Who taught you your trade?
The artisans working in my father’s workshop, who were in charge of decoration. The scent of wood and glue has accompanied me ever since I was a girl, even though I studied restoration of stone works at university. Unfortunately there wasn’t a course dedicated to the restoration of wood.
What made you decide to change direction?
Working with stone is very demanding, and I understood that the material was not suited to me. I started messing about in my father’s workshop, and I was lucky enough to be able to experiment with what I was interested in. The freedom my father gave me was fundamental in determining my path.
© Katarina Rothfjell
When did you start creating your frames?
In the beginning I used to engrave and gild them with a very ancient technique, which consists of covering the surface with layers of plaster. One day, I found some old Murano glass pearls and I thought I could use them to decorate a frame. That’s how it all started.
What has been the key to your success?
My relationship with a number of clients who believed in me from the very beginning. Unfortunately, working in Venice is becoming more difficult, and an increasing number of master artisans are forced out of business. Mass tourism and the invasion of pseudo-artisanal objects is killing our workshops.