Murano glass brand Vetrofuso is one of the best expressions of the revival of an ancient Italian tradition.
In her small workshop in Cesena, 15 kilometers from the Adriatic coast, Daniela Poletti Zino “bakes” design objects, ceiling lamps, crockery, vases and decorations from red-hot glass mass in an oven. A labor-intensive and sometimes dangerous craft, as it involves high firing temperatures and a multi-stage process of cutting and shaping a capricious and unpredictable glass mass.
Daniela works in the fusion technique, fusing various materials with glass and achieving a special shape and color in the process.
The very story of how Daniela came to the cause of her life is interesting. She has a teaching background and has worked in Milan for five years in the educational field. She got married and had children in the family.
“Being pregnant with my second child, I asked myself: what to do while sitting at home? — says the designer. – This special expectation miraculously gave birth inside me to the desire to be creative, to do something with my hands. I have always loved glassware and stained glass. Fortunately, in Italy there is no shortage of this. But then I was always fond of handicrafts. Since childhood, she loved to knit, made compositions from flowers, wove jewelry from beads. The result was an interesting fusion of my skills and desires – Vetrofuso,” recalls Daniela.
A month after the birth of the child, Daniela signed up as an apprentice in a Milan stained glass workshop: she cut glass, prepared individual fragments for stained glass. Curiosity and the desire to do something new pushed her to open her own business.
“When I first started, in the 90s, craftsmen mainly worked on creating transparent, impeccably smooth glass. I found it a bit boring,” says Daniela. – I wanted to add colors, change the texture and transparency. So I began my experiments with the temperature and duration of firing. And then – and with color, using various dyes.
It was the technology of glass fusion that became the basis of the entire Vetrofuso production process. Daniela buys glass from artisans on the island of Murano (glassmaking has been developing on this largest island in the Venetian lagoon since the 13th century). The Vetrofuso workshop receives raw materials – glass plates, and real alchemical transformations take place with them.
She cuts glass into pieces and adds various materials to it. And here there is no limit to fantasy, one has only to take into account the chemical properties of the “ingredients” and their melting point.
In addition to the ability to achieve color, the technology of the alloy allows you to “stuff” the glass in a variety of ways. The artist melts her own finds from different countries, belonging to different eras, into glass products: bronze cameos, gold leaf, antique coins and buttons, seeds, corals, seashells and semi-precious stones.
“My work is often a cosmopolitan mix. I like to juggle with styles and eras, but at the same time I strictly follow the balance and integrity of the composition, – says Daniela. “I work in Italy with Murano glass, which, however, preserves particles from all over the world.”
Only four people work in the Vetrofuso workshop.
“I am inspired by the fact that such a small team is able to keep the creative fire. I am also proud that Vetrofuso customers live on all five continents and the interest in us is only growing,” says Daniela.
