For some time now Venetians as well as Muranese glassmakers had been producing seed beads: beads the size of sesame seeds or even smaller, made from pulled glass cane that had been cut into fragments, and used to fashion necklaces and earrings and brooches, or to decorate everything from handbags and belts to dresses and shoes. Though technically they were beads, the process was so different from Orsola’s lampwork that she never gave seed beads much thought. “What do these beads have to do with us?” she asked. “I am looking for beadmakers to sell into North America,” Jonas replied. “That could
...more