Giovanni Simionato

Mirror maker

©RV Murano

Rejuvenating tradition

Giovanni is heir to two Murano glass dynasties
He launched his atelier to modernise the tradition
All his Venetian mirrors are made by hand from start to finish

Venetian glasswork is not learnt at school: you learn it by doing. Giovanni Simionato was an eight year-old boy when he began to assimilate this ancient craftsmanship in his family’s atelier in Murano, established by his parents who were, in turn, heirs to two important glasswork dynasties. Giovanni’s destiny was written in his DNA. Yet, after many years spent building a solid know-how in the family business, Simionato went his own way, launching RV Murano, his brand of Venetian mirrors. Since then, he’s been working hard with a handful of collaborators as young as himself, to create high quality products that are both faithful to tradition and modern. "My goal is to preserve ancient techniques that are dying out and apply them to contemporary designs," he explains.

Interview

©RV Murano

©RV Murano

Why are traditional techniques dying out?: The masters of glasswork are elderly craftspeople in their seventies or eighties, and they are pretty secretive about their art. Their expertise will disappear with them, if they do not hand it down to the young generations. I am lucky enough to have a few master artisans who have been training and helping me all along.
How do you make a Venetian mirror?: After choosing the design, we draw templates by hand, with pencil, paper and cardboard. Using these templates, we cut the glass into shapes, then engrave all the elements we have obtained and silver them. Finally we assemble everything on a plywood frame.
Is everything made by hand?: From start to finish, that’s why every mirror takes a long time to finish. Even the nails we use are created artisanally. The only thing we do not do in our studio is glassblowing, as we are too small to have our own furnace. But we have our trusted glassblowers from Murano.
How do you modernise the design of Venetian mirrors?: I always start from a classical basis, choosing from countless existing designs. Then I simplify it to adapt it to modern tastes. Compared to traditional mirrors, mine are characterised by cleaner lines. As for colours, they are brighter and sharper, with fewer shades.

Giovanni Simionato is an expert artisan he began his career in 2005