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Glass gives the impression of being fragile. But this delicate material has also been mesmerizing us for millennia with its lucidity, and this renders glass an excellent material for artistic creation. 
 
The Venetian island of Murano in Italy has been a hub for glass artisans for centuries, making it a big name in the glass art manufacturing history in Europe.
 
In 1987, Renato Manzoni decided to open Ma.Re, a brand with the ambition of offering customers the best artistic productions made on Murano Island.
 
Around two years ago, some tourists from Macau visited Ma.Re’s flagship store near Piazza San Marco in Venice. Apart from expressing their fondness for the art pieces there, they also suggested that the gallery should consider opening a shop in Macau. This prompted Ma.Re to open the brand’s first Asian store Murano Art Glass last year on the Promenade at Galaxy Macau.
 
Tommaso Manzoni is the CEO of Murano Art Glass. Sharing the same passion for Venetian glass with his father Renato, Tommaso believes that buying glass art is sometimes just about feeling. 
 
“You must have a feeling towards the piece that you are going to buy, the emotions that are transmitted by the piece,” he explains.
 
There have been occasions when customers have walked into the shop and developed an instant connection with a particular piece. 
 
“It’s like a girlfriend. You can feel immediately which one is attractive.”
 
Given the fragile nature of glass, it is not surprising that not all the art pieces survive the manufacturing process or can be finished without any problems or flaws. For every ten pieces made by artists, three of them may break due to humidity or temperature. This makes the surviving piece even more precious.
 
As well as selling finished art pieces in their shop, Tommaso explains that they also accept orders for tailor-made items. Some of the most popular items include chandeliers and glasses. Depending on the size of the product and the difficulty, it usually takes between one week and one month to finish an order.
 
When asked about the most unique item in the Macau shop, Tommaso, without hesitation, points to The Clown, a human-sized glass clown figure. 
 
The CEO says that the figure was created by one of their most important artists Pino Signoretto. Currently, there are only around 20 pieces made in the world, with some of them already auctioned. 
 
For the Macau shop, the majority of customers are from Mainland China. Tommaso believes that glass art is still novel for mainland customers, while customers from Macau and Hong Kong seem to appreciate glass art more. 
 
“When customers from Macau and Hong Kong come inside the shop, they already know a bit about the story and how the products are made, while mainland customers are not yet very familiar with glass art,” he explains.
 
Regarding the future development of Ma.Re and Murano Art Glass, Tommaso says that they will continue to seek collaborations with renowned artists to create more unique glass art pieces. He is also eyeing the Asian market with great interest. 
 
“This shop [in Galaxy Macau] is a nice window for the whole of Asia. In the few months since we have been open, there have already been different requests from other places in Asia, such as Singapore and Malaysia,” he says.
 
With both Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day approaching, customers can find some excellent gifts for their friends, families and loved ones here too.  
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