The People You Meet Along the Way…

I became acquainted with Marisa Convento on Twitter! Yes, Twitter. A  fan of Venice and planning a return trip there, I came across Venetian Dreams and Marisa’s bio. Reading about her, I was immediately intrigued…Marisa not only creates and designs jewelry using Venetian glass beads but she offers personal tours through a wonderful site called Italian Stories. I sent her a message and made a reservation to meet with her when I was going to be in Venice.

Marisa is an “impiraressa”. An impiraressa creates with pearls and authentic Venetian glass beads using long needles and 19th century techniques. Like those  who came before, she learned the Venetian craft of threading from an impiraressa from nearby Padua when she was a curious young girl.

Marisa’s 10 year old shop,Venetian Dreams, is virtually bursting with Venetian glass beads and seed beads of every color as well as samples and displays of Marisa’s stunning handiwork. True to her craft Marisa only uses vintage beads and those that are handmade on Murano.

Marisa shared her story with me as she encouraged me to try on some of her exquisite signature pieces. Then, closing her shop, we set out for our walking tour. With photos of yesteryear, we will revisit the neighborhoods where bead stringing took place for centuries.

Huge quantities of seed beads arrived at the Castello sestiere from Murano where the women gathered to work. Strolling through the narrow streets and standing on the same street corners where they sat together, stringing beads from trays on their laps, we can almost hear their friendly chatter. Generations of women, with children playing nearby and dogs sleeping at their feet, gossiping, working and tending to the home.Millions of seed beads were strung and sent all over the world to be used in the world of fashion and design; not only in dresses, gowns, shoes,handbags and jewelry, of course, but in decorative items such as lampshades, pillows, etc. Originally there were 20 stages in making beads in Murano but production started to die in the 60’s and 70’s when they became too expensive to make and mass production in other countries increased and dominated the market.

As we stroll through these neighborhoods, Marisa shares their story which is her story. Her passion for, and dedication and commitment to her heritage and craft is apparent and contagious…Grazie, Marisa for keeping and sharing the legacy and threads of tradition alive!

Visit Marisa the next time you are in Venice:
Marisa Convento
Venetian Dreams: Calle della Mandola, Sestiere di San Marco 3805/B, Venezia, Italia