09
Oct
Oct
Experience the Soft Colors of an Autumn in Tuscany All Year Round
Autumn is Harvest Time in the Tuscan Region of Italy. A Place of Great Culture & History, Wonderful Food, and Beautiful Scenery.
It is also the inspiration for this jewelry set we call “Autumn in Tuscany.”
This jewelry also features Millefiori beads, a style of glass refined by Venetian craftsmen a half a millennium ago.
Millefiori: Glass with a Thousand Flowers
The name Millefiori is taken from the Italian “mille” meaning “thousand”, and the word “fiori”, which is “flowers”. Though the technique was refined by Venetian artisans over a thousand years ago, it was originally invented by the ancient Egyptians more than a millennium earlier.
Dozens of colorful glass threads are bundled together and fused into a glass rod whose cross section now looks like a glass flower. The rods are cut into disks then incorporated into glass bowls, paper weights, and beads.
We Find a Treasure
Like so many wonderful things, these beads were found, hidden away in a forgotten corner of a vendor’s warehouse. They were found and customers were made aware of their existence. Debby was one of those customers.
By the time she contacted the bead company to tell them we wanted the beads, they had only a very small quantity left. We took all they had, sight unseen, and waited for their delivery.
We were more than pleased when they arrived; the Millefiori, encased in a dark crystal, reminded us of dried flower corsages, courageously holding onto their summer colors.
