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The Casa Vita story

I guess we all fall in love with someone or something so passionately that we want to absorb ourselves into it as deeply as possible, embracing the joy of it all, for as long as we possibly can.

Our love story began many years ago when I had just started a new job and whilst on my way out to buy myself some lunch, I had to pass a slightly ajar reception window and from the other side I heard the musical rhythm of the Italian language being spoken. I was mesmerized for a moment taking it all in - a bit like Gomez from the Addam's Family when Morticia spoke to him in French. It was that moment that I fell in love - not only with my sweetheart Antoinette, my beautiful wife and best friend for the past 30 years, but also with all things Italian. It is a fortunate person who gets hit by this kind of lightning bolt at some point in their lives - for me I am just so pleased that my feelings for her and the Italian way are as strong today as they were back all those years ago.

Being surrounded by Italian family and learning their traditions have been an absolute joy for me. The Nonni still make their own home made tomato sauce, pasta, vino and occasionally churning out their own sausages and prosciutto. Our extended family loves nothing better than sitting together for one of Nonna's long white tablecloth lunches, celebrating life the Italian way. Nonno's labor of love is in his favourite place, the veggie patch, and over the years it has grown to the size of a small market garden and believe me when I tell you that nothing tastes better than a freshly picked home grown tomato, cucumber or lettuce from his garden or a piece of fruit from the many trees scattered in the back yard. Italian backyards seem to take on a significance that is hard to duplicate without the history.

Special treats for us are when we join the Nonni at the Abruzzo club where there is a special bond between all the older immigrants who have shared the journey and the transition from the old country to their new world. They love nothing more than being together and for us and our special friends, celebrating New Years Eve with them is a memorable experience we will all cherish for life.

I am blessed to be on the inside to experience what they have endured for the sake of their families. It makes them very special people to be around and you can't help but feel humbled by their experiences.

Together, Antoinette and I now have our own extended family and I am proud to say that we all embrace what we have and do not take it for granted, visiting the many relatives in the Italian countryside and in Rome has completed our picture.

Italy is like a beautiful old movie to me - everything moves as if it is skiing down a mountain - rhythmical beauty. The things you can buy there have design elements that are difficult to find elsewhere. Everything has a feel of being made by an artisan craftsman, which makes it very special for us.

It was on one such trip throughout Italy with fifteen dear friends from Australia whilst visiting the mountain village of Ravello that we discovered the beautiful linen products made by Tessitura Pardi. We could not resist buying them for our home. We believed the magnificent runners and tea towels would become heirlooms for our family - a wise investment.

This was the second bolt of lightning for us; we fell in love with these items so much that we decided to set up our Casa Vita Homewares business here in Australia to help these quality Italian manufacturers we found and to share their beautiful products with you.

Casa Vita to us means "home life" and we hope we have inspired you to experience the same joy we have by being connected in some small way to the Italian way. We will do our best to bring you many quality Italian products that will be warehoused here in Australia and sold via our own secure on-line store. We aim to treat you fairly, so we can all enjoy life's journey together.

Enjoy your home life and feel free to share your Italian experiences with us, we would love to hear them.

Robert & Antoinette Thomson