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Tag: Venice
Wading to Graduation!
Read our Blog on Graduation Day in Venice, not to be marred by high water, rain or high winds. Click Here for our BlogVenice
Antique Your Stampings – How to Oxidize Metals
Did you ever wonder how jewelry gets that faint, slightly antiqued look? Did you know you can do it yourself.
Try this on small piece before you work on your best jewelry.
What is Oxidation?It is a chemical reaction where metals is deliberately tarnished or slightly discolored, leaving a patina (finish). It gives the metal that vintage look. Most often oxidation is used to bring out the details of a metal tag, pendant, so that you may see better the details of letters of designs.How do you oxidize?
One of the easiest ways is to use eggs and they are positively environmentally friendly. (Yes eggs!) The sulfur in the egg yolk can give you the vintage effect. Try this first on your small piece. Generally for a couple of pendants, 2 eggs should be sufficient. (You can stop the process at any point you like the patina you have achieved.)
Boil 2 eggs
Place the pendants in a ziplock bag.
Add the eggs and mash them up. (If you do not want the pendants and squashed eggs to mix together, put the pendants in a small mesh bag.)
Now wait. (Do not eat the eggs.)
Sorry VenetianBeadShop does not sell or ship eggs. :>)
Depending on the level of patina you want, will determine the length of time. Even leaving them overnight. (If you want to rush the process, you can microwave for about 10-15 seconds to get the eggs hot which releases the sulfur.) Wash your jewelry with soap and water when you are done.
If the egg method is too messy for you, maybe Liver of Sulfur is for you.
Liver of Sulfur – What is it?
It is a mixture of potassium sulfide, potassium polysulfide, potassium thiosulfate and potassium bisulfide. Each manufacturer has their own recipe. (Why it is called Liver, I have yet to determine.)NOTE of CAUTIONL Hazardous: You will need to use more caution.
Liver of Sulfur comes in a liquid and paste, a rock or crystal form. The crystal form has a short shelf life, whereas the liquid or paste have a longer one. The crystal (lump) form is also flammable.
- Keep away from children or animals
- Wear rubber gloves
- Avoid spills, avoid getting in your eyes, wearing goggles is advised.
- Use only in a well ventilated room
- Be sure the item you want to oxidize is clean. Dropping the pieces into hot water not only help clean them, but the heated pieces will take the color faster.
- Follow the directions on the liver sulphur. It will work best if the water you use is hot.
- Use a plastic or wooden stick to mix the liver of sulphur with the water.
- Insert your metal into the mixture.
- Wait a few minutes – watch as it changes colors and when you are happy with the patina, remove it, be sure you have the gloves on. (Remove with a plastic spoon or tongs.)
- Rinse the item thoroughly and let it dry.
- Finally, polish the pieces. There are multiple ways to polish, steel wool, brass brush. Be sure to use the brass brush wet, so you don’t leave marks.
- Cautions: Do not use reuse the container for any edible products. Mark it Liver of Sulfur – so no one accidentally uses it. For the full list of Warnings required by law of our Liver of Sulfur gel can be read here. Fine PrintFor proper environmentally correct disposal of liver of sulfur, read the label on your liver of sulfur, some are easily neutralized with baking soda, but as each manufacturer has slightly ingredients, it is best to read the label. You can use this on all copper or silver, fine and sterling and it also works on Precious Metal Clay (PMC). Copper will change color more quickly than silver.This is not an exact science and the outcome will vary each time – depending on the strength of the liver of sulfur, heat of the water, minerals in the water and your attitude (not altitude). Just give it a try and have fun.
USPS Wipes Out the UK
If you are trying to checkout and you do not see USPS First Class International Mail as an Option, (or maybe do not see any options for shipping to the UK). We are working on this problem. When I say we, I mean the entire US Postal Web service.
It seems they made an update to their database on 7 September and sort of wiped out the UK or at least any connection to our shopping cart. Thus began the finger pointing.
Now as far as I can tell, the US is still on amicable terms with all you lovely people. And I am sure the USPS meant no harm. But also I am sure you can imagine how many meetings it will take to resolve this and heavens help us if it has to go to Congress!
So, how do we work around this until this is resolved (though daily they do report to me, yes I am rather impressed).
- Email us when you are through shopping: info@venetianbeadshop.com (or put in a CRM – through your account)
- Tell us in your email how you want it shipped.
- We will take it from there!
- We will calculate the postage, pick and pack your order and send you a paypal invoice.
- You will get your beads!
And we’ll post when this mess is resolved.
Cane Glass Italian Style
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Carnival 2014 WrapUp
Here’s the best and worst of Carnival 2014, (Carnevale Venezia). We’ve put all the pictures together on youtube in a 12minute segment. It’s clear from these pictures that some days were better than others.
Watch on YouTube
Maltempo & Aqua Alta
The weather did not cooperate nor did the high water. You can see from the pictures that many tourist were in those so very attractive plastic boots! Best sellers for these days were? Boots and Umbrellas.
The crowd fell slightly due to the weather, and the hotels complained of cancellations, but there still were huge crowds, especially on days with a little sun.
The water soaked costumes are visible at times, as are the oh so grey skies. The final day, Martedi Grasso (Fat Tuesday) saw rain and high water at 1p.m. in San Marco. But by the closing ceremonies the water had receded and the carnival concluded as planned.
In keeping with this years theme of fables of Europe and Italy, I think these guys get the prize. This is the big dilemma each year, create a costume to the theme or go with the classics. I think I favor the traditional, beautiful gowns from centuries ago.
IF you plan on entering the “Best Mask” contest, you’d better adhere to the theme. It requires lots of imagination and recent winners have mostly been art students.
The history of the “flying” events for Carnival date back to the mid 16th century when a Turkish acrobat walked a rope from a boat tied up just outside San Marco to the top of the San Marco Bell Tower and on to the balcony on the Doge’s Palace in honor of the Doge.
Carolina Kostner: Flight of the Eagle
One of the highlights of this year’s event was Italy’s own Carolina Kostner, Bronze Metal Winner at the Sochi Olympics appearing in the Flight of the Eagle. She braved the wind and rain to glide across from the Bell Tower to the Stage. Thousands of people turned out to cheer for her, not only for surviving the flight but for her huge success in skating.
Fallen Angels – Oops!
In later days one of the acrobats was costumed in angel wings and flew along a rope, much like today, from the bell tower to the palace square. The Doge was so impressed that he renamed the event Flight of the Angel. However in 1759 an acrobat angel accidentally fell during the flight (guess the cables weren’t so good in those days). That was the end of the flying acrobats and instead of these talented fellows, wooden doves were used, not nearly so entertaining.
Angels Reinstated
2001 saw the Angels reinstated, times change and equipment is better to prevent (we hope) any “fallen Angels”. For 2014, Julia Nasi, the winner of last year’s Marie Contest flew embracing the Doge to officially kick off the beginning of the festival.
Favorite Photo:
Has to be this couple standing at the water’s edge.
Flight of the Leone
The final day, the Flight of the Leone signals the end of the festivities. Don’t get excited, it’s not a real lion, rather the flag of the Republic of Venice, La Serenissima. And it is accompanied by the Venetians who are in the square singing very loudly in Veneziano.
How do you know Carnival is Over?
The Leone Flies and there are no more Fritelle – See You Next Year!
Blown Beads – Sculptured
When it comes to our sculpted Blown Beads, you have to think in 3d. The outside color is only part of the story. Selecting canes, you need to be able to visualize the effect when the outside layer is ground away.
We work with our Master Glass Blower to come up with the designs. Sometimes this involves not only sketches, but trips to the Effetre factory to search for just the canes we need. We are fortunate to have a blower who is willing to collaborate with us through out the design and production phases.
When he was unhappy with the results of the grinding, (molare, in Italian), he bought his own grinder and taught his wife how to help. He is precise in all he does, a really important assets for our jewelry making.
Sometimes when we are in Murano and without good internet access, we visit his backyard and use his wifi, This is truly collaboration at all levels! And did I mention that the backyard comes with refreshments???
The Inside is as Important as the Outside – Think 3D
When it comes to these beads, we have to consider what is inside the canes. What colors do we want exposed. when the beads cool and are ground.
The result are our beautiful beads, they are each little works of art and our blower a master in his craft. Use these to make beautiful Murano Glass Bead Jewelry, and enjoy a bit of the history of Murano.
Venice, Come Una Volta
Coma Una Volta! Venice In 1300!
If you are lucky enough to be in Venice the last couple of weeks, there are 5 areas of the city which are temporarily returned to the 1300s. It is for a TV film “Marco Polo” produced by the Weinstein Company. Stuntman Ju Kun was scheduled to work the show alongside fight choreographer Brett Chan, but he was on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
All the actors are dressed in period costume to tell the story of the most famous Venetian traveler, merchant and explorer: Marco Polo and the story of his early days at the court of Kubla Khan. Remember that Marco Polo left Venice and did not return for 24 years. Talk about packing for a trip!
He travels are documented in “Livres des merveilles du monde”, when he returned to Venice in 1269, he found Venice at war with Genoa and was imprisoned. He dictated his stories to a fellow inmate in the prison. He was released from the prison in 1299 and became a wealthy merchant. He died in 1324 and is buried in the church of San Lorenzo.
If this sounds like the stuff of fairy tales, you are right.
It includes hundreds of extras dressed in period costumes as well. The locations are near Campo Widmann, Campiello Quierini, Punta della Dogana and Fondamenta de la Misericordia and finally near Campo San Francesco de la Vigna. They are also filming inside the Palazzo Rota Ivancich.
The Palazzo Rota Ivancich was constructed in the 16th Century, designed by Jacopo Sansovini (1486-1570). So clearly it was not around for Marco Polo.
It won’t be strictly period, as there are not many images of what Venice looked like, surely it was austere as there were no lights, no running water, no vaporetto. And they were always in fear of invaders.
Even today Venice at night is dark and often we find tourist wandering (thankfully I do not think they have ever lost a tourist). But imagine it with the lighting of the 1300s.
In order to make the film, they had to do such things as: hide fire hydrants, remove street signs, for there was no Vaporetto to catch and no trains, so no need for signs to the Ferrovia. Probably the most difficult challenge was the lighting. It is fortunate that the building code in Venice does not allow for the modification to the exteriors and the buildings are preserved as they were in the late 1800s, however, to go back to the 1300s is well before the extraordinary riches which dominated the area in the 1600-1700s, the time when so many of the beautiful palazzo were constructed or remodeled by the wealthy families.
Also they will had to reroute the pedestrian traffic, keep the vaporetti from steaming right through the scene and repositioning some boats normally docked in these areas.
The result, a Venice right out of history and our imaginations.
Note: We will let you know if the series will be shown. It is being produced for NetFlix, and should have filmed last year, but encountered difficulties. It was programmed for a 10 series and hopefully will air in late 2014. I can’t wait to see the scenery!Google
That Cruise Ship Did What???
Cruise Season 2014 Opens in Venice with the arrival of the MSC Preziosa:
When cruise season ended in Venice last fall, the city was debating how many ships, what weight ships, and what routes they could take. Protesters dived into the waters to attempt to halt the boats and police were scooping them up and off to jail.
The pictures of the Monster Cruise Ship, the Carnival Sunshine, in a near miss with a vaporetto brought more tension. There are 2 sides to this story, and the photographer was accused of faking the picture. This ship belonged to the same company as the Costa Concordia, whose tragic collision along the cost of the island of Giglio in Jan 2012 is still in the mind of the Venetians.
There is no science which understand the precise effect these ships have on a daily basis, not to mention should one of them hit the foundations along San Marco. Since these foundations began in the 900s, no one knows their exact strength or the point at which they are overstressed.
Over the winter, debates were held in Venice and in Rome to attempt to sort out the issues. The “Merchants of Venice” are on one side wanting even more cruise ships, more tourist who arrive by train, plane and bus. The municipality and the owners of the Maritime facility see only the money lining their coffers and a fair amount in their own pockets.
What do you think Rome’s opinion would be if we were discussing damage to the Colosseum by a tourist mega bus weighing a hundred thousand tonnes and measuring one thousand feet?
Even my Venetian friends and I are divided on this subject. As I think there is no reason for any risk whatsoever to the city just so 3,000 people get the “view of a lifetime”. You can get the same view from the top of many hotels in Venice without arriving on a behemoth. Or by climbing the tower in San Marco, or on the double decker vaporetto from San Marco to Lido and at the same time rub elbows with a few locals.
So the highly anticipated beginning of cruise season got underway this week with the arrival of the MSC Preziosa. The ship weighs 139,400 Tonnes, is 1,093 Feet Long with a crew of 1,388 and a passenger capacity of ,3,502. This monster ship travels at 24 Knots.
So what do you think happened on the “opening” day when the first ship arrived in Venice?
Despite having two (2) tugboats and one (1) pilot onboard, it plowed all 139,400 Tonnes right into the dock.
Embarrassing?
Especially after the assurances by the “committee” and local politicians that such an accident could never happen if they docked at San Marco.
Now I wonder who believes them? Google
Making Millefiori Beads
No Two Alike
When 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, the factory in Murano which produces the COE104 Glass Canes used to produce our beads.
In the picture below you see the classic Millefiori Pendant which is made by placing a single layer of these slices in a form where they are fused. After fusing, they are polished and inset into Silver or Vermeil Bails. This is a very popular item found all over Venice, and on our website as well.
To make the bags of slices, they take canes in stock and chop them into the little slices. So you may have 100+ pounds of slices. They are chopped and dumped into wheelbarrows and measured our in bags by the kilo. So when our bead makers go they just buy a in small quantities the millefiori slices. Lampworkers use the slices of Millefiori for the eyes in their animals.
PEEK AT THE FACTORY WAREHOUSE:
On the right is a scene from inside the Effetre Factory Warehouse. This warehouse is closed to the public, to the trade and to almost everyone. Sometimes we get to sneak in with a bead maker.
SORTED FOR FUSING:
The vases on the left came from a single cane and we used these in fusing or making many of the “Lace” beads where each one has the same slices.
To make some of our cross pendants, we have to wait for the millefiori to be available in all the sizes we need as we use graduated sizes of the same “Margherita” cane.
Depending on when you buy the bags, it has slices from the canes they have in stock. There is no set recipe of 2 of this, or 4 of that. It is just what canes are in stock and depends on the whim of the worker slicing the beads. It also depends on the schedule of production of canes, so some may be made only once a year. Or certainly not until they have sold all in stock and have orders for the 250-300 Chili that are produced in a run.
KLIMT – USES THE BROKEN
One of our most popular collections of Murano Glass Beads doesn’t use the whole pieces, this design is made from the fragments. Imagine how happy Effetre is that even the broken bits of glass can be sold.
So as you can see, we can never tell you which ones will be in a bead or batch. It’s part of the fun!
To watch our beadmaker use the canes in making our beads, view our youtube video
Google