The Gravely sisters, Susan and Frances, developed the concept for VIETRI in 1983 while on vacation with their mother in Italy. The women fell in love with the hand-painted dishes used at the San Pietro Hotel on the Amalfi Coast. They visited the factory where the dishes were made, and three days later, they shook hands with the owner and left with a suitcase full of samples. The sisters invested $20,000 to found the company and worked out of Frances’ home until moving into an apartment. Today, VIETRI works with over 140 artisans throughout Italy to distribute their crafts to the world’s premier stores and catalogs. The company can also boast a client base of over 2,000 specialty retailers and gift shops. Each season, VIETRI introduces trend-setting new collections marked by the same peerless Italian style. The sisters now work out of a 76,000-square-foot office with warehouse space. Their company has always been profitable and conservative with expenses and dividends. For the purposes of philanthropy, Susan Gravely created an independent Giving Committee in 1985. This committee receives a percentage of VIETRI’s total outlet sales as their budget and is authorized to donate products towards fundraising efforts for charitable organizations.