Venice Glass Week of 2021 was exciting but exhausting. There were so many exhibits, workshops that it would take a month to enjoy them all. There were exhibits not only in Venice, Murano and Giudecca but also in Mestre, the town before the bridge. In all, between open studios, gallery exhibits and events there were…
The 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO has officially included the “Arte delle Perle di Vetro” This comes after several years of determined women of Venice, Cristina Bedin, Marisa Convento, and Claudia Cottica proposed to UNESCO so that this cultural heritage would not be lost.…
Market Places, The Good, The Bad and the downright UglyWe get this question often “Where Can I sell my Jewelry?”There is no easy answer and during the days of COVID19, many of the absolutely best places like Festivals, Home Jewelry events or local markets have been shut down.. Face-to-face The absolutely best place to sell…
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,…
Only a bead stringer would understand how difficult it is to complete a bead work without leftovers. How many times have you added beads to your bead soup stash? You don’t want to dispose of them, but you aren’t sure what to do with them. Did you know that with little effort you can turn…
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…
Customers sometimes think there is a giant warehouse in Venice/Murano stocked with the thousands of beads we sell. Well that would be fun, but it is not how it happens. Each bead we sell is ordered specifying color, foils, designs, shapes, sizes and then handmade one by one. Since 1993, we have learned a lot about…
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…
How to Wash Your Murano Glass Beads – Why Soap it best. We have been talking with our customers about concerns that our beads come from Italy, specifically Venice, Italy.But actually the concern relates to any beads handled by anyone in these days of the coronavirus. And this is a good safety for most everything…
The number of strands of beading wire is a function of how pliable it is but even that is dependent on the gauge of the wire. But just for simplicity sake, think that if you put 49 strands in the same space as the one with 7, then the 49 strands are much thinner, and…