We all collect and pay sales taxes in the state where we have our business. But how will you manage and pay taxes in 50 states with some 9,600 different tax districts? This very important bill is being hidden in with other important legislation in the hopes to get it passed without notice by the very…
Vajont 50 Years
This year marked the 50th year anniversary of the tragedy of Vajont. They were situated in a remote and beautiful area about 100km northeast of Venice, just beyond Vittorio Veneto along the Piave River valley and the roadway which eventually leads through the Dolomiti to Austria. Looking up at the dam from the valley below…
Favorite Quotes on Venice
The Grand Tour: In the 17th and 18th Centuries the young wealthy of England and later joined by those of the US, were sent for 2 to 4 years traveling around Europe to broaden their horizons and give them a bit of culture. It became known as the Grand Tour. Probably the beginning of the…
Making Round Murano Glass Beads
The round is our essential bead used in almost all designs. It is the easiest bead to make. You need only a mandrel, a torch and some glass. It all begins with the selection of the glass canes. We use Effetre, known generally in the industry as Moretti. It is a soft glass with a COE…
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…
Traffic Jam Cruise Ships Venice
Since its birth, Venice and La Serenissima have survived the invasion of the Ottomans, the French, the Spanish, the Popes, the Austrians (and I have probably left out a few), but the invasion of the giant ships may be the last straw. The weekend of 21 September saw an invasion of the giants in numbers never…