Why are traditional techniques dying out?
The masters of glasswork are elderly craftspeople in their seventies or eighties, and they are pretty secretive about their art. Their expertise will disappear with them, if they do not hand it down to the young generations. I am lucky enough to have a few master artisans who have been training and helping me all along.
How do you make a Venetian mirror?
After choosing the design, we draw templates by hand, with pencil, paper and cardboard. Using these templates, we cut the glass into shapes, then engrave all the elements we have obtained and silver them. Finally we assemble everything on a plywood frame.
©RV Murano
Is everything made by hand?
From start to finish, that’s why every mirror takes a long time to finish. Even the nails we use are created artisanally. The only thing we do not do in our studio is glassblowing, as we are too small to have our own furnace. But we have our trusted glassblowers from Murano.
How do you modernise the design of Venetian mirrors?
I always start from a classical basis, choosing from countless existing designs. Then I simplify it to adapt it to modern tastes. Compared to traditional mirrors, mine are characterised by cleaner lines. As for colours, they are brighter and sharper, with fewer shades.