Letter from Murano

Since we started importing some 30 years ago, my suppliers have become like family to us. And by extension their families feel the same way. This is an extremely difficult time for Murano whose lifes and livelihoods have been threatened many times in history. The older generation can still remember World War II and the aftermath of a devastated economy. And World War II was upon them even before they recovered from WWI. 
One of my friends in Murano sent me this very lovely message. A man of very few words, I was so touched by his concern for Murano, all the small businesses, restaurants, bars, artisans and yet, still able to see the beauty in the lagoon. And his concern for us.

It is a time in the world when we should stand together.

Carnevale 2020 Venice

Carnevale Venice is something everything should see at least once. Scenes like this one you find all over the city with people in elegant costumes doing very normal things like having their morning coffee or on the vaporetto. It is a bit sureal with people in costumes from the 1700 and 1800 centuries texting and making photos with their  Iphones. 
This year, there are many events more than years before. Last Sunday there was a children’t parade in Murano. On Friday afternoon we went to a full-blown parade of Disney in Lido. The event in Lido was probably promoted to secure the election of Brugnaro which is upcoming as it was paid for by the City administration and absolutely cost a lot. But the children enjoyed enormously.
 This beautiful couple I found on my way to my favorite coffee spot. They were walking to Piazza San Marco to join today’s events. Every morning I walk the city early before everyone arrives as it is my favorite time of day. I walked to Piazza San Marco and with absolutely no line I went inside the incredible Basilica San Marco. It always amazes me how these incredible people could make a basilica (or any building as a matter of fact) with the detail and in the scale they did beginning in 800’s. I am also always grateful that none of the world wars damaged this beautiful church. I headed up the steep, narrow steps to walk on top of the church and to view the piazza from this prized position. There were still few people in the piazza. 

The tiles on the floors of San Marco are amazing especially if you consider that there were no modern tools. The large scale of the church and the incredible detail are a credit to these ancient architects which have endured for about 1200 years. 
 
One of my favorite costumes this year was this one made entirely from newspapers. The style is traditional Venetian Carnevale just made of paper. Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain this week. I am waiting for Fat Tuesday (Martedi Grasso) to see who wins the costume and to unveil my costume.

….Brenda in Venice

Beads Millimeters to Inches Conversion Chart

When you start making jewelry for fun or as a business, you’ll probably wish (not for the first time) that you were taught the metric system instead of the imperial as a kid. 

Sure, most of us learned it temporarily for science class in high school, but all that has made it’s way far out of our brains. 

Which means you’re probably googling millimeters to inches conversions every time you go to buy beading supplies online. 

And while we can’t make you learn the conversions for good, we can help you out by putting everything you need in one place. Read below to get the conversion chart you’ve been missing – and some millimeter to inches tips and tricks! 

Metric System Reminder

If you’re just looking for the plain conversions, go ahead and skip this section. But if you’re one of those people that needs to know why something is the way it is, here you go. 

The metric system makes a lot more sense than imperial. Why? It’s all based on units of ten. 

The middle form of measurement is a meter or a gram (for our purposes). A Deci-meter is 10x smaller than a meter, a centimeter is 100 times smaller than a meter, and a millimeter is 1000 times smaller than a meter. 

Basic Conversions 

  • 1 Meter = 39.3 inches
  • 1 Yard = .91 meter
  • 1 Foot = .30 (30%) meter
  • 1 Inch = 2.54 centimeter
  • 1 Inch = 25.4 millimeter
  • 1 Millimeter = .04 inch (4% inch)

The Millimeters to Inches and Inches to Millimeter Formula 

If you’re old-school and you like to put things on pen and paper (and don’t want to print this article out), here’s the formula for converting inches to millimeters, and mm to inches. Since 1 inch is equal to 25.4 millimeters, you want to write that down. 

The formula you need to convert the two is:

D(mm) = D(inches) x 25.4

In plain English, that’s the number of millimeters equal to the number of inches, multiplied by 25.4. 

Let’s go through an example. Let’s say you have a bead that’s 10 millimeters, and you want to know how big that is in inches. 

You would set up the problem as: 10 = x * 25.4

Then you’d pull out those old algebra skills and divide the right side by 25.4, then the right side (10/25.4). 

Once you did the math, you’d get the answer 0.394, which tells you that 10 millimeters are about 40% an inch – or about 1 centimeter. 

Millimeters to Centimeters 

Since you probably know what a centimeter is off the top of your head better than a millimeter, let’s go over that conversion. 

Don’t worry if you’re not a math person – there’s a chart you can copy down or print out of all these conversions at the end. We’ve even added in a chart that shows you how many beads you need for certain necklace lengths (which are in inches, thankfully). 

Want to know about ring sizes conversions from standard size into millimeters? We have that too. It’s all below! 

MM to CM Formula

Since the metric system is a lot easier than the imperial, this formula is easier than the last. To find out the number of centimeters in a millimeter, take the number of millimeters and divide by 10. 

That’s it! The official formula is: CM=mm/10

To put it another way, there are 10 mm in one centimeter. Yes – a mm is that small! 

Working Jewelry Conversion Charts 

Okay – if you just scrolled down here to get to the easy part, that’s okay. 

We’ll start with general conversions, move to bead size, then do necklace lengths. 

General MM to Inch Conversion Chart 

  • 1 mm = .03937 in (1/25th)
  • 2 mm = .07874 in (1/16th)
  • 3 mm = .0.11811 in (3/32)
  • 4 mm = 0.15748 in (1/8th)
  • 5 mm = 0.19685 in (3/16th)
  • 6 mm = 0.23622 (approx 1/4)
  • 7 mm = 0.27559 (1/4 +1/16)
  • 8 mm = 0.31496 (5/16th
  • 9 mm = 0.35433 (approx 3/8)
  • 10mm = 0.39370 (3/8 & 1/16)
  • 10 mm = 1 centimeter
  • 11 mm = 0.43307 in (7/16th)
  • 12 mm = 0.47244 in (approx 1/2)
  • 13 mm = 0.51181 in (1/2 & 1/16)
  • 14 mm = 0.55118 in (9/160
  • 15 mm = 0.59055 in (approx 5/8)
  • 16 mm = 0.62992 in (5/8)
  • 17 mm = 0.66929 in (11/16)
  • 18 mm = 0.70866 in (approx 3/4th)
  • 19 mm = 0.74803 in (3/4)
  • 20 mm = 0.78740 in (approx 13/16)
  • 21 mm = 0.82677 in (13/16 +)
  • 22 mm = 0.86614 in (approx 7/8)
  • 23 mm = 0.90551 in (7/8+)
  • 24 mm = 0.94488 in (15/16)
  • 25 mm = 0.98425 in (1 inch)

Beads Per Strand 

While it’s nice to know exactly the size of the bead, here’s a good idea of how many different size beads you need per strand (on average).

There are four common lengths of necklaces, 16 inches, which s a little longer than a choker, a 20-inch strand that reaches mid-decolletage, a 24-inch strand that lands in the middle of the chest, and a 36-inch strand that reaches to about the bottom of the breasts. 

Please note that different body sizes determine where each necklace length sits on different people. It’s common to offer necklace extenders on your website so that everyone can wear the size of their choosing. 

16 Inch Strand

  • 136 – 3mm
  • 67 – 6mm
  • 40 – 10mm

20 Inch Strand

  • 169 – 3mm
  • 85 – 6mm
  • 42 – 10m m

24 Inch Strand

  • 203 – 3mm
  • 102 – 6mm
  • 61 – 10mm

36 Inch Strand 

  • 305 – 3mm
  • 152 – 6mm
  • 92 – 10mm

Ring Size Conversions 

It’s relatively uncommon to use our beads to make rings, but if that’s your art form, we support it. 

MM to Ring Size 

  • 5 = 15.6mm 
  • 6 =16.6 mm
  • 7 = 17.2 mm
  • 8 = 18.1mm
  • 9 = 19.1mm
  • 10 = 19.7 mm

Millimeters to Inches Made Simple 

As a budding jewelry artist, we hope that our millimeters to inches and more guide made things simpler for you. 

Feel free to print this page for your workstation, and browse our site for your bead-related needs! 

We have jewelry making kits, wholesale beads, Murano glass beads, and more! You can find everything you need to make your own jewelry (including completed pieces) to everything you need to start an Etsy shop on our site. 

Wondering how to make great jewelry? Read our blog for more information! It’s filled with more helpful articles like this that will take you from beginner to expert in no time. 

The History of Millefiori

Did you know that glass blowing started in the middle east around 2000 years ago? Are you curious about the history of Millefiori?

In this article, you’ll learn what exactly millefiori is and the history of it. Read on to discover its colorful and long history.

What Does Millefiori Mean?

Millefiori is a word in Italian that means a thousand flowers. Mosaics are more geometric designs and were made before Millefiori.

Egyptian Roots

While the technique was mastered in Italy, it dates back to Egyptian times several centuries ago. The Italians also gave it the name Millefiori. The term was first used in the book called Curiosities of Glass Making which was by Apsley Pellatt. He described mosaic beads in his book. After the book, it appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary.

It’s thought that the Egyptians were the ones who knew how to mix different colors of glass. This technique was then used in Rome, but it’s unknown if they influenced each other.

Colorful Decorations

When the term was first used, it described colorful decorations with glass flowers. 

Presently, artists in Murano are still using this same technique that’s centuries-old. You can find souvenirs, chandeliers, and figurines. It’s one of the most popular and in-demand techniques of Murano glass making.

All Thanks to One Man

Before it was introduced to Murano, Venetian glass makers understood that the items were made using glass rods shaped in different patterns and then cut up. After being cut up they were then fused together. It wasn’t easy to come up with a precise technique.

Then came along a man named Vincenzo Moretti who figured out the process through trial and error. He spent hours on end trying to figure out how to make this gorgeous glass art. He then figured out how to produce Millefiori glass which made his company world-famous. My favorite part of this story is that while they were developing their techniques for their mosaics at night, he  along with his brother worked for another glass company near the Chiesa San Donato. Vincenzo and his brother had an agreement that if they could get a contract to sell their mosaics, they would quit their jobs and start their own company. Vincenzo went off to meet the potential client, got the contract and his brother was looking through the window and got the signal as Vincenzo came back from the boat. They both quit their job on the spot. 

Increased Trade

During the late 19th century, mainly due to increased trading with Africa, Millefiori was thrived. Europeans would trade millefiori beads with Africans to impress them. They were also known as trade beads. Much of the trading occurred in West Africa and was traded for gold, ivory, palm oil, and many other goods. In the late 19th and early 20th century, these beads were mostly made in Murano. And in those days there was no telephone, no internet, no cell phone. They would receive a letter which arrived by boat in Murano requesting beads. They would prepare a quote, send if back by letter which would take 2-3 months before they heard back. Transferring funds was also difficult. The money would be sent by wire (another 2 months) and finally, with the money in hand, they would produce the order. 

The Venetians were known for their trade, and Murano and it’s mosaics benefited from the free flow of trade and the numerous ships sailing their waters. West Africans enjoyed these decorative beads and placed a large value on them. Africans at the time didn’t have much use for hard currency. In Africa, the beads were shown as status in their community and ceremonial dress.

More Recent History

In the 1960s and early 1970s, since air travel had improved, many traveled around the world. For example, the hippies went to West Africa and found out about the Millefiori trade beads. They started using them as jewelry and accessories for clothing. After this, the trend caught on and it became very popular to wear it as a piece of jewelry.

How Is Millefiori Made?

It’s a multi-step process to make this incredible glass art. Pots of melted glass in different colors are prepared the night before. They begin with a blob of glass on the end of a punti. The glass blower works this blob into a cylinder, then forces it into a mold, this becomes the center color of the mosaic with the shape of the mold, perhaps a star. He then takes the shape and gathers (that is the term to say you are adding glass) a second color, marvers this and pops it into a mold, perhaps a larger star. Each color you see in the cane represents a repetition of this process. It will be a round ball when they are ready and a second glass blower attaches a punti to the other side of the ball. They then walk away and like taffy, the design remains consistent. The actual size of the canes as pulled will vary, thicker towards each of the glass blowers and smaller in the center. 

 It first begins with a glass rod that’s prepared in a special way. The semi-liquid glass paste is used on the rod. Each layer is made to have a certain shape (normally flower-like or star) and color. In this foto, Gianfranco Albertini of LaFenice Furnace in Murano is pulling along with a glassblower Claudio. Note every thing is by hand, there are NO machines that do this work.

The multi-layered rod is then must be cooled and cut into small cylindrical pieces. These small cylindrical pieces are called murrine. The chopped murrine is sold to artists to use in their work which may be pendants, picture frames, lampworkers use the murrine for the eyes in their tiny animals, rings, and larger murrine may be made into lighting fixtures. 

For pendants, the murrine is placed in frames of copper and placed fusing oven which melts the canes and slowly cools them down. The glass used for murrine is called soft glass and has a low melting point, and is easily shaped making it ideal for artists. Our bead makers use the slices to make beads as they work the slices into the beads over the flame.

What you achieve from this are gorgeously deep colors and beautiful patterns. Today, you can enjoy this art in everything from lamps and bowls to ashtrays, rings, bracelets, earrings, cufflinks, and pendants. The prices tend to be reasonable too and offer a range. 

Thanks to the internet, you don’t need to travel all the way to Venice or Murano to buy your own glass art. There are of course fake products out there in the world, so always make sure that the products are made right in Murano. There is one 

The Long History of Millefiori Beads

Millefiori beads extend back to ancient Egypt and Rome. They experienced a comeback through the years, and you can appreciate a similar design and beauty the ancient Romans appreciated. Would you like to have a design of beauty and history for yourself? Come check out our authentic Italian Millefiori beads today!

Carnevale Ends with the Flight of the Leone

For those of you who follow VenetianBeadShop, you know that we are in Venice “working” and enjoying Carnevale. The weather has been beautiful, warmer than usual. Today is the closing and it ends with the flight of the Leone. When I first went to Carnevale, I thought someone dressed as a lion would slideup the wire to the top of the tower in San Marco…But it is the flag of the Republic of La Serenissima that flies closing Carnevale.

There have been some beautiful creative costumes and many of the classic well-known style. This costume with the moon is so clever and right on with the theme of  this year, but it was a bit difficult to manoeuvre through the crowds. My personal favorites are those people make themselves. But many people wear masks they purchased on the walk to San Marco Square.

On Saturday before the close of Carnevale, an estimated 60,000 people arrived in Venice, most of them for just a few hours. My solution to the crowds is to take a breather in the Correr Museum, gives you a great view of the crowds, surrounded by the history of Venice and while everyone else is trying to find bathrooms and food, I am enjoying wandering around an world class museum with lots of very clean bathrooms and a charming cafe with Prosecco, Wine, Tea, Sandwiches and best of all: chairs to rest and it is inside in case the weather is bad. (If you are handicapped, inquire for the elevator.)

And while I am in the Correr Museum, I get a chance to learn a little more about the history of Venice browsing through the rooms filled with the collection of Teodoro Correr which he bequeathed to the city of Venice. There is also a collection of jewelry from a few centuries ago. And we thought we invented the tassel! It is clear that gold has always been in style.

Some of my favorite costumes were the “Steam Punk” and a group about 50 people arrived from outside Venice on the train all in costume. We had a short phase of Steam Punk jewelry in the US, but apparently it’s a genre still very popular around the world. And in Venice there are tons of masks in case you want to have this costume for next year.

 

And so Carnevale ended with the traditional flight of the “Leone”, the Flag of the Republic of Venice and the anthem, a somber finish to the fun and frolic of Carnevale di Venezia. (The Republic existed for over a millennium between the 7th century and the 18th century from 697 AD until 1797 AD when Doge Manin surrendered to Napoleon.) The fog which had obscured the tower cleared just in time for the Leone.

And my personal end to Carnevale is the last frittelle at my favorite morning coffee shop on the day after Carnevale ends as they will not be made again until Carnevale 2020.

Carnevale Ends with a Fritelle

Watch our short collection of the nearly 2,000 pictures I made of costumes and scenes from Carnevale 2019

Until next year…..

Cane Glass – Murano Style!

Cane Glass – Murano Glass

Cane Glass is really a version of the old Rosetta Canna – just a whole lot less complicated. The Rosetta Canes required many dips into the furnace pots for the added colors which later got carved away. The furnaces in Murano have been blowing and pulling glass rods for centuries.  The term rosetta first appeared in the inventory of the Barovier Glass works in Murano, in 1496. Today they continue, it’s something they do for example:

1) when they need to make the “s” curves for chandeliers
2)when they want to make chevrons – the Rosetta
3)when they want to make the glass rods for silver serving pieces.
4) when they want to make just about anything which has a hole in it….it all starts with the bubble in the first gather.

Just pointing out that cane glass was NOT invented in the US by ANYONE! And that I get slightly miffed when Americans think they invented beadmaking, or glass blowing. (Just saying)

This is a working furnace in Murano and the one where we produced the cane glass, our blown filigrana beads, wine glasses, vases, bowls, and bottles and a few thousand drawer pulls, wine stoppers, Christmas Balls, Glass Slippers and almost anything you can dream. This furnace has been making glass since the 1960s. It is a production furnace, supplying handmade Murano Glass all over the world. It’s hot, it is heavy, it’s dangerous and it is not for tourist.

A Typical Murano Glass Furnace

And who better to make this glass, or so at least that is what I thought when I began a project with my dear friends at the furnace. Clearly having been a glass blower for some 40+ years, they could make the glass canes. Partly, the owner humored me, and partly he thought it was a good idea as well. Neither of us knew that the stubborn nature of Muranese and tradition would get in our way.

It is the same process as making the zanfirico or the latticino which is used in all furnaces as decorations, just put a bubble in the first gather. Many of these furnaces also pull their own mosaic – millefiori or murrine.  It just makes sense to “do it in-house”, you have the glass, the workers and then you know it is done properly and will be absolutely compatible with your other glass. And the famous Effetre Moretti who makes glass canes used around the world, well they too pull it the same way.

Claudio puts the bubble in the glass.

Here you see Claudio – who, over the years, worked as a glass blower and sometimes a waiter. Some of you who have been to Venice to the demonstrations of glass blowing near San Marco Square may have seen him there as he moonlighted on the weekends earning a little neri (cash under the table). He spoke about 5 languages and arrived on the vaporetto each morning from Pt Sabbione – not a native Muranese. He is preparing the blow pipe to bring out the mass of glass that becomes the bubble.

The bubble is crucial, because that bubble becomes the hole inside our cane glass. Now as you see, it is darn right difficult for us to control the exact size of the bubble and therefore we have great difficulty controlling the size of the hole! Once the bubble in inside, the next work, like making mosaics is to add on the layers of color or decoration. With each layer you add, your gather (the ball at the end of the punti) becomes larger and heavier. With the cane glass, we next add the color which is a thin layer when viewed from a cross section.

The ball become quite large and it’s a lot like making taffy (just at a much higher temperature). The size of the ball will determine how much glass rod you yield, a delicate balance between making production and being able to control the cooling process so you don’t break the glass.  When the ball is at the size you want, another glass blower arrives with a hot punti which he uses to attach to the other side of the ball, with the blow pipe still attached on the ball as well. Then it’s a ballet of blower and the glass to pull this ball out before it begins cooling. Here Franco is seen in the middle of the pull blowing cool air to cool the cane.

Pulling the canes for Cane Glass

I might point out here that this is also the reason our can glass varies in diameter, exact shape as well as hole size. A bed of insulation is prepared to drop the cane for further cooling.

Next comes the conflict of tradition and need. The traditional way for canes to be cut is chopping, that’s right, like a guillotine. If you use this glass in the furnace, you do not need straight cuts, you heat it up and it become the decoration on an art piece.

But our jewelry makers want nice straight ends so their earrings, necklaces, etc hang just right. It was a loosing battle against centuries of “that’s how we do it”. We did come to terms on fire polishing the ends, though they still are not perfectly straight, probably a major concession in Muranese history. And we did find a glass manufacturer in the US who makes precision glass. However, once they discovered we used it in jewelry, they more than doubled the prices per cut.

Glass Rods In the Furnace in Murano

Here’s our inventory of glass waiting to be cut – no make that chopped!

So if you want to use our cane glass be prepared for a few irregularities on these absolutely – doesn’t get more authentic – Murano Cane Glass.  Enjoy them!

Venetian Beads and Pantone Winter Colors

Top10 colors Pantone Winter 2018/2019

I can skip the yellows….my least favorite and it is a hard color for us to make in Venetian Beads. The “Quetzal Green” had me a bit perplexed, but I looked it up and it could either mean

  1. a bird of the trogon family, with iridescent green plumage and typically red underparts, found in the forests of tropical America.
  2. the basic monetary unit of Guatemala, equal to 100 centavos.

So I am going with the bird, for me it is a “teal” and our G6 or G26 will give you a similar color.

And below is a chart that shows you how we use metals to give us the colors. Gold Foil always makes the color richer, Silver Foil makes the color brighter and White Gold Foil gives us a soft/satin look. The numbers you see below the color names are the numbers for the canes of glass we buy to make the beads.

Color Variation with Metals

We have our own series of numbers which we use. Had I been clever enough when we started, I would have used the Moretti numbers as it would make working with our bead makers easier. Our color codes table you can find online at Color Chart (Click Here)  So for each color of Moretti Glass, we use the prefix “G” “S” or “WG” to achieve the results. Our Spring and Summer Line drops the Prefix for gold, silver or white gold because we only mix Moretti Colors for these.

Making Beads is Hot Work

Having given you this detail guide, it is not quite so easy. Just so you know, each batch of glass as it arrives to our bead makers from Effetere (aka Moretti Glass) is slightly different. Reds are the most difficult of all. The amount of moisture in the air, the salt content of the air in the lagoon, the purity of the minerals used, and the heat at which they melt the minerals all contribute for a slight difference. And then there is the bead maker whose eye watches the bright red color, because that is the color of molten glass and knows just when it is ready. Again the temperature, how long they re-fire it and a myriad of other things affect the final bead. It is what makes these Murano Glass Beads!

Useful Apps for Venice, Italy

If you are traveling to the city of Venice in Italy, there are some useful apps that you may want to download before you go. While these apps have nothing to do with sites to see or places to eat, they are essential to getting around Venice and being prepared as you go about.
The first handy app that you will want to download to your iPhone is: hi!tide Venice (see picture below). This app gives you up to date information on acqua alta including the times the water is expected to peak, the maximum level, and area specific flooding information. Not all areas flood equally as some areas are lower than others. The area around San Marco is one of the lowest areas and the first to flood.  If you are a tourist and do not have boots, there are plastic waders which cost under 15Euro which you can buy to salvage your Venetian experience. And just think of the stories you’ll have to tell when you get home.

The next must have app is: iVenice (see pic below), which can help you find the right vaporetto to take and the arrival and departure times by location. There are some recent changes in the route numbering system that are not yet reflected in this app, so check for app updates before you go.  Remember as a tourist not to block the entrance to the vaporetto. Many times, more than one boat line stops at a single boat stop. Locals know which one it is, but tourist often just stand in front blocking the entrance. Ask someone in the crowd if you are unsure, there will always be someone who understands enough of your language to help.

One of my favorite apps tells you which vaporetto (boats) CheBateo, Bateo is boat in the Venetian dialect. There are route schedules at each boat stop, but trying to understand them may be a challenge. This app is always up to date and makes it simple.Note you can choose your language. You will need to be on a wifi to use it. 

Download from Apps stores Apple or Google
Use these apps to help make your Venice trip a little easier and to help you prepare ahead of time so that you can enjoy your stay.

Celebrating 25 Years @VenetianBeadShop

La Fenice Glass Furnace

Taking 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 mystery. We arrived with our little indexed list of glass blowers, indexed by location and type of products all worked out with the Italian Trade Commission in Atlanta in the preceding months. No Waze or Google maps just our printed maps of the city which really didn’t have a lot of detail, so we drew them as we explored and our limited Italian language.

Making Beads

Just one night in the oven of a hotel where we stayed sent us searching at the Information Office for hotels with air conditioning a rare find in the early 90s in Venice. We discovered the Lido, a couple of hotels which were only open in the summer, catering  to the French and German tourists, which of course led us to discover the necessity of the vaporetto and restaurants on Lido where we still enjoy eating.

Alessandro Barbaro Maestro – Effortless Beauty and Perfection

So in the early morning we would head to Murano with our lists, only to discover most of them were closed. But there were a few wonderful suppliers who were gracious, though they were probably wondering about the crazy Americans who came in August. We still work with some of those suppliers. And I am sure many of our early suppliers thought we would be there once and never come back. Fooled them!

Effetre Glass Canes for Beads

They say love is blind, and luckily so is the love of Venice and Murano where we fell as they say head over heels in love with both the people and the glass. It has been a journey of discovery, joy and pain and fierce friendships.

Even Flat Stanley Enjoys Venice

We did not begin buying beads, that came later. We began with glass from the furnaces, vases, bowls and bottles, figurines, clowns (by the hundreds). While we bought these, we actually had little idea of how to sell the products. We had spent a lot of time learning about importing, customs duties and even attended a college class on importing. We researched the market and knew there were few people in our area who carried any Murano Glass.

Growing and Organizing

But selling it? We made the rounds of school events, church events, and yes, even flea markets. But we read in the paper, you know those things we all used to read in the morning with our coffee, that there was quite a well known Gem and Jewelry show in a town nearby, 3 days only, and 3 times each year. So on Friday afternoon, we went to the show to get a look and explore future show possibilities. The show promoter said, well I like what you have and it so happens that we have a booth where the vendor did not show, so if you can be here ready at 10 tomorrow am, you can have the booth.

My Favorite Red

That began a very long night of pricing our products, and amazingly, we sold almost everything we had. At the end of the show, the promoter came and convinced us to sign up for his next show, so now we had 3 months to get more goods….well that called for another trip to Venice, Italian classes and our house became a warehouse packed with beautiful Murano Glass.

To be continued…..

Celebrating 25 Years @VenetianBeadShop

La Fenice furnace on Murano whose owner GianFranco Albertini taught me the ins and outs of Murano Glass
Taking 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 mystery. We arrived with our little printed indexed list of glass blowers, indexed by location and type of products all worked out with the Italian Trade Commission in Atlanta in the preceding months. No Waze or Google maps just our printed maps of the city which really didn’t have a lot of detail, so we drew our own maps, penciled in places we liked, glass we liked as we explored with our limited Italian language.

Just one night in the oven of a hotel where we stayed in the hot humid August night sent us searching at the Information Office for hotels with air conditioning a rare find in the early 90s in Venice. We discovered the Lido and a couple of hotels which were only open in the summer, catering  to the French and German tourists, which of course led us to discover the necessity of the vaporetto and restaurants on Lido where we still enjoy eating 25 years later.

One of the unknown amazing Maestro in Murano and one of favorite, Alessandro Barbaro. His lion and leopards are my favorite. They look like they might just move.  So in the early morning we would head to Murano with our lists, only to discover most of them were closed. But there were a few wonderful suppliers who were gracious, though they were probably wondering about the crazy Americans who came in August. We still work with many of those suppliers. And I am sure many of our early suppliers thought we would be there once and never come back. Fooled them!

Murano Glass Canes from the Effetre furnace who supplies all our glass canes
They say love is blind, and luckily so is the love of Venice and Murano where we fell as they say head over heels in love with both the people and the glass. It has been a journey of discovery, joy and pain and fierce friendships.

 Even Flat Stanley goes to Venice…..He also got a gondola ride. Needless to say Marcella had the best Flat Stanley stories.
We did not begin buying beads, that came later. We began with glass from the furnaces, vases, bowls and bottles, figurines, clowns (by the hundreds). While we bought these, we actually had little idea of how to sell the products. We had spent a lot of time learning about importing, customs duties and even attended a college class on importing. We researched the market and knew there were few people in our area who carried any Murano Glass. But little prepares you for the ins and outs of importing, learning Harmonized Tariff Customs numbers (who knew they could carry a tune?). Then you learn about Teamster Strikes at the ports as we shipped a lot via container because it was less expensive. Our entire Christmas merchandise sat waiting to go through the Panama Canal because ships were backed up. We learned the “trade” routes of shipping companies. 

Be careful what you fall in love with…..you can end up with a warehouse that looks like this.
But selling it? I think I discovered that I am way better at buying beautiful glass than selling it (and often I do not want to part with it). In those initial days, we made the rounds of school events, church events, and yes, even flea markets. But we read in the paper, you know those things we all used to read in the morning with our coffee, that there was quite a well-known Gem and Jewelry show in a town nearby, 3 days only, and 3 times each year. So on Friday afternoon, we went to the show to get a look and explore future show possibilities. After a short talk with the show promoter, he said, “well I like what you have and it so happens that we have a booth where the vendor cancelled, so if you can be here ready at 10 tomorrow am, you can have the booth.”

Franco made this beautiful red with his own secret recipe. 
That began a very long night of pricing our products, and amazingly, we sold almost everything we had. At the end of the show, the promoter came and convinced us to sign up for his next show, so now we had 3 months to get more goods….well that called for another trip to Venice, Italian classes and our house became a warehouse packed with beautiful Murano Glass.

To be continued…..

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