According to the late international bead expert, Peter Francis, Jr., the practice of making glass beads in the city of Venice and on the nearby island of Murano goes back at least to the 13th century. That’s when the earliest references to glass beads are found, as both adornments and for embroidery. While numerous bead-making techniques were developed in Murano, some of the earliest tiny seed beads were likely produced by a method known...Continue Reading