No Two AlikeWhen we say “No two ever exactly alike”, here’s why. This is a typical selection of assorted slices of Millefiori. While it is possible to buy only one type of cane, most of our Millefiori beads have a random selection of these. Our beadmakers buy presliced canes (for the most part) from Effetre,…
Category: Venetian Beads
How the Nuvola Murano Glass Bead is Made
This popular Venetian Bead is one of the first beads a bead maker is taught after they learn to make the aventurine beads. The process is similar but with white frit instead of aventurine. The heart made here begins with an aima (body) of clear Murano Glass and is then rolled into a bowl of white…
How the Nuvola Murano Glass Bead is Made
This popular Venetian Bead is one of the first beads a bead maker is taught after they learn to make the aventurine beads. The process is similar but with white frit instead of aventurine. The heart made here begins with an aima (body) of clear Murano Glass and is then rolled into a bowl of white…
Murano Glass Bead Colors Overload
The beginnings of almost every bead begins with a sfere (round). From there the decorations are added. The colors of Venice are so vibrant that it is easy here to go overboard. Every window is filled with the bright colors of the 24kt gold foil and necklaces heavy laden with Murano Glass Beads. the pendants are…
Murano Glass Beads: New Designs
We are working on new color designs for the winter and spring. Somewhere in the design process we were inspired to design around the new Swarovski Blends, and as we began playing with the colors and shapes, an entire line began to form in our minds.And we just began to play with colors. What you…
Chevron Murano Glass Beads
The birth of the Rosetta cane which is used to produce Chevrons owes its creation to a 14th century woman. The daughter of an even then famed Murano Glass Blower and furnace owner, Angelo Barovier. This is a family line which continues today in Murano. Maria Barovier was given an order of the Doge on 2…
Murano Glass Dichroic Beads
We took dichroic glass back to Venice after we discovered American bead makers using it and saw the beauty in this new decoration. Fortunately, Jerry Sandberg had begun working on dichroic for artist since the 1970s. He was working at a vacuum-coating laboratory in southern California when he saw an artist digging through the trash for…
Dichroic – Where Old Meets New
We took dichroic glass back to Venice after we encountered Jerry Sandberg and saw the beauty in this new decoration. Fortunately, Jerry Sandberg had begun working on dichroic for artist in the early 1970s. He was working at a vacuum-coating laboratory in southern California in the solar cell industry when he saw an artist digging…
Color Secrets of Venetian Beads
In the making of Venetian (Murano Glass) Beads, we are limited by the colors which Effetre makes but long ago the Venetians discovered they could add other metals to change the colors. You can see from this chart the effects of gold, white gold and silver. Gold Foil: The gold warms the color with the…
To Anneal or Not to Anneal
Recently we got a question from a customer who asked if all our Venetian Beads are annealed. She had heard that annealing makes the beads stronger. What is annealing? The word comes from the metallurgy and materials science where it has long been recognized it increases the metals ductility and makes it more workable to heat…