The Place for Porcelain

Palm tree sweaters.
It's a thing.

Monte Sião is a small town about a hundred kilometers from Campinas, across the state border in Minas Gerais.  While not a major tourist destination, it is known locally for its many sweater and knitted-goods shops and a renowned porcelain factory.  The former is not so much because Monte Sião is particularly cold - it's not - but because of the sheep industry surrounding the town.  One older lady, knitting next to her kiosk of scarves and shawls informed me that there are "three thousand wool shops in the town."  While this number may not be exactly official, after walking around a bit, she may not be far off.

Our reason for visiting was for the porcelain, however.  The Porcelana Monte Sião Ltda. factory, founded in 1959, is world-famous for its blue and white hand-painted pieces, though brown and white and plain white versions are also produced. Being a Saturday the factory was not functioning, but we were free to wander through and see the different pieces in their various states of readiness.  And, of course, there was some consumerism to occupy ourselves with, as well!

Monte Sião Porcelain

The town was originally known as Arraial do Jabuticabal, but was changed in 1850 at the suggestion of Franciscan missionaries who thought the area resembled the biblical "Mont Sion."  Since then the name has changed slightly to accommodate the local language, however, the semblance remains.

Exploring the factory

The finished product!