A Family Story from Deruta

The story of Antonio and Delia,
the founders of MOD Ceramics

Met in 1950   ·   Founded MOD in 1965
A life painted together in Deruta, Umbria

"Antonio sitting as a ceramic painter,
staring at his favourite Deruta's lady."

Hello to everybody. Now I'll tell you some little curiosities about us and our company. This is the image of Antonio and Delia, the two Deruta ceramic factory founders, getting married. Antonio sitting as a ceramic painter, staring at his favourite Deruta's lady. Delia, one of the best ceramic painters supervised by Antonio.

Antonio and Delia on their wedding day — Deruta.

Chapter One

Who We Are

I am Grazia, one of the owners along with Ivan, my brother, of MOD — Maioliche Originali Deruta. A three-floor building located in Deruta, hosting a factory, a school of ceramics, and a large showroom.

If you love Italian ceramics painted by hand — both traditional and contemporary — this is the place to visit. Deruta, in Umbria first. And in Deruta, MOD over all.

Chapter Two

Why Deruta

Deruta has been the main centre for Italian artistic ceramics since the beginning of last century. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages, but during the past century it became the source for everything related to pottery.

The best potters. The best painters. The best kilns for ceramic industries. The best know-how. Hundreds of workshops, a great museum, a large production.

Chapter Three

Why MOD

MOD — the acronym of Maioliche Originali Deruta (meaning "made in Deruta") — was founded in 1965 by Antonio and Delia, our beautiful parents, who have been living and working together for more than 65 years (and are still together).

They met in 1950 in a factory where both were working under the same boss, the Giommetti family, at the ARS ARTIGIANA factory. At that time, the 18-year-old Antonio was already a very talented painter — he had been working since he was 13 — and he was responsible for the painting room, where more than 80 people worked. Among these 80 people, the 17-year-old Delia stood out for her lively and sensual beauty.

They fell in love, and since then they spent their whole life together. In 1965 they founded their own company, whose first name was "La Delia", changing to MOD some years later.

Chapter Four

A Day in the Life

Today, the 87-year-old Antonio goes to work at MOD every day, starting at 11 o'clock — after some grocery shopping, where he buys according to a written list that Delia prepares every day, for the ingredients she needs to cook the daily lunch for the whole family: from 7 to 10 people, every day.

Welcome to Italy.

In the afternoon, sometimes she still goes to work and paints her own patterns — happy, together with her bell'Antonio.

Antonio and Delia — August 2019, at our niece Federica's wedding.

In closing

See You Soon

And now I leave you with this recent image of my beautiful parents, taken last summer — August 2019 — on the occasion of the wedding of our niece Federica. See you soon.