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©Nicoletta FORNARO
©Nicoletta FORNARO
©Nicoletta FORNARO
©Nicoletta FORNARO

Marisa Convento

Marisa Convento Beadworker
Contact
Italian, English, French, German, Spanish
Hours:
Thursday to Monday 10:30 - 13.00/14:00 -17:30
Phone:
+39 3703622439
©Nicoletta FORNARO

Committed to Venetian beadwork

  • • Marisa is a Venetian impiraressa, a bead stringer
  • • She is a passionate and tenacious craftswoman
  • • Her workshop Venetian Dreams opened in 2007

Working with Venetian glass lampwork beads has been a dream pursued with passion and stubbornness by Marisa Convento. Born in Mirano and having grown up in Marghera, in the countryside, as she says, she moved to Venice at the age of 20, falling in love with its art, culture and artisanal traditions. At the time there was a culture of keeping craftsmanship techniques secret, by the silence of the old masters. Despite these obstacles, Marisa managed to learn and re-create the techniques of the impiraresse (bead stringers). She opened her workshop, currently housed in Bottega Cini, a museum-gallery and concept store that brings together the excellence of Venetian artistic mastery. Marisa has also been engaged in the preservation of the art of glass beads, inscribed in 2020 on the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Nicoletta FORNARO
  • ©Nicoletta FORNARO
  • ©Nicoletta FORNARO
  • ©Nicoletta FORNARO
  • ©Nicoletta FORNARO
Photo: ©Nicoletta FORNARO
Queen of Seas

This is a long collectible necklace with a large beaded-glass coral colour pendant and various contemporary Venetian glass beads. The coral branch is made of many elements, handcrafted by Marisa Convento, by wrapping the wired seedbeads around a metal base and gradually building the coral branch shape.

Photo: ©Nicoletta FORNARO
Pale pink roses bouquet

In this piece, handmade beaded roses are crafted with the traditional Venetian technique used for centuries by Venetian impiraresse (the beadstringers). The seedbeads used for this bouquet are among the smallest ones ever produced in Venice at the end of the 19th century. It is very slow work to string and model them into petals and leaves.

Photo: ©Nicoletta FORNARO
TuttiFrutti necklace

This necklace is made with a mix of various colours, techniques and patterns, strung on waxed cording by double knotting between each bead. Each TuttiFrutti necklace is different because it features a different selection of contemporary lampwork beads, that are made exclusively for Marisa Convento’s design.

Photo: ©Nicoletta FORNARO
Rouge and Noir

Here are coral-shaped beaded ornaments on a pair of Furlana velvet slippers: the faux coral branches are crafted by wrapping the seedbeads, strung on metal thread, around a wire base. The applied piece is then fixed on the velvet with careful hand stitching. Single glass beads complete the decoration.

Photo: ©Nicoletta FORNARO
Ancient Roses

Beaded roses embellish a silk bag in this creation by Marisa Convento. The beads are strung on a long wire and then modelled as petals and leaves. The elements are then mounted together with the help of a soft yarn and the finished adornment is fixed with hidden stitches on the silk fabric.

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