When Mary Lies travels, she scouts for la dolce vita to bring back to her store, Mercato Italian Antiques & Artifacts in De Soto, Kan. Furniture, old maps and even vintage billboards are among her finds.

This month, she’s introducing Mercato Table, three collections of food- and dishwasher-safe tableware made by Italian artisans and designed for her store.

“I love the diverse designs that are found in antique Italian ceramics,” Lies says. “I continually thought about how these patterns should be recreated, enjoyed and passed on from generation to generation.”

• Fresco: Dishware made from red Italian clay from Montelupo in 10 colors reminiscent of the frescoes seen throughout Italy: Moss, Verde, Sage, Gesso, Lapis, Slate, Ochre, Cotto Rosso, Arancia and Terra.

• Historical: Seven patterns, also made from red clay, representative of classic antique Italian ceramic designs: Graffita, Tagliato, Tre Fiori, Pavone, Quadrifoglio, Ramo d’Olivo and Stella.

• Olivewood: Two sizes of mosaic olivewood serving bowls, both 6 inches tall, large (17 1/2-inch diameter) and small (13 1/4-inch diameter).

Prices range from $20-$400. The pieces are available at Mercato, 33071 W. 83rd St. in De Soto (open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and by appointment), 913-583-1511, mercatotable.com.

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