Our merchandising team took a journey across the Atlantic to visit our artisans in Italy. Anna, our copywriter, kept a travel log of the trip to share her experience with our Uno Alla Volta family.

“Today we visited a glass workshop in Nove, Italy, run by the children of Italy’s prolific Giovanni Battista. Inside, his daughter Monica and sons Roberto and Luigi excitedly showed us the family trade. Having seen videos of glassblowing and lampwork, I always knew that glass art was an extremely impressive craft, but seeing it firsthand was absolutely breathtaking. The red hot glass, which they easily manipulated with a mastery of the craft, transformed before our eyes. I watched balls of glass become huge, stunning vases and intricately detailed Christmas trees. I couldn’t believe how easy they made it all look.

“Their close-knit bonds and strong work ethic were so apparent, and they reminded me so much of my own family. I couldn’t help but think of my own sister back home when I saw how Monica’s teenage daughter Sofia, the third generation of the family, was so sweet and excited to meet us. I always knew that family bonds were a cornerstone of Italian culture, but I never realized how much my own family reflected the values of our ancestry until I stepped into that workshop, almost 5,000 miles from my own home.

“In all its vast glory, the world is very, very small.”

–Anna, Queen of Editorial

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