our story

Alexandra Hayman has had a love for all things Italian for as long as she can remember— especially Italian culture and ancient history.  She attended the Universita' di Bologna, where  she met her Italian husband, Daniele. In 2017 they attended the Sicilian wedding of close friends, where they met Salvatore Pesante. It was an enchanted night - dinner in a romantic rustic villa, passionate conversations and enough laughter to keep anyone smiling for days. Their new Italian friend Salvatore (Salvo, for short), took them to visit Caltagirone, an unfamiliar city hidden in the more famously known Val di Noto province. It was there that she met a local potter, Giacomo Dolce (that is his real name), and was introduced to his small business. Alexandra was in love - The ceramics were one-of-a-kind, embodying everything breathtaking about the Mediterranean, and everything beautiful about Sicily. Calacuni was born on that warm, breezy summer's afternoon.

Our Team

Giacomo, his daughter Alessandra, and the decorators (you’ll meet them too!), make these beautiful pieces in the heart of Caltagirone. Salvo is our wonderful boots and gloves on the ground. Meg (also Alexandra’s mom) is Calacuni’s executive advisor.

Every one of our products is unique and handmade by Giacomo and his team. Giacomo's ceramics business was founded in the 1980s, to preserve the rich history of Sicilian ceramics. A true family business, Alessandra helps Giacomo with the day-to-day logistics, and completing the team, Alfio and Giusi are the artists that bring these ceramics to life.

calacuni meaning

Calacuni is our version of an old word from Sicilian dialect "Calancuni” which was a word used to describe the waves made by a wildly moving river.