Venice artisan workshops: a private studio tour

Programme

• Smalto and fireA workshop making smalto — the opaque glass used in mosaic. We watch colour emerge from the batch in the furnace, and why gold smalto is made with a genuine leaf of gold laid between two layers of glass. The material goes out to cathedral restorations around the world.
• Cloth on old loomsA manufactory weaving velvet and brocade by hand to eighteenth-century methods. Progress is measured in centimetres a day. Why a machined imitation never gives the same travel of light across the pile.
• The forcolaThe oarlock of a gondola is not a fitting but a sculpture, cut from walnut to a particular oarsman: his height, his weight, his stroke. One of the rarest trades in the city, with a handful of makers left.
• The economics of craftWhy real work costs what it costs: the years of training, the expense of keeping a furnace lit, and why an object at twenty euros cannot be Venetian.

Route

• Smalto and fireA workshop making smalto, the opaque glass used in mosaic. We watch colour emerge from the batch in the furnace, and see why gold smalto is made with a genuine leaf of gold laid between two layers of glass. The material goes out to cathedral restorations around the world.
• Cloth on old loomsA manufactory weaving velvet and brocade by hand to eighteenth-century methods. Progress is measured in centimetres a day. Why a machined imitation never reproduces the same travel of light across the pile.
• The forcolaThe oarlock of a gondola is not a fitting but a sculpture, cut from walnut to a particular oarsman: his height, his weight, his stroke. One of the rarest trades in the city, with a handful of makers left.
• The economics of craftWhy the real thing costs what it costs: the years of training, the expense of keeping a furnace lit, and why an object at twenty euros cannot have been made here.
• How to buyIf you want to commission something, I explain how it is done directly with the maker, without gallery mark-up, and how shipping is arranged.

How this differs

The usual workshop tour is a run to a showroom that pays for the delivery of groups. Here we go where people are working rather than selling: the route is assembled the day before around the makers’ own hours, and nobody takes a percentage of what you buy. That is also why the order and the composition can change.

Not for you if

• Most studios are closed at weekends — plan for a weekday.
• If the aim is to buy souvenirs quickly, this is the wrong route: here you watch work.
• Studios can be hot, loud and dusty. They are workplaces, not galleries.

When to go

What the price covers

• A licensed private guide
• A route built around your pace and interests
• Arranging the workshop visits

Paid separately

• Purchases from the makers
• Transport
• Food and drink

The quoted price covers one to three guests. From four upwards, quoted on request.

Practical notes

Meeting point

Your hotel, or an agreed point in Cannaregio

Schedule

Set by the makers: the route is confirmed the day before

Buying

Optional, and direct from the maker without gallery mark-up

Best days

Weekdays; most studios are shut at weekends

Frequently asked