What happened in Murano stayed in Murano.
So was the closely guarded way of life on the small island in the Venice lagoon, about a mile north of Venice, where the Venetian government commissioned the kilns used by local glassmakers in the late 1200s. and the glassmakers themselves, from the city center.
Intended as a measure to protect central Venice from the fire hazards of the kilns, the law also protected the secrets of the revered Murano glassblowing craft, which consists of melting mineral sand at temperatures between 1700 and 2700 degrees Fahrenheit. and adding elements such as cobalt and gold leaf to create vibrant colors and shimmering finishes.
The name Murano encompasses several styles and techniques, including millefiori, which is characterized by psychedelically dense floral patterns, and filigrana, a technique developed in the 16th century, in which white or colored glass threads are embedded in clear glass sticks used to decorate finished pieces. with a pattern of delicate stripes.
More than seven centuries later, real Murano glass remains rarefied, at least in name. Just as a sparkling white wine can only be considered champagne if it is made in that region of France, a piece of glass can only be called Murano if it is made on the island.
But with the right materials, the process of making Murano glass can, in theory, be replicated in any studio. And lately, Murano glass, or at least its spirit, has become an aesthetic inspiration for many designers and artists.
“Murano has become a funny adjective because it’s used so broadly to describe so many things, and for many people it would refer to very colorful glass,” says Sara Blumberg, 56, a private dealer and consultant in Italian glass. in Manhattan. “Maybe this is changing, but I think it’s very often associated with the glass ashtrays and clowns you might see in a store at the train station in Venice.”
For designers like Brett Heyman, 41, founder of the accessory line Edie Parker, Murano’s reputation for gift shop glass is part of its appeal.
“I think Murano is kitsch,” said Ms. Heyman, who lives in Manhattan and whose collection of antique Murano glass chandeliers decorated with glass fruits inspired her to create glass pipes shaped like bananas, oranges, and grapes for her line of smoking accessories. Flower by Edie Parker. “It has the gravitas of being something so Italian and so important, but then, like Venice in general, it has something a little bit kitsch, like the best version of Disneyland.”
Susan Korn, 35, the designer of the accessory line Susan Alexandra, also creates Murano-inspired pieces that fall somewhere between the rarefied and rudimentary. She recently started selling colorful drinking glasses and plates decorated with wobbly blown-glass flowers and winking faces, all made of glass.
“Murano was something very special that my grandmother collected. It was like behind glass in her beautiful china cabinet,’ said Mrs Korn. “I wanted my pieces to be very over-the-top, but in a livable way.”
The works of Mrs. Korn belong to a style of Murano-adjacent household items that have a certain off-art school aesthetic, a look that could also describe the pieces created by Toshie Adachi, 46, a Tokyo artist whose glassware features colorful vignettes and clashing grid or dot patterns. The pieces are partly inspired by the Murano technique of murrine, where patterns and images are created in a glass stick and revealed when the stick is cut.
The essence of Murano is also evident in the work of Breanna Box, 28, and Peter Dupont, 26, the founders of the Heven glassware line. The two started the line earlier this year while living in London and now operate out of Brooklyn Glass, a studio in the Gowanus neighborhood. Their pieces, like the glass sculptures created by Salvador Dalí, are at once drooping and stately, with patterns and colors reminiscent of those of the real Murano.
Ms. Box, Mr. Dupont and Ms. Adachi do not work with real Murano glass, but other artists, such as Gennaro Pepe, 61, have been working with the real thing for decades and are now enjoying a welcome new audience for their art. Mr Pepe, who lives in Spain, buys Murano glass from Carlo Moretti, a Venice company, which he uses to make lamps and some of the watery glass pendants, rings and earrings sold by Maryam Nassir Zadeh and Gimaguas (under those names of brands).
“The fashion world is getting used to glass again and there is a whole new generation of people who want to learn how to do the job,” said Mr. Pepe, who first learned the trade in 1993.
Cristaseya, a Parisian clothing and interior brand, has had Murano glassware as part of its collection since 2015. The current range includes drinking glasses embellished with glass studs reminiscent of fungi picked from the forest. “When you hold them in your hand, they feel very organic,” Cristina Casini, 49, the founder of Cristaseya, said of the pieces, which are hand blown in Italy.
Dalya Benor, 30, a writer and jewelry maker in Los Angeles, attributes fashion’s current interest in Murano to a greater shift to the handmade. “I think in general there is a return to mishmash-chic, handmade fashion,” she said. “The quilted, mismatched aesthetic has been big, and I think jewelry is following that.”
Ms. Benor, who started making beaded jewelry in 2020, started taking glassmaking classes in January 2021 and introduced her jewelry brand, Tutti Bene, six months later. In addition to using glass elements she creates, Ms. Benor scours eBay and Instagram for Murano glass beads, as well as Czech glass beads and Swarovski crystals, to incorporate into her pieces.
She’s not the only one looking for Murano glass online. According to Tirath Kamdar, eBay’s general manager of luxury, sales of Murano glass products in the retailer’s watches and jewelry category are up nearly 200 percent since this time last year. And at 1stdibs, sales of pieces of Murano glass jumped 35 percent last year, said Tony Fruend, editor-in-chief at the online antique store.
Mr. Fruend attributed the growing interest in antique Murano pieces to a desire for home decor that feels warm and handmade. Alessandra Baldereschi, 46, who designs glassware “inspired by the great masters of Murano” for Ichendorf Milano, a studio in Milan, gave another reason why the look was sought after at a time that was far from simple. (A pink bottle Mrs. Baldereschi designed for Ichendorf is reminiscent of a Murano glass souvenir you might find in a shop on St. Mark’s Square in Venice.) Murano, she said, “will make you feel like a kid again.”