This morning an article by Seth http://www.sethgodin.com appeared in my inbox. I subscribe to his witty, often point-on short saying or articles. Todays’ was a reflection of what happens daily. So here is what he said, I take his “back in the old days” to mean pre COVID ““I hate this restaurant” Back in the old days,…
Today Murano is again in crisis due partially to the COVID19 shutdown and the lack of tourists since Italy is allowing the citizens of only a handful of countries easy entry. The crisis was already in progress due to the competition of inexpensive glass from other sources which you can find when you walk along…
The news arrived unexpectedly a short email notice that Bead and Button, the beloved magazine is closing. No one in the industry had heard whispers of this. I quizzed everyone! But alas it was a “corporate” decision that “things are not as lucrative as they once were”. October will be their last issue and of…
I always knew we in the Murano Glass, Venetian Glass and beads world were a small eco system. But COVID19 and the resultant shutdown of Italy, most specifically Venice and Murano have really brought it home. Venetians say we hate tourist and the annoyance to our daily lives they create. UNESCO says Venice can’t maintain the…
The latest from Murano during their shut down. They are in their 9th week and now a few things are beginning to open. It is a welcome for everyone, that they may, hopefully, begin getting their espresso and cappuccino again soon.Venice has been extremely fortunate to have few cases of COVID19 and still in Murano,…
La Fenice furnace on Murano whose owner GianFranco Albertini taught me the ins and outs of Murano GlassTaking a walk down memory lane, 25 years ago in August we made our first buying trip to Venice. Now why our Italian son-in-law never thought to tell us that Italy is “Closed” in August is still a…
The island of Murano was host to the GAS (Glass Art Society) with world wide participation. Everyone who works with glass paid tribute to the heritage of Murano. This week it was evident and the pure joy and excitement of the students of glass as they wandered around the island was abundantly obvious. While I…
The patent on Gold Fill (process which is the same as Silver Fill) was filed in 1900 in Providence Rhode Island, the birthplace of the costume jewelry industry in the United States. In case you weren’t clear on Silver Fill versus Sterling Silver, our Silver Findings are produced from either Silver Ingot or Silver Pebbles…
Since I believe that our elected officials should hear what concerns us, I wrote both Mike Honda and Dianne Feinstein. (As normal I get a nothing response….but eventually they do respond.) So that you can all see exactly her response I have copied it EXACTLY here. It is not a surprise. Basically Honda and Feinstein both…
What do you think about a seller in HongKong (China in general) shipping a 1 pound package to New York City for $3.66 while a seller in New York City pays slightly under $6.00 to ship the same weight package? It gets worse for the 2 ounce package: A Chinese shipper can ship for .98…