As an international designer, Anna Weatherley's career has included designing and manufacturing couture fashion, jewelry, home furnishings, and printed textiles. In the early 1990's she established a studio in Budapest, Hungary where she trained a group of highly talented painters to create her collection of hand-painted porcelain. Hand-painted porcelain has a long tradition in Hungary going back almost two centuries. The artisans in Anna Weatherley's studio are trained in the classical painting tradition. Only the best painters are capable of mixing the colors and painting the delicate details of their designs. Each piece is not merely a pretty painted object, but also a work of art. Although her painters are trained in the traditional style, Anna Weatherley's designs are not classical porcelain patterns. Her designs are inspired by the early botanical illustrators and flower painters of 18th Century Europe such as Redoute, Hooker, and Ehret. Dutch still-life paintings have also been a source of design inspiration. Ms. Weatherley's porcelain tulip collection is based on the work of Alexander Marshal whose rare paintings are preserved in the Royal Library of Windsor Castle. The colors are carefully applied on the porcelain with fine brushes in many shadings and fired several times at high temperatures. This time-consuming and meticulous process in the hands of master porcelain painters produces the most detailed and sumptuous rendering of nature's treasures. Flowers, fruits, butterflies, and delightful bugs are given new life on the lustrous surface of fine white porcelain. The flowers and fruits are painted mostly by men. Each painter has a distinct technique and his own secret way of mixing colors to create the "painting-like" effect. Women tend to be the experts in painting the charming bugs and butterflies with miniature detailed wings and legs and gold-dipped eyes. The grasshopper is a favorite and each one is given a different personality. Softly brushed golden borders on the porcelain are painted by a single painter with special mastery in this special application technique. While Anna Weatherley's designs are refreshingly rooted in history, they are equally at home in contemporary or traditional settings. Her collection is sold in fine specialty shops, antique stores, and decorator studios throughout the United States.
