Handblown Glass as Wall Art?

Isn’t it funny how something will spark a memory, a really good memory?  I’d like to share something with you that you probably don’t know about me. My heritage is Italian, my grandparents came to the United States from Italy in the early 1900’s. So that makes me 100% Italian and is probably why I love all things Italian, especially the food!  
My husband and I visited Venice about 12 years ago and I fell madly in love with Murano Glass. The colors are so vivid, the craftsmanship is exquisite and I am still in awe of the hard work and skill that goes into glass blowing.  So when Amy, my assistant mentioned that she was going to ask David Gappa of Vetro Glass  to donate a piece of glass for the CASA silent auction, where we are both volunteers, I was elated and off to Grapevine we went!

When I walked in the front door my heart started racing at the sight of all of the beautiful hand blown glass, I felt like I was right back in Italy and it brought back some wonderful memories!  A funny thing is that my maiden name is Vetri which means glass in Italian and the name of the shop is Vetro which also means glass in Italian, the spelling changes depending on the region in Italy.

As we walked around the shop we spotted a Rondel which is a bowl that can also be hung as artwork, it was the perfect color for a Master Bath remodel we were just finishing and we were looking for some original “art work”.  I took a picture and sent it to my client who approved it immediately.  Once it was hung, we liked it so much that we commissioned a vase in the same colors.

David was kind enough to give us a tour of the studio where they do the glass blowing, I must say it’s a good thing that it wasn’t summer, the ovens are over 2000 degrees and needless to say it was hot!
I love these pendent lights and can’t wait to use them in a client’s home. I really get excited about one of a kind things, I love the idea that this is something that nobody else will have, even if it is made exactly the same, the same shape, the same colors, it will still be different because it’s hand made.
 
The Rondell has been hung, the vase has been placed and they both look amazing. The Bathroom will be professionally photographed soon and a blog will be written and more pictures will follow.
If you have an opportunity to visit a glass blowing studio, do so, you won’t be disappointed!