My wife is very interested in getting some pottery during our upcoming trip to Spain. Are there shops that will ship to the states, rather than us having to lug it around?
Does anyone have any recommendations for places we should specifically look? Or some area that is better than others? We'll be in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada and San Sebastian.
Others will be more knowledgeable than me, but for your Andalucia portion, Ubeda is the place I most associate with pottery, especially the green Tito style. I'm sure this is sold all round, including in Sevilla and Granada where you visit, but Ubeda is the "pot centre" for the region and has many workshops and shops.
Pots apart, Ubeda and neighbouring Baeza are well worth visiting anyway. Given the fame, I'm sure you will see this Ubeda/green/Tito type sold in the two Andalucian cities you are going to, although it is worth checking the label to see if it is from Ubeda or a knock-off.
Of course, both Sevilla and Granada do also have their own pottery styles you'll see. In Granada the most famous style is Fajalauza which you will see all over - from fine pieces sold in shops to mass produced crockery used in restaurants.
There are several ceramics manufacturers/ shops in the La Triana section of Sevilla. There is also small but well stocked shop in Madrid with a very knowledgeable proprietor, Antigua Casa Talavera just off of Plaza Santo Domingo.
My first thought was Ubeda. It's a very interesting city, but unfortunately not as easily accessible as many other spots in Andalucia. There isn't a local train station. I took a bus from Madrid; I assume one could take a train to Jaen and switch to a bus there, but a bus straight from Madrid (4 hours or so) might well be faster. There's also the Linares-Baeza train station, which is not in Baeza itself; there's bus service from there to Ubeda. Baeza is also interesting, but the ceramics are in Ubeda. I saw some very nice-looking, reasonably-priced ceramics in Ubeda. To give you an idea, I was tempted by some soup/cereal bows priced at about 8 euros each in 2019. There were some large plates that looked more one-of-a-kind (but may not have been, for all I know) priced above 100 euros. Overall, it looked like a very, very good place to shop if you liked that style of pottery. Not all the Ubeda ceramics are green, but it seemed that most are. Here's an example: https://www.rubylane.com/item/1573115-Ubeda-1/Tito-Ubeda-ceramic-plate?gclid=CjwKCAjw7p6aBhBiEiwA83fGuuZAjbCBZ6bv8Glg3tOySfak3qCEArJq7s0bpnNUiAN3xJeYWOgHNxoCdpcQAvD_BwE. That's a mid-20th-century piece, not current production, but it shows the color scheme.
It was my impression that sale of ceramics in Spain is rather regional. I don't remember noticing the green Ubeda ceramics elsewhere in Andalucia. I wasn't actively searching for them, but I do stop and look in the window of shops selling ceramics and glass as I encounter them. There's a ceramics museum in Seville's Triana neighborhood.
In 2016 I saw a shop in the very touristy town of Santillana del Mar (in Cantabria) that had some green ceramics; the shop may have been totally dedicated to ceramics. I wondered, after visiting Ubeda on my later trip, whether the Santillana products were from Ubeda. However, Santillana is really too far west of San Sebastian to be a practical target for you.
During a 2016 day trip from Barcelona to Cadaques, I stumbled on a couple of ceramics shops. One was down on or very near the waterfront; the other was along the walking route from the bus station down to the port. I don't remember what the ceramics looked like, but it didn't look like just tourist schlock.
I remember seeing at least one shop in Barcelona's Barri Gotic that carried ceramics; it may have been dedicated totally to ceramics. That would probably be the most expensive place to make a purchase, but ceramics are often moderately priced, and if you find something you really like, why not?
In case there are folks reading this thread whose itineraries include Valencia: The town of Manises outside Valencia has a long pottery tradition. There's a ceramics museum there. Honestly, I don't remember whether I saw ceramics shops or not, but one would expect to.
I think there's a very good chance a shop dedicated to ceramics would ship. What I can't guarantee is that your purchases will be adequately packed to avoid breakage. You should know that low-fired ceramics (and I think most inexpensive items are low-fired) tend to be more fragile than high-fired items. There's also the issue of shipping cost, which could easily exceed the purchase price of inexpensive items. If you're in the market for a 400-euro showpiece plate or something like that, the shipping cost would probably be more tolerable. It's also worth researching whether Spain (and any shop where you make a big purchase) allows VAT refunds on goods shipped back the US. For expensive items, the VAT refund might defray the shipping cost.
We bought ceramic plates in several different provinces, each in it’s distinctive pattern and colors. I put them in my carry on to bring home.
Thank you all for the replies...it is greatly appreciated!!!
I've belatedly realized I have some notes on ceramics-related sights and shops in my planning material for Spain. Here's what I found for Seville:
Shopping for ceramics:
- Try along Calle Antillano and Calle Alfareria. (Don't know how many of the ceramic shops remain open)
- Cerámica Santa Ana, San Jorge 31
- Ceramica Triana, Antonio Campos and small workshops on Calle Covadonga.
- Populart, Pasaje de Vila 4: Antique ceramics, including tiles.
- Sevillarte and Martian, previously recommended, have closed permanently.
Museums, etc:
- Centro Ceramica Triana, Calle Callao 16.
- Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares, Pabellon Mudejar: Includes ceramics and history of azulejos (tiles).
- Archaeological Museum, Plaza de America: Carambolo gold treasure and Mudejar ceramics.
- Plaza de Espanya has a lot of outdoor ceramics. You'll find tiles in many of the courtyards mentioned in guidebooks.
For Madrid:
I see that La Caixa de Fang, a souvenir store in Barcelona that carried ceramics, is now closed.
You didn't mention Cordoba, but in case you get there:
