December 3, 2011.  Not a date that shall forever live in infamy but rather one that will linger in our hearts and minds for some time to come.   December 3, 2011 was the date of Bella Italia’s Accenti d’Italia reception, our biggest, best and most fun event in our 8 year history.  For those of you who were able to attend, thank you for making it a wonderful evening.

If you weren’t able to mak

e it, the following is not meant to rub it in.  But perhaps next time you will try harder!

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Accenti d’Italia is the annual promotional program sponsored and organized by the Italian Trade Commission (“ICE”), an arm of the Italian government dedicated to promoting Italy’s foreign trade.  Accenti d’Italia pairs a select group of U.S. retailers with a group of some of Italy’s finest manufacturers of high end giftware, housewares, linens, furniture and lighting.  As you might know if you subscribe to our newsletter, Bella Italia was one of 14 retailers in this country selected to participate in this year’s program.

To kick off the two week promotional period, which runs from December 2 through December 18, ICE and Bella Italia sponsored an evening reception that was attended by 300 of our closest friends and most loyal customers.  In addition, scores of the uninitiated were introduced to Bella Italia for the first time, getting a look at our extensive line of gourmet food items, handpainted ceramics and luxury housewares.  Our established line of products, sourced from artists we have handpicked and gotten to know over the years was supplemented with a dozen additional product lines provided to us by ICE.

But even more on display was the ethos of Bella Italia, the pursuit of la dolce vita.  We bring it to the store every day – a relaxed atmosphere dedicated to slowing down and enjoying life – and it was on abundant display on Saturday night.

We were fortunate to have a perfect late fall evening, with cool crisp air but not a hint of rain.  That was fortunate, for our landlord, the Draiman Companies who owns the Shoppes of Bethesda mall where we are located, had permitted us to erect a tent in the parking lot opposite the store, which enabled us to handle the hundreds of attendees who would never have been able to fit in our small shop, which is typically stuffed full of Italy’s finest and not designed for large crowds.

In the tent was a cocktail bar serving prosecco and sparking water and a video projector showing a loop of video clips produced by us to highlight the rental villa we own and operate in the central Italian region of Umbria, as well as some profiles of some of our dearest artistic suppliers.  The cooperative weather allowed our guests to move from the store to the tent and back throughout the evening.

Indoors, while our inventory – both existing and new inventory from ICE – stole the show, live opera was the order of the evening, with tenor and soprano strolling among the crowd, serenading them with famous arias from favorite Italian operas.  Warm and animated conversations erupted spontaneously among strangers, all of whom shared a connection – a love of Italy and all things Italian.

For three hours the crowd arrived, enjoyed themselves and bade their a prestos, the evening a perfect example of the power of the Italian experience to deliver a sense of contentment and wellbeing.  It was, a magical evening, una serata incantevole.

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So a big thank you – un grazie mille – to all who attended.  And to those who were not able to, our Accenti d’Italia promotion continues through December 18, so come join us and let us show you what ICE has introduced us to, as well as our new inventory which arrived just last week.  We can’t promise you prosecco and opera singers, but we can and do promise that we will show you a little dolce vita.

Click here for a slideshow of the event.

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And to all of our loyal customers and our new friends, here’s what you can do for us.

• Shop with us for the holidays.  Small businesses like ours typically make a third to a half of all of their sales during the holidays.  We need your support to reach those levels.

• Spread the word.  If you like what you see, tell your friends or better yet, bring them in.  Saturday we welcomed two representatives of the Trade Commission, ambassadors for their country here in the U.S.  Let’s show them what good homegrown ambassadors for Bella Italia you can be.

• Remember, we ship anywhere in the U.S. and our gift baskets are a great way for you to make a statement.  If you are engaged in a profession that sends gifts to its clients, let us help you design memorable gift baskets in any price range you want, chocked full of gourmet foods or decorative ceramic pieces.  They are also perfect for your out of town relatives and friends who don’t have access to such wonderful and unique gift items.

• Encourage any couples you know to register their wedding with us.  We can set up a registry on our website and send email notices to your invitees.  It’s simple, delightful and unique.

• Sign up for our newsletter to keep abreast of and to come to our in store events.  We have a monthly Italian book club, have organized Italian language classes and present periodic travel evenings, book signings and other special events.

• Sign up to subscribe to our blog – Bill and Suzy’s Excellent Adventures.  We write daily accounts of our trips to Italy, especially from our Umbria Food and Wine Tours and our other visits to our rental villa, la Fattoria del Gelso.

And don’t forget to just drop on in.  When we say our passion is sharing la dolce vita with you, we mean it.  Drop by for a cup of espresso or Italian drinking chocolate (they’re gratis) and just to shoot the breeze.  Usually it’s about Italy, but the joy of slowing down and sharing each other’s company can occur even if Italy is not the subject matter.

We look forward to seeing you this holiday season and beyond.

Ci vediamo!

Bill and Suzy