Franco Minisolo (Maestro D'Arte)
Franco was Giovanni De Simone's pupil at the "Liceo Artistico" in Palermo, where he stayed until 1977, when he was invited to embark upon his artistic career at the ceramics school. He is now considered the most experienced artist in the team. His current colleagues say that he is a charismatic figure and he is in charge of the decorating department.

Epifanio Sgroi
In 1980, at the age of 22, Epifanio was personally selected by Master Giovanni De Simone to learn about style and proportion. Fano is now a humorous designer and has gained more than 30 years of experience working as an artistic designer at Ceramiche De Simone enriching the traditional decorations with new features.

Ignazio Sammarco
In 1972, at just seventeen years old, Ignazio began to demonstrate a special manual ability and skill in the use of machinery. Since 1990 he has been working with white clay and has reached high levels of refinement and precision. "I will never forget how Master De Simone would smile at me; it was a trusting smile".

Maurizio La Placa
Maurizio has known Master Giovanni De Simone since 1988, when he was just 21. Making use of his organisational talent, he soon began managing the company's logistical side, from sales to the packaging of goods. Today he is in charge of the whole warehouse, where he can put his historic memory of the varied Ceramiche De Simone production to good use.

Santo Cinà
Santo joined Master De Simone's Scuola Artistica in 1974, when he was 17 years old. At first he was involved with "little molds", and became so fascinated by working with red clay using a potter's wheel that the Master put him to the test and soon discovered that the youngster had an exceptional talent. Today Santo is one of the most sought after potters and clay modelling experts that work with a potter's wheel, as if it were an extension of his body. He is also the head of the factory.

Serafino Durante
Serafino was only 14 when he came across the Giovanni De Simone artistic school. He began working with hydraulic and mechanical presses, and eventually gained more experience by preparing clay, obtained through a combination of various minerals. Today, he is able to understand straightaway whether or not the clay is of a high quality.

Salvatore Ficano
Salvatore was only 16 when he got his first glimpse into the world of ceramics, decorating half inch thick tile molds/masks. Over the years, his manual dexterity has given him success and he has mastered every phase of the production cycle, from glazing and managing the ovens to surface painting and spinning.

Pietro Greco Ina
In July 1981, Pietro designed his very own personalised collection for Master De Simone, who wanted him to undergo one of his famous psycho-analysis tests. He initially began working with "little molds" for decorating and then he dedicated himself to glazing and baking, until he finally became involved in the real decorating process. Today, he is in charge of Ceramiche De Simone's artistic kilns, due to his versatile nature and a good thirty years of experience.

Anna Maria Tarantino
"You have to play with the colours". It was because of this statement that Master De Simone introduced Anna to the world of ceramic decorating. That was in 1982. Nowadays, Anna, who is as valuable as a diamond in the decorating department, paints the surfaces of some of the more complex works and, due to a wealth of experience, she is able to continue producing the original chrome colours that indentify the De Simone brand name.

Antonia Campobello
In 1984, Antonia met Giovanni De Simone and was fascinated by his artistic work at the ceramics school. She is a very fast and skilful decorator, who is above all dedicated to painting surfaces for the "Mangiallegro" and "Folk" collections. With her Palermitan warmth, Antonella strengthens the spirit of the group and brings to life the young and playful spirit of Ceramiche De Simone.

Giuseppina Gennaro
Giuseppina met Master De Simone in 1980. "When I first joined the school I wasn't sure whether I had any artistic talent, as I had never even drawn properly before". Due to the Master's extraordinary intuition, Giusi continues to work in production, where she designs all of the products for every collection, with complete mastery and instinctive expertise. She also deals with the complex alchemy of colours and their compositional aspects.

Caterina Lo Gelfo
When Caterina met Master De Simone in 1974 she discovered two great loves at the "school": art and her husband, who was also a pupil and a member of staff. You feel a real sense of "family" when listening to the stories of sons of sons who have worked for De Simone over the years. These days, Catherine, who is a passionate decorator, dedicates her time to painting the surfaces of designer pieces and also specialises in technical decoration and little masks.

Anna Intravaia
Anna graduated from the Istituto d'Arte in Palermo and since 1986 has worked at the De Simone artistic school in the art and technical field. Thanks to a wealth of experience she manages to make the colours on the vases, plates and other items made from clay, shine like magic.

Erminia Cocuzza
"Errors are fine, they are just signs of your personality". With these words full of enthusiasm and positivity Master De Simone reassured the young Erminia when she showed a desire to pursue a career within his school. Now, Ermenia is a decorator and a colour experimenter who dedicates her time to surface painting.