Ask any collector and they’ll tell you that Fasano name is synonymous with Puglian ceramic tradition. Since 1620, the family has produced works of pottery in the village of Grottaglie,with different generations creating studios known for particular styles and designs. For J.Crew’s recent activations at Masseria San Domenico, Care of Chan collaborated with ceramicist Enza Fasano to create custom menu signage and a vignette with her bold, geometric vases, lending a hint of local artistry to the natural landscape. I caught up with Enza and her daughter Giovanna after the event to learn more about their roles in the family business, the balance between honoring tradition and embracing new ideas, and how Giovanna’s upbringing continues to shape her approach to both ceramics and life.

Olivia Johnson: Giovanna, can you tell me about your first memory working with clay?

Giovanna Fasano: My brother and I represent the fifth generation of our studio; my mom was the fourth. We grew up here. We have always been in the clay, with our workers. Our company is one of the biggest, and we have always had many, many workers. We have the guys in production, but my mom and I, we are the creatives, you know?

OJ: What is the training process like?

GF: Since the Middle Ages, we have done ceramics here, because of the presence of clay. So this is a very specific job that is tied to the territory. In the past, all the masters, they started when they are very young - inside the company mostly - because the work is very difficult. Now you need to study and practice by yourself before coming here full-time. We offer training also, but it’s not like before. In the past there were many, many people working in ceramics in this area, but now it is not like that anymore. It’s very difficult. Before, there was also a school. My mother attended this school and graduated as an art teacher.

OJ: Why did the ceramic school end? What are the challenges for the future of the industry?

GF: It seems like it’s not something that interests young people anymore. I don’t know why. They prefer to go to university and they are not interested in doing these kinds of artistic jobs. It’s very strange because the work itself is doing very well. So we don’t understand why. Maybe because it’s also hard to do. And you have to study, to practice a lot. You’re dedicating your whole life to it. You have to grow while staying calm, with patience.

OJ: Is it difficult balancing that commitment to tradition while also adapting to modern times?

GF: This is what we are doing. We work as we did in the past, with the same techniques. But now, the style is new. So we keep many young people interested in us because of that. It’s not like the traditional only, we go ahead into the present.

Giovanna pauses the interview wants to show me around the shop; the space is playfully decorated, with ceramic beetles, artichokes, and fish nestled on plates or perched on vases. The craft is centuries old, but there’s an unmistakable lightness and irreverence to the forms, as if the objects are alive. A sense of beauty pervades not only the work but the space as whole, with whimsical displays built into and around stone walls.

GF: This is not traditional [gesturing toward an artichoke]. They are made like in the past, but it’s new, you know? Enza was the first to experiment with color. Because in the past it was just white and ivory, with bits of blue, burgundy, yellow, and green. Here we started to use more colors, to experiment. So we made an innovation, and I can say we were the first company to do this. My father takes care of the color and our colors and formulas are very unique.

OJ: Do people try to mimic the look and feel of your work?

GF: I have to say yes.

OJ: How are you mostly making sales? Are individuals buying your products? Do you have partnerships with hotels or restaurants?

GF: We work a lot with the best hotels in the region like Masseria San Domenico, as well as with architects for houses and many restaurants all over the world. But we also try to be selective about who we sell to. We do everything by ourselves, no agents or anything.

OJ: Are you selling outside of Italy too?

GF: We have retailers and hotels all over the world. We have one in New York, Porta. And then one in the Netherlands, one in Paris, and one in Stockholm. We are tending to the production, so it’s not easy for us to produce in big quantities. And we don’t want to do that either. We just want to do beautiful things, and work in the same way we’ve always done. And people seem to be very happy about that.

OJ: I feel like that’s how you maintain the integrity of your work. It’s so special because it’s not able to be done on such a large scale. How many people work with you?

GF: Besides my mother, my father, my brother, and me, we have ten guys in production. We have molders, glazers, painters, and one man who is always taking care of the kilns.

OJ: And I don’t think we ever got back to why the ceramic school closed.

GF: We had this beautiful school called Istituto d’Arte, a professional school. Now it’s a secondary school of art. They don’t do ceramics anymore, but in the past, there was ceramics, goldsmiths… many specific sections. There were laboratories where people worked with the masters of the ateliers. In Grottaglie we have 50 or 60 ceramic companies, and the masters were the professors of the school. Now, it depends only on the interest of each young person - they must seek out the teacher in order to learn. We are also hosting artist residencies which are organized in collaboration with Terraterra. This year, we had the chance to work with SImone Fattal, a well-known artist, and it was really special.

It’s not easy to run a school - there are many things to teach, and this is not a hobby, it is a real craft. We are more interested in preserving the legacy of our people. Every year we take on some young people, and they grow within the company. Now, for example, the painter will retire soon and will be joined by a young apprentice who will learn from him.

OJ: That’s amazing. Has your work ever taken you beyond Puglia, for exhibitions or projects? Have you traveled for ceramics?

GF: I studied at the University of Design in Rome. And then I was in London, and after that I went to Boston to help open the first shop that we had there.

OJ: You mentioned that Grottaglie is such a ceramic town because of the clay in the region. What is the process of extracting that clay? Where is it found?

GF: In the past, we used to take the clay that we have here. Now we take clay from Tuscany, from Montelupo Fiorentino. The clay needs to be very clean. In the past, you could filter the clay by yourself, but now we can’t do that anymore, so we buy with all the certifications in Italy.

OJ: Tell me more about the vases that you created for us.

GF: First, I want to say that these vases are emblematic of Enza’s practice. These are all traditional shapes. They were all born from traditional shapes, like the capasone or the olive oil cruet. But she structured them to make them more beautiful and contemporary.

OJ: She innovated the tradition. And how do you bring your own creative energy to the business? If your mom changed the signature shape of the emblematic vase, what do you think you’ve brought to the business that will leave a lasting impression?

GF: I think I do mostly the same. I take a lot of inspiration from nature, like the bugs, and from my personal vision and interests. I like to play with organic shapes. So, more shapes are done on the wheel. Also the decorations are more organic.

OJ: Do you get many special requests from people?

GF: It’s very difficult. So normally, we don’t fully “custom” designs. But, when you come here, you see many of our shapes—our whole collection of plates, for example, all the slim vases. And people can choose their color or their size - in that sense, it’s custom made. Each house, each hotel, each restaurant thinks in terms of their own space. And we tailor our colors to their aesthetic.

OJ: What excites you most about the future of ceramics?

GF: Honestly, I don’t want anything to change. I just hope it won’t be so different from now. I want the ceramics sector to remain like this.

OJ: Maintaining tradition.

GF: We are very lucky to have this from our relatives. It would be crazy to lose it. So we want to keep everything in this way, with a bit of innovation each time.