To deliver our extraordinary fixtures, there are times when we seek out the specialized expertise of artisanal vendors around the world whose values fit with ours and who enable us to stretch our creative boundaries. A visit with a Florentine family reveals the many reasons why the quality of that work is worth celebrating.
Tuscany has always been a land of abundance. A modern hub of art and architecture, commerce and culture, with medieval roots and a Renaissance soul, it remains rich in the quality and craftsmanship that have shaped its unique identity, as well as in the stewards of those traditions whose elevated ideals continue to define the region today. In the fall of 2019, we spent three days criss-crossing the hills and countryside in and around Florence with one of our partners in the region to capture the modern mastery up close—My Light, a glassblowing workshop producing some of the finest examples of this endangered art form. They offer an incredible window into this time-honored tradition, as well as a reminder that intentional artisanship is not dying in this world of mass production we currently live in. On the contrary. As you’ll see below, it is thriving and, increasingly, influencing the makers and manufacturers of the future.
My Light
Founded in 1949, My Light is a multigenerational endeavor for both Cristina Corsi and her husband, Riccardo. Cristina’s grandfather started the company, and both her and Riccardo’s fathers carried on the tradition. To talk to Riccardo is to experience a lesson in glassblowing history—he can chart the craft’s course through the centuries in minute detail. Which is how it should be. Once a flourishing trade for countless Italian craftsmen, its ranks today have dramatically dwindled. Fortunately, there are experts like Riccardo and Cristina to keep the flame—or, more accurately, the torch—alive. Today, the couple relies on the glassblowing techniques handed down from their forebears to create the incomparable globes that complete some of our signature fixtures like the Eddystone, Grayfoy and Jennifer Hang.
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