Glass, Fire & Alchemy.

The love of glass goes back to Catalytico founder John Dunbar Roake’s visit to Venice at age of 12. The material, a liquid that can be worked by artisans and lasts in the same form for a millennium or be fragments in a microsecond has always fascinated John. It is solid light, coloured, opaque, or translucent, it can reflect or transmit and distort light. Only when you see true maestro like Lino Tagliapietra from Murano working with their teams can one appreciate how complex and precise glassmaking processes are. John has worked with the most influential maestro of this generation who has just announced his retirement after 75 years at the furnace. A pleasure and a privilege. John has connections with a number of furnaces to develop projects in Murano, Blowing unique pieces, a series or producing cast glass artworks. It has a history and experience that goes back a thousand years, it is a unique resource of knowledge in this material.