The Story of Millefiori
A craft born in Murano, Italy, Millefiori is
from the Italian "mille fiori" which literally
means "a thousand flowers." It can be
made of glass or polymer clay. The tiny
flowers can be as intricate or simple as
the designer wants them.
The tiny flowers begin as many colorful
rods. They are pressed together to make
a large flower. The rods are then pulled
and rolled until they are the correct size.
When the canes are the right size, they
are cut to make flat flowers. These can be
pressed together, or onto other
things, like vases or paperweights.
No cane is identical to any other. The
craft of Millefiori is over 700 years old.
All of the wonderful shapes and colors
contained in the millefiori rods are
obtained through a complicated
series of steps.