Everything About Venice and Murano Glass » Murano Glass Shopping

Valentine’s Sale on All Murano Glass from GlassOfVenice – 15% OFF

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:16:47 +0000

Venice and Love are practically synonimous. When you step into Venice you immediately feel that love is omnipresent – it is in the air, in the water of Venetian Canals, on the little charming piazza’s, and on the bridges often occupied by kissing lovers. Many people wait to visit Venice until they find the love of their lives, because they feel that one cannot fully enjoy this town when not in love. And they are right, because visiting Venice together with your lover allows you to share the grand feeling of romance and enchantment that overwhelms you in this beautiful town. If you are in love, just picture the two of you in Venice: the sunset on Piazza San Marco, the embrace on top of the Campanile, the twilight kiss on the gondola, the evening in one of the canal-side restaurants, the experience never to be forgotten.

While there is nothing better than visiting Venice together with your loved one, we offer the next best thing – giving your loved one a gift straight from Venice, which carries all the magic and romance of Venice.

MURANO GLASS GIFTS OF LOVE

Valentine’s Day gift of exquisite Murano Glass from our large selection of unique entirely handcrafted Murano Glass jewelry, vases, sculptures, tableware and barware, which lets your loved ones enjoy the aura of Venice for years to come. Use coupon code VALSALE15 during checkout and get 15% OFF your Murano Glass Valentine’s Day gifts until February 15, 2012!
We just expanded the assortment of our beautiful Murano Glass Valentine’s Day Gifts and Venetian Gifts to help you bring authentic Venetian romance and enchantment to your loved ones this Valentine’s Day and always. These pieces are created by famous Murano Glass masters who love what they do and who spent decades learning from their fathers and granfathers and perfecting their glass-making skills.

Enjoy giving gifts of Love from Venice and keep checking our Blog, Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for specials and promotions.

Celebrations of Love: Venice Carnival and Valentine’s Day

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:23:04 +0000

As we all know, Venice is one of the few remaining cities that changed very little over the last few centuries. In the spirit of retaining it historic and cultural identity, Venetians keep many of their age-old traditions alive, the most important of which is annual Venetian Carnival. This year the Carnival will take place from February 11th to 21st. If you have never been in Venice during the Carnival, you should definitely make plans to go and experience the magic, enchantment, and breathtaking beauty of Venice as it was meant to be. February is a dull and dreary month in Europe, but not in Venice, thanks to the Carnival which brings out colors, celebrations, music and historic events onto the streets of Venice.

A tribute to Venetian extravagance and decadence, one of the most interesting introductions for the 2012 Carnival will be the Wine Fountain set up in St. Mark’s Square. Set up in front of the Doge’s Palace, this unusual fountain will cast out fine wines produced in Venice which will be offered to the public. Carnival will be opened on February 4th with the official toast made by this Fountain, and, after the opening toast, in a truly Venetian enchanting scene, everyone will be dancing waltz in the Piazzetta San Marco.

Another important part of the Carnival festivities is “The Angel Flight”, a traditional flight of a secret guest of the city of Venice, from the top of the bell tower of St. Mark’s down to the centre of the square. An internationally acclaimed star, whose name has not yet been revealed, will wear a gorgeous Carnival costume and the magical flight will pay homage to the events of the centuries past.

The Venetian Carnival will end on Tuesday, February 21st 2012, with the Rowing of Silence: a picturesque procession of ornate historical boats along the Grand Canal from Rialto to St. Mark’s Square with no artificial lighting. All the gorgeous palaces overlooking the largest Venetian Canal will be lit entirely by candles, and motor boat traffic will be prohibited, recreating the atmosphere of Venice in the middle ages and allowing us to see the magical and unreal Venice just the way it appeared to the travelers centuries ago.

Whether you manage to travel to Italy for the Carnival or choose to stay at home, we hope you don’t forget another important festival of Love that we celebrate here in the U.S. – The Valentine’s Day. And what better way to show your love than with a piece of authentic Murano Glass created right in the Capital of Romance, the timeless and beautiful city of Venice!

To help you celebrate and announce your love we announce Special Valentine’s Day Sale from GlassOfVenice.

We invite you to take advantage of our limited time Valentine’s Day Special and get 15% OFF everything on our website when you use coupon VALSALE15 during Checkout until February 15th, 2012. Plus, as always, get free shipping in the U.S. on all orders over $100 and discounted shipping on all other orders.

To get your own piece of artistic Murano Glass, please see our wide selection of authentic Murano Glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

Become our Fan on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter @GlassOfVenice to stay up to date on our promotions and updates.

Sale on All Murano Art Glass from GlassOfVenice – 10% OFF

GlassOfVenice — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:38:51 +0000

Now that the holidays are over you can finally relax and give yourself a gift for surviving the craziness. Reward yourself with a piece of exquisite Murano Art Glass from our large selection of unique entirely handcrafted Murano Glass vases, sculptures, tableware and drinkware and enjoy the gorgeous colors and intricate play of light for years to come.

Use coupon code FBJANSALE during checkout and get 10% OFF every Murano Art Glass item in our virtual store until January 15, 2012!

MURANO ART GLASS
We just expanded the assortment of our beautiful Murano Art Glass Sculptures and Vases, which make great special occasion gifts for yourself or someone special in your life. These pieces are created by famous Murano Glass masters whose works are featured in museums and private collections worldwide, and many are signed by the Artist.

Enjoy shopping with us and keep checking our Blog, Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for specials and promotions.

New Murano Glass Products and Exciting News from GlassOfVenice

GlassOfVenice — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:04:17 +0000

With holidays upon us, we have a lot of exciting news at GlassOfVenice that we would like to share with you.

New Products and Great Murano Glass Gifts

We are happy to announce that we received many new products from Murano just in time for the Holidays. Our tableware and barware collection now includes exquisite Murano Glass Candle Holders, Decanter Sets, Carafes, and Goblets created by famous Murano masters whose works are featured in museums and private collections worldwide. New Sparkled Topaz Silverware collection expands our range of exclusive silverware and gives you even more options for gift giving and entertaining with class. By popular demand, we are now introducing gorgeous mouth-blown Christmas Ornaments with millefiori, which are also great gifts and unique keepsakes. Our famously huge jewelry collection also got even larger with new gorgeous pendants and necklaces. See all our new products at New Murano Glass jewelry and tableware

Stay Tuned

This is a busy time for us as we are not just fulfilling lots of orders but also introducing new product categories, new website features, and new savings. We have exciting things in store such as upcoming Holiday Gift Giveaway for our registered customers and other surprise events that will be announced soon. We will also run more specials and giveaways throughout the year, including exclusive Facebook and Twitter specials. Stay connected with us and don’t miss anything.

Read Our Blog

Become our Fan on Facebook

Holiday Sale Reminder

Remember to take advantage of our limited time Holiday Special and get 15% OFF everything on our website when you use coupon DECSALE15 during Checkout. Plus as always get free shipping in the U.S. on all orders over $100 and discounted shipping on all other orders.

We wish you safe and joyous Holidays,
Your Friends at GlassOfVenice.com

To get your own piece of artistic Murano Glass, please see our wide selection of authentic Murano Glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

Get our Twitter updates via SMS by texting “follow GlassOfVenice” to 40404 in the United States.

Murano Glass Gifts from GlassOfVenice – 15% OFF

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:21:48 +0000

It’s that time of the year again – time to start thinking about holiday shopping and gift giving for all of your friends and loved ones. Everyone wants something unique, something that expresses their individuality, which is increasingly rare in our age of mass-production and cheap alternatives to real art. That is exactly where GlassOfVenice can help – our large selection of unique entirely handcrafted Murano Glass jewelry, tableware, vases, sculptures, Christmas ornaments and various accessories are created in Venice using the centuries-old glassmaking techniques and make perfect one-of-a-kind artistic gifts for men and women of any age, while fitting your budget.

This Holiday season we are also introducing lots of new gorgeous Murano glass products to expand our famously huge assortment of the best authentic Murano glass even further! And it gets even better – use coupon code DECSALE15 during checkout and get 15% OFF every item in our virtual store until December 31, 2011!

MURANO TABLEWARE AND SILVERWARE

We are offering new unique
Murano Glass Candle Holders , gorgeous Murano Glass Goblets and Tumblers, and exquisite rare Murano Glass Decanter Sets.

MURANO GLASS CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
To help you celebrate Christmas in style, we are now bringing you a variety of beautifulMurano Glass Christmas Ornaments with Millefiori created by famous Murano Glass artists. Pick one to hang on your Christmas Tree or give as a beautiful Venetian keepsake.

MURANO ART GLASS
We are also expanding the assortment of our beautiful Murano Art Glass Sculptures and Vases, which make great holiday and special occasion gifts for yourself or someone special in your life. These pieces are created by famous Murano Glass masters whose works are featured in museums and private collections worldwide, and many are signed by the Artist.

Enjoy shopping with us and keep checking our Blog, Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for specials and promotions this Holiday Season.

Get our Twitter updates via SMS by texting “follow GlassOfVenice” to 40404 in the United States.

New Products Just in Time for Hoildays

GlassOfVenice — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:14:03 +0000

Just in time for the Holidays and all the gift-giving surrounding them, we are introducing lots of new gorgeous Murano glass products to expand our famously huge assortment of the best authentic Murano glass on the web even further!

MURANO EARRINGS

We are offering new ranges of unique Murano glass earrings:
Magnifica and Antico Tesoro, which means “Ancient Treasure” in Italian and truly looks like a treasure. Some other interesting new additions to our Earrings selection are Sommerso Venetian Circle earrings, colorful Starlight Disc earrings and Silver Foil Ice and Gold Foil Red Venetian Heart earrings

MURANO RINGS
To complete our best-in-class Millefiori pendant collection, we are now bringing you a variety of Murano Millefiori Rings. Pick one to complete your stylish Venetian look.

MURANO PENDANTS

For Murano Pendant lovers, we are happy to introduce the popular Venetian Reflections range of pendants in a variety of shapes, as well as artistic La Fenice pendants which will work great to accent your evening attire in a special Venetian way.

MURANO BRACELETS

For our Murano Bracelet fans, we announce a new range of trendy Venetian glass bracelets called Murano Magic, which come in a variety of beautiful colors to help brighten up your outfit and your mood.

MURANO ART GLASS

Last but not least, we are now bringing you beautiful Murano art glass sculptures that make great holiday and special occasion gifts for yourself or someone special in your life. These pieces will add a Venetian twist and bring a touch of contemporary Italian style to any home or office.

Enjoy shopping with us and keep checking our Blog, Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for specials and promotions this Holiday Season.

Get our Twitter updates via SMS by texting “follow GlassOfVenice” to 40404 in the United States.

Murano glass vases by Venini for Versace

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:28:32 +0000

Murano glass is about to get even more famous and fashionable as it gets a boost from the legendary Versace brand. In an attempt to add a twist to their Versace Casa collection of home furnishings and decor and revive Gianni Versace’s heritage, the famous design house teamed up with the best-in-class Murano glassmaking firm Venini to produce an exclusive collection of hand-blown contemporary glass vases. The result of this collaboration by two biggest names in exclusive fashion is eagerly awaited since 2004 when they last worked together on a line of Murano glass vases.

Speaking at the presentation of the new Versace Casa collection in Milan on April 14th, Donatella Versace said: “I’m so proud because, with this new collaboration, we re-created some historical vases that Gianni had designed, obviously re-edited and streamlined. The first Venini collaboration ran from 1997 to 2004″.

The vases which will include new pieces as well as the legendary Heritage Collection designs from the 1990’s, will be numbered and initialed and will feature rich colors, geometrical patterns and bold designs. They will be available this Fall at all Versace boutiques, selected Venini stores, and other exclusive retailers throughout the world.

Visiting Murano Glass Furnaces

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:59:12 +0000

We often get questions about the possibility of visiting a factory or a workshop in Murano and witnessing the creation of famous Murano Glass. Unfortunately the artisans we work with and many other high quality Murano glass artists do not open the doors of their workshops to tourists. The main reasons are:

The artisans consider their business a serious affair and heavily guard their glass-making secrets, so they would like to avoid any unnecessary distractions or intrusions

The main expertise of the artisans is in production of Murano glass and not in entertaining tourists or explaining the process to them.

The workshops arent’s staffed to handle the inflow of tourists

No factories are usually interested in tourist visits just for the sake of showing them the glass-making process. Those factories that agree to hold these demonstrations do so for a chance to sell their wares, often in a pushy way and for above-average price.

If you would still like to see how Murano Glass is made, there is a place in Venice itself called Vecchia Murano that offers free demonstrations (of course with a chance to buy something from their massive store). Vecchia Murano is located near Piazza San Marco right behind the Bridge of Sighs. Also if you take a vaporetto to Murano and just take a walk around the island (which is very pretty, less touristy and much quieter than Venice), you will quickly find furnaces and workshops that are open to tourists and offer demonstrations. If you decide to pay a visit please remember:

It is best to visit furnaces on weekday mornings. Most of them are closed during the lunch hour (which tends to be longer than in the U.S. and often runs until 2-3pm) and on weekends.

These tours and demonstrations should always be free of charge. Do not agree to deal with anyone who offers to get you into the factory for a fee.

In Venice, you may encounter sales representatives from touristy factory showrooms that will offer you a free boat trip to Murano. If you accept, be prepared for a lot of sales pressure when you get there and make sure you know how to get back. In fact it is always better to come to Murano by relatively inexpensive and efficient public transportation, and not have to depend on pushy salespeople.

The exit from a demo is almost always through a richly stocked showroom where you may encounter variable amounts of sales pressure. Look at the prices first, and if things seem too expensive – don’t buy. The factories often give you an impression that they sell cheaper “direct from factory”, but this is not always true.

If you do decide to buy something, either take it with you, or, if you’d like it shipped, make sure that your purchase will be very well packed and that you know how and when it will reach you. Take down the coordinates of the factory and the name of the salesperson in case any problems arise later on.

Please note that almost all Murano glass factories are closed the entire month of August.

What is the difference between Murano glass and any other glass?

GlassOfVenice — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:41:56 +0000

Murano glass is glass in a chemical sense of the word. However, Murano glass is as different from, say, the glass in your window panes, as Rembrandt paintings are different from an empty canvas. Murano glass is created only on the island of Murano, located within the borders of the city of Venice in Northern Italy. This glass is made from silica, soda, lime and potassium melted together in a special furnace at a temperature of 1500°C to reach a liquid state. Gold or silver foil are often added to the glass mixture, along with such minerals as copper for sparkles, zinc for white color, cobalt for blue, manganese for violet, and so on. The mixture is then mouth-blown and/or hand-crafted by master glassmakers using special techniques and basic tools, many of which have been developed in the Middle Ages and changed little since then. This method of glass-making results in unique creations with rich coloring and beautiful, sometimes surreal, patterns and shapes, deserving to be called “works of art”. Even though beautiful glassware has also been created in other places around the world, none of the glassware still being produced has such rich history and so much artistic value as Murano glass.

I had a favorite Murano glass item and it broke. Can it be fixed?

GlassOfVenice — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:42:52 +0000

Murano glass is hand-crafted by masters working the heated-up liquefied glass mass using special centuries-old techniques, and then cooling it down till it solidifies to form a specific pattern within a certain shape. For this reason, when an article made of Murano glass breaks, it is not possible to fix it except for gluing it together. Gluing may work if the item has a smooth break line and broke into only two or three pieces as opposed to many small ones.

If, based on the above conditions, you feel that it may be possible to glue the item back together, first of all you need to buy the right glue. We recommend using E-6000® glue for Murano glass, or any glass for that matter. This is a very strong waterproof and flexible adhesive once it dries. The only downside is its long drying time- make sure to let it dry for 24 to 72 hours after application. With this glue, apply a thin coat to both glass surfaces that you need to attach, wait ten minutes and strongly press the surfaces together. Then put the item aside and let dry. Make sure you use this glue only in an area that has adequate ventilation.

If your Murano glass broke in such a way that it can’t be glued together, or if it just cracked inside its frame (like may be the case with Millefiori pendants), your best option may be to try to find a replacement. Regardless of whether the Murano glass item was modern or vintage, purchased recently or long ago, there are companies specializing in Murano glass that will be willing to work with you to find a replacement. GlassOfVenice.com is one such company, which accepts custom requests and is often able to deliver the specified products.