Process

Each Bella is hand blown by glass artisans in the Pacific Northwest, using the centuries-old Italian style of glassblowing.

8 steps for making beautiful

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  1. Our artisans heat molten glass to 2,200-degrees Fahrenheit and then gather it from a large ceramic crucible onto the end of a steel blowpipe.
  2. The artisan rolls the glass in tiny fragments of imported color and melts it all again in a 2,400-degrees heating chamber known as a glory hole. The artisan repeats this process until the color is just right.
  3. The glass is then rounded by smoothing it against a steel marver.
  4. The artisan gently puffs breaths into the bella through the blowpipe, bringing it to life.
  5. Once formed, the bella is cut off from the blowpipe.
  6. Another bit of glass is dipped from the crucible, rolled on the marver, and dropped onto the cut-off mark of the Bella. A leaf of Giusto Manetti Firenze Italian 24-karat gold or Giusto Manetti Firenze Sterling .925 silver is carefully placed on the bit.
  7. Before this warm bit of glass cools, it is stamped with a custom-designed brass seal, heat-bonding the Sterling Silver to the bit.
  8. For strength and stability, the bellas are placed in our annealing oven and slowly cooled to room temperature overnight.