THIN AND SIMPLE says it all, a perfect moniker for Pampa Bay’s latest juggernaut, a throwback to the shapes and looks the company achieved in stainless steel, its one-time material of choice, a decade ago. Then, in 2016, Carlos Barbagallo, president and owner, decided to segue into the dishwasher-safe, tarnish-free porcelain that looks like metal, using a proprietary, state-of-the-art technology that’s neither painted nor glazed. “Thin and Simple is our homage to the looks we created when we worked with metals,” says Barbagallo. “It’s not as traditional as our other products and the material is thinner than any other porcelain in our line. The shapes and outlines are clean and modern and pretty much go with anything. It has an updated feel with straight-sided bowls and flat-bottomed trays, ideal for most home settings. And it perfectly illustrates our tagline, I can’t believe it’s not metal.” [Fun fact: Thin and Simple was merely a placeholder name until a better one was ideated. “When we completed the collection we thought that the temporary name fabulously summed up the design,” says Barbagallo.] There were two other contemporary designs with simple profiles and clean edges launched alongside Thin and Simple, representing a new direction for the company named for the Pampas, Argentina’s fertile South American grasslands, an homage to Barbagallo’s “magical” home country.
There were ten items in the initial launch, a range of bowls, trays, and serveware, $15 to $90. Thin and Simple was so well received (despite its release concurrent with the Covid pandemic) that it quickly spawned Sunset by the Sea, a cobalt glaze with a gold accent border, available in nine shapes. “That was the first time we did color and the market loved it,” says head designer Noelia Garcia, who created the designs with her husband, Barbagallo. “We knew it was time to capitalize on color. Our line is heavy with silver, gold, and white and we needed a broader palate. We looked at many glazes and finishes. Our goal was to find one that maximized the beauty of the gold accent against the porcelain. We spent a lot of time looking for the right color to pair with the gold tone. The deep rich blue against the gold, reminiscent of the sun setting against the sea, makes a striking contrast and is the direction we want to go. It’s a more tailored look, and everyone loves blue so it was a tremendous success its first two seasons.”
That sequel gave rise to the elegant Moonlight (white and gold) and Eclipse (black and gold) in the summer of 2021. “We considered what else we could do to capitalize on the design’s popularity,” says Garcia. “We looked at many combinations and finishes, but the black and white were clearly the winners. We tried black before but until Eclipse it never really worked. And Moonlight is climbing its way to being our best-selling pattern.” The top shapes across all the design iterations are the bread/cracker tray and small snack bowls. Retails range from $8.75 to $112.50. Each design has between ten and 15 pieces. At the winter markets, four line extensions for Thin and Simple and one for Moonlight will launch. “But there’s never any time for laurel resting. We’re already on to the next evolution,” Barbagallo says. “A wood grain decal accent with gold (above).” Future development of this franchise will be through additional finishes. “We get samples all the time with various bodies and finishes,” affirms Garcia. “We’re continually working on design. We hit a home run with Thin and Simple’s clean lines and simple shapes which continue to be an enormous inspiration not just for this franchise but for the rest of the company’s design directions. We’ve discovered that the Thin and Simple tide is lifting all of our other designs higher, and that’s a very good thing.”