The tools we use
For our creations we do not use modern machinery or technological shortcuts.
We use our hands, our experience and the same tools that were used by the historic master glassmakers of Murano.
It is precisely this authentic craftsmanship, made up of ancient gestures and entirely handmade workmanship, that gives value, soul and preciousness to every single piece we make.
Over time, technology has evolved, transformed and changed the way of producing.
But the tools we use have not changed.
They are the same "irons" as always, the ones used since the origins of this ancient tradition.
Tools that do not know time, because the true value does not need to be updated.
The names of glass working tools
Each instrument brings with it a history, a meaning, a precise function.
The names themselves tell the culture and soul of the Venetian tradition.
Some of the tools we use every day are:
- Borsea (purse)
- Round cutters and straight cutters (round and straight cutters)
- Pinse (pliers)
- One cat, three cats
- Jealousy
- Rigadin
- Plugged
- Ballotton molds
- Spoke
Every tool used in glass processing is not a simple tool, but an extension of the Master's hand and thought.
Behind every name hides a precise function, an ancient gesture, a story handed down over time.
Borsea (purse)
The Borsea is one of the most iconic instruments of the Murano furnace.
Used to grasp, shape and tighten hot glass, it requires great sensitivity and control.
Just one wrong movement can change the shape of the work forever: for this reason the bag is a symbol of precision, experience and safety of the gesture.
Round cutters and straight cutters (round and straight cutters)
The Taiante are used to cut the still hot glass, separating, refining and defining the parts of the work.
The round or straight versions allow different interventions, depending on the shape and thickness of the glass.
They are tools that require perfect timing: the glass must be cut at the exact moment in which it is still alive, but already ready to take its definitive shape.
Pinse (pliers)
The Pins allow you to pull, bend, engrave and shape the molten glass with delicate and continuous movements.
They are essential for creating decorations, leaves, flowers, arms and ornamental details.
It is an instrument that tells of the refinement of artistic workmanship, where every detail is born slowly, under the attentive gaze of the Maestro.
One cat, three cats
The Gatteo and Gattoi are traditional tools used to model surfaces and create particular textures.
Their namecurious recalls agile, almost feline shapes and movements, just like the quick and precise gesture they require.
They serve to give character to the work, making the glass alive, dynamic and never uniform.
Jealousy
Jealousy is a tool used to engrave and mark glass, creating decorative effects and plays of light.
Its name evokes something that can be glimpsed, never completely revealed, just like the processed glass that filters the light in an elegant and discreet way.
Rigadin
Rigadin is one of the most recognizable techniques and instruments of the Murano tradition.
It is used to create lines, grooves and linear decorations on the surface of the glass, giving it depth and movement.
It is a process that enhances the refraction of light, making each piece unique and immediately recognisable.
Plug-in
The herringbone process allows you to obtain intertwined motifs and complex structures, often used for highly valuable decorative elements.
It is a technique that requires coordination, strength and sensitivity, because the glass must be worked in perfect harmony with heat.
Ballotton molds
The Ballotton molds are used to give the glass the characteristic geometric relief surface, composed of small regular facets.
This type of processing gives the glass an elegant materiality and a unique ability to reflect and multiply light.
Spoke
Radius processing allows you to create open, harmonious and radial shapes, often used for arms, cups and structures of large chandeliers.
It is a technique that requires an overall vision, because each element must communicate with the others to maintain balance, proportion and beauty.
All these tools are still used today as they once were.
Because true art does not need to be reinvented, but only respected and handed down.
The Venetian tradition has always been rich in stories, beliefs and legends.
And it couldn't be different for these instruments and their names, often curious and deeply evocative.
The artisanal modeling of glass
Every time a Master created a new tool, it was customary to give it a name.
A name that arose from its use, from its shape, or from a particular situation linked to glass processing.
So, even today, when we hold one of these tools, we are not simply working glass:
we are continuing a story.
Each gesture repeats an ancient movement.
Each tool is a bridge between past and present.
Every work that is born is the result of a tradition that still lives, intact, in the hands of the Masters.
