about designing for this event?

Nina Kincaid: My favorite part about designing for this event was the use of bold color and the smoke bush that I got to work with which is featured in the grey Anduze urns. It is such a magical branch. It’s a beautiful deep rich burgundy plum leaf that bursts into these clouds of fluffy wine colored puffs. The season is fleeting, just a few short weeks and I was over the moon that I got the opportunity to design with them. It was super fun!

To see more of Nina’s work: Coco Rose Design, and follow her on Instagram!
Photo Credits: Mike Radford Photography

In a Glazed Daze in Italy: Glazed terracotta pottery

From concrete planters to Italian terracotta pots, custom glazing has been one of Eye of the Day’s strengths for over fifteen years. We are sometimes amazed by the wild colors envisioned by one designer after another for special colors or finishes, but always try to provide what each designer or client requests. Either the beauty, quality and history of the colorful kiln-fired glazes produced by our most treasured American manufacturer, Gladding McBean, or hand painted and stained Greek pots made the same way for millennia will fulfill most requests.

As the largest distributors in the USA of the famed French Provencal pottery known as Vase Anduze, we have a wide selection of colors and sizes. We ship them from New York to San Diego and Washington state to Florida. Colorful pottery is the finishing touch:  the eyeliner, pearls and earrings for your home and garden.

Last month my son had his winter break and was able to go to the Terrecotte San Rocco factory in Italy with me to see the glazes they have started to produce. Part of preparing our children for the world and possibly to follow in our footsteps is to share our day to day labors. I wanted to take Ben to the factory so he could see it and be part of the process as well as to show him where this historic tradition of terracotta pottery comes from. We Segwayed our way around Rome seeing sites with historic statues, fountains, and pots from past millennia. The context was not lost on him and when we got to the Rocco factory, he was as dazzled with the new colors as I was.

For more than five years our largest factory, Terrecotte San Rocco has been experimenting and testing glazes to add to their impressive line of fine, frost proof terracotta pottery and their range of colors is magnificent and beautiful. Now we can offer all the great shapes in colors, including custom colors, to our clients. Don’t be afraid to dream up impossible colors for all of Rocco’s fabulous shapes.

We’ll dazzle you!

Brent

Are you looking for something unique or special this holiday season?  The Eye of the Day Holiday Gift Guide for 2016 has you covered. These gifts come from all around the world and are sure to be statement pieces in the home or garden.

1. French Anduze Pottery

Our handmade French terracotta Pottery from Anduze region in festive green and red make great decor not just for the holidays, but the whole year.

2. Karin Shelton Cards
Notecards featuring paintings by Santa Barbara Artist Karin Shelton. Her artwork subject matter ranges from abstract to botanical to landscape. 

3. Hand painted Tunisian Bowls
Crafted and hand painted from Tunisia, these bowls are food safe and lead free.

4. Chivas Skincare Facial Cream
From Filmore based skin care company and goat farm, this facial cream features a unique blend of goat milk, avocado oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E that deeply moisturizes and nourishes the skin.

5. Santa Rosa Mexican Church Candles
Our most popular Gift Shop item for a reason. These creamy candles are made with layers of paraffin and cotton wicks. Perfect for those cozy nights at home.

Visit our Eye of the Day showroom for more gift ideas or call 805-566-6500 regarding questions and availability on our gift guide products. Cheers!

Design Update with Inviting Spaces by Kim 

Eye of the Day’s large rectangular Italian terra cotta planters, the Delos, were installed recently to add impact, structure and curb appeal to the entrance of a home with an overgrown, out of proportion boxwood border.

The planters provided a win- win situation when combined with the ability to peer out each of the four windows from the living room and dining room with views of the beautiful seasonal flowers at window level.

The choice of the Delos by Kim Beber Perlmutter of Inviting Spaces by Kim was made when she saw that the vertical pattern on the planters echoed the pattern on the entrance pillars of her client’s Georgian style home, giving the impression that they were specifically designed for the space.

INVITING SPACES BY KIM

(650) 776-6123
Creating Inviting Spaces For Any Time of Day