Balancing tradition and innovation, Micheluzzi Glass is the project by Elena and Margherita, two Venetian sisters who decided to continue the family tradition of glass design by developing a new personal line, with an intimate approach with this city and its lagoon.
Elena and Margherita! Welcome to Inside Venice’s blog. Who is behind the young Micheluzzi Glass project?
We have been in close contact with our father’s work –Massimo Micheluzzi, a Venetian glass-artist- since we were kids. We grew up in his workshop and were lucky enough to visit, on some occasions, the furnace where he produces his works in Murano.
Going to Murano with him on a boat at dawn, witnessing the magic of glass creation… It was such an adventure for us, every time. This is how, in time, we developed a peculiar sensibility for this incredible material, followed by the curiosity and desire to know more and more about techniques and manufacturing. Step after step we increasingly felt the need to experiment ourselves, to create something ours. This is how Micheluzzi Glass was born. Everything started out so naturally: it began as a game, and then we decided to radically change our lives and dedicate ourselves to this project.
Maybe it was fate!
We were enchanted by the care and effort you dedicate to glass-art. What are the distinctive features of your creations?
Every piece in our collection is unique, different in colors, shape, dimension and finessing process – the possibilities are endless! All of them are characterized by carved, iridescent surfaces that bring out both the colors and the texture of the glass, producing particular light reflections. This is the signature feature of our work: the glass’s weave and its ability to reflect light.
This effect is obtained thanks to a variety of manufacturing processes, one of them being the Molatura: a peculiar incision technique that transforms the surface of the glass and its visual and tactile perception.
Your collection in 10 adjectives.
Alive, Bright, Colorful, Fresh, Palpable, Unique, Varied, Interlocking, Personal.
Having had the opportunity to visit the shop and getting to know you personally, we know that Micheluzzi Glass has been a sort of lightning in your life, a choice encouraged by your hearts and by tradition, that joined your forces and brought you back to the laguna like a magnet. Which intimate relation bonds you with this city?
We have both lived abroad, and it has been a truly enriching experience, but our bond with Venezia has always remained intact. Actually, it grew stronger with distance. Now that we are back we are in perfect balance with this place, we feel like we never left.
Our work is definitely linked with Venice, we are inspired by the atmosphere we live and grew up in: the laguna, the colors of its sunsets, the reflections of light on the water. Our glasses recall these settings exactly. Not only we have the luck of living in this special corner of the world but also working in Murano, the homeland of glass, and to watch the best artisans as they work. To get in contact with this out-of-time reality, that has been passing on the secrets of glass-making for centuries, it is truly an extraordinary experience.
Venezia offers us the possibility to give our work an unmatched platform thanks to its international public. It is in fact the rooting of traditions in the territory and, at the same time, its ability to put us out to world that makes Venezia a unique place.
Elena and Margherita Micheluzzi