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"LUCCA STATUARY, LTD. offers the Northwest's largest selection of Italian cast stone statuary...."
"Entering the front door of LUCCA STATUARY you will feel transported to a medieval Tuscan town, surrounded by fountains, benches, urns, stately statuary, pedestals, bird baths, planters and cisterns - all artfully displayed. Francine Katz and Peter Riches have expended a great deal of effort seeking out quality, weather-resistant statuary, hand-crafted by artisans, with a wide variety of custom finishes available. Their 20,000 square-foot indoor and outdoor showrooms are packed with fountains, urns, pedestals, pots and statuary. So much so that it spills out into an adjacent outdoor gallery offering larger pieces for more ambitious sites - your country estate or the palace courtyard, perhaps. Lest you worry that you do not live or garden on this scale, rest assured that there are exquisite smaller pieces as well, from handsome stone bookends to life sized frogs to chubby little cherubs to frolic in your ferny woodland. You'll see a winsome assemblage of these charming cherubs on the cover of this book, by the way, seated on a classical LUCCA cast concrete bench." return to top
"There are shops that are unique, enterprises that are interesting, emporiums that are intriguing, and even boutiques that can be bewitching, and then... there is LUCCA STATUARY. Rarely in the annals of retailing has the sheer entertainment value of shopping been lifted to the level of enjoyment that is offered by those enchanters at LUCCA STATUARY. Take a little of Alice's Wonderland; stir in some Brigadoon; sprinkle with a light dusting of ancient Pompeii, and you'll get the idea. With a strong emphasis on quality and a focus on hard to find pieces, LUCCA STATUARY is well equipped to meet the challenges of most requests. At LUCCA STATUARY, an unbelievable display of the best statues, urns, fountains, and ornaments awaits to reward those with adventure in their souls." return to top
"Recently I was whisked to a place that had me feeling as though I'd entered a secret garden of innumerable flowing fountains, European & Italian-styled pottery and urns, bird baths, wonderfully patinaed wall plaques, path stones, and sophisticated, quality Grecian-style metal containers - all of which would accent either an indoor spot or transform your back porch into a place of beauty. The presentation of their highly diversified treasures made me wish I could have spent much more time there. At LUCCA STATUARY in Seattle I found the kind of "perfect" gifts that I usually find after many trips of present hunting for friends and family. A trip to this delightful store can send you home with a car (or truck) full of great finds and plans for the next inevitable visit." return to top
"A must-see for gardeners at this years Seattle Home Show is the LUCCA STATUARY display. The hand-cast fountains, birdbaths, urns and concrete critters are replicas of Italian and English pieces. Some look like they've been sitting in a Tuscan courtyard for a century or two. There are 12 burbling, trickling and pouring models "working" at the show. With prices ranging from $159 to $895, the fountains are even more appealing." return to top
"Every year I look forward to that first transformational moment of entering through the doors to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. The cold, gray Seattle winter is instantly replaced by a living, breathing portrait that combines the promise of spring with the bounty of summer. This year's show is simply the most fun yet. Though there is no set theme, several emerge as you stroll. Water is everywhere, from delicate splash and trickle to waterfall roar. Sculpture is potently represented in several striking displays, from Richard Hestekind's stately Sculpture Court to the delightful Victorian excesses of LUCCA STATUARY's display of European garden ornaments. This may be the best year ever..." return to top
"A well chosen ornament can add age, structure and stability to a garden. The romantic look of LUCCA STATUARY's European display garden offers inspiration and a taste of the Mediterranean, using containers, fountains and statuary that - although poured concrete - look chiseled out of stone." return to top
"By far my favorite piece of garden art today is the Green Man. You may have seen him without knowing it: a face with leaves coming out of his head and mouth, or a face made up entirely of leaves. The Green Man's beginning is lost to time, but it is believed that -- to people in Europe more than 2,000 years ago -- he represented life, nature and growth, the triumph of living things. He is associated with John Barleycorn, the Green Knight in Arthurian legends, and even the original Robin Hood (a forest creature who, centuries later, was saddled with the "steal from the rich and give to the poor" story). The Green Man most often appears in England where there were ancient forests. I couldn't resist having such a leafy representation of nature in our garden, but it took me several years to find just the right face. Some I've seen are too jokey or modern, winking at me with a smile that's bland and too Disneyesque. I wanted a Green Man for our garden with a look that hinted at some of the mystery of his past. And he is there, at the base of our old plum tree. The expression on his face changes with the light, but he's never as scary or bizarre as some, and not so banal as others. He is the wild part of the garden, and just the kind of art that suits it."
"LUCCA STATUARY is going great guns! They've expanded to over double their display space, now 20,000 sq. ft., handsomely housing hundreds (thousands?) of classical pieces - urns, pedestals, pots, statuary carefully selected from around the country, with recent shipments directly from England. Look here for not only the Northwest's largest selection of Italian poured stone statuary, but the most tasteful, endearing and durable pieces for home, garden and patio. You'll find stylized bird baths festooned with lion's heads, formal benches, troughs for a water garden and traditional Italian fountains. They've greatly expanded their smaller, gift and interior pieces, so I urge you to pay a visit even if you are not in the market for a more stately ornament. Francine Katz and Peter Riches have begun to manufacture their own exclusive line now, are customer-oriented and anxious to accommodate (including delivery)." return to top
"When you walk past giant urns of tiered boxwood and through the green door of LUCCA STATUARY, you leave rainy Seattle behind for a bit of sunny Italy. Fountains, tiny lights, urns, pedestals and statues from the diminutive to the more-than-life-size, all of cast concrete, fill the space with a European look not available here until recently. Owners Francine Katz and Peter Riches recently began to manufacture their own products because they were having such a difficult time providing as many quality pieces as their customers demanded. More durable than terra-cotta, cast concrete is frost-free and comes with life-time waterproofing. Best of all, its classic, pre-patinated weathered look evokes stone, inviting moss to add its softening touch. The inspiration for these pieces, as well as the name of the shop, comes from the little walled Italian city of LUCCA, the home of cast-concrete statuary. Fountains are among the most popular items LUCCA carries, and range from wall-mounted drippy heads to large, many-bowled constructions that would be at home in the gardens of Versailles. The Positano lion fountain ($629.) is made of darkly stained concrete, and has four lion heads spitting into a wide bowl, topped with a bubbling finial, all making water music. For a smaller and quieter water feature, consider a Windsor birdbath ($139.), which comes in two pieces so that it is easy to move about. LUCCA carries a classical European lantern made of concrete - something you wouldn't need to worry about is this piece being knocked over. It can be wired or lit with a candle, its removable finial cleverly designed in the shape of a flame ($79). A front walkway would look elegant lit with a row of these ornate lanterns. Urns set upon pedestals are endlessly useful for flanking doorways or providing a focal point, or holding plants or topiary. LUCCA's two-piece urns have drainage holes so that a plant can be put directly into them (English Urn $95. Pedestal $89). Made to perch atop a garden wall or a tree stump, LUCCA's Rabbit Cherub pleases with its alert face, spreading wings and detailed little feet ($89). To introduce just a touch of Italy to any garden, there is the 6-inch round lion medallion ($16), a majestic lion head that can be mounted against the house or a fence, on a post or a tree. Any of LUCCA's pieces can be used indoors or our, year round." return to top
"Inside LUCCA STATUARY's sales floor, located only a few feet from busy 15th Avenue Northwest, are travertine fountains, a stone bust of the Egyptian goddess Nefertiti, small pots, statues of monks, horned gargoyles, cherubs, birdbaths and weeping cupids. LUCCA's benches, statues and planters are popular with homeowners, designers and landscapers, some of who drive miles to buy their stone ornaments. Katz and Riches realize they are selling more than yard decorations - they are also selling an aesthetic sensibility. "It's like you're buying a piece of old Europe," says Riches. return to top
"LUCCA STATUARY features a treasure trove of poured stone and concrete Italian and English inspired garden ornaments. Overflowing the establishment's indoor showrooms and outdoor patio areas you'll discover a lavish presentation of planters and urns, benches and fountains, birdbaths, pedestals, wall decor and statues for both indoor and outdoor environments. Bringing together an extensive collection of pieces with a range of finishes, LUCCA STATUARY offers sensational possibilities for various stylistic sensibilities. If you're thinking of adding something special to your garden or home, I suggest adding to your itinerary of garden destinations a visit to Seattle's LUCCA STATUARY. Be prepared to spend time pondering over this shop's huge selection of garden ornaments... return to top
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