Jan 30, 2013: Venice is buzzing with preparations for the end of Carnival. It began officially on the 26th of January 2013 and ends on the 12th of February 2013. The Grand Theater has been build in Piazza San Marco, the “Marie” (like the beauty queen) has been chosen, the “best costumes” have been judged…
Snow & High Water
The Snow was a present for me as I absolutely love this magnificant city under a white blanket of snow. It began early in the day and continued until late afternoon. At first it was not sticking and we were trying to make pictures of the flakes, afraid it would not stay. Enjoy these and we’ll post…
New Faceted Twists
We previewed these faceted Murano glass twist beads in a post on Facebook a few months back and they have finally arrived! Available in both multi-colored with 24kt gold foil accents as well as in single, transparent colors. The approximate size is 21.5mm across and 7mm thick. Google
New Venetian Colors & Shapes
It sounds terribly romantic to travel to Venice and mostly like in your vision (and wishfully, in mine) have a glass of Veneto wine while we gaze at an array of dazzling Venetian Beads. Reality Check! The new beads you see arriving at Venetian Bead Shop don’t have that romantic origin. For us, it begins…
Love Locks – Venice
It’s official name is the Ponte dell’Accademia and in addition to being one of the most photographed bridges, it is also a very useful crossing along the Grand Canal. It connects Dorosoduro Sestiere to San Marco Sestiere and makes a great shortcut into the historic center. The yellow building in the background is the Palazzo…
Making Beads
Handmade beads are different, each one. You wonder why? So let me explain. Each bead starts as a rod, cane, of glass which is roughly 10mm in diameter. Now I know that American “lampworkers” use a smaller cane. In production beads, we simply don’t do this. So here is your cane of glass, add in some…
Chihuly Glass Inspiration
When we are in need of inspiration for new bead designs or new jewelry, there are lots of places we turn. Of course, we use the Pantone colors and pour over the latest fashion magazines. But there are other great sources of inspiration that we fine in museums, gardens and in the works of one of…
Our Favorite Table Favors
Each year we make table decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas and they are small gifts to remember the day. Some of our biggest kids (over 90) love them as well as the smaller ones who can’t wait to eat the treats. We got a head start this year as we used the same base from Thanksgiving…
Working in Murano
While it sounds really exotic and like a story in a book, the truth about working in Murano is that you sometimes get what you get. We’ve talked about the disasters with reds – though they have had about 700 centuries to get the recipes worked out – we are again struggling with reds…
Tools for Beadmaking
The islands of Murano are all about the glass. In the furnaces, their is a caste-like system with the Maestro at the top of the heap. Everyone revolves around his commands. This is the tradition passed down through generations of glass blowers in Murano. This is the view tourist see when they go to Murano. But…