Visitors to the St. Ives Food and Wine Festival are often surprised to find that around a third of the 80+ stalls actually sell goods which you can’t eat or drink! Anything from the fashionable to the practical, the artistic to the unusual. One stall where you’ll find a unique combination of fashionable, artistic and unusual is Ritzy Rocks (http://www.ritzyrocks.com/).
Renata from Ritzy Rocks has been a regular stallholder at the St. Ives event for many years displaying her beautifully-crafted jewellery, much of which is made from Venetian glass which Renata has been specialising in since 2008.
You might be wondering what’s so special about Venetian glass? Well the making of glass in Venice has a very long and proud tradition, and when I say long I mean over 700 years! For example, one of the most famous glass-making businesses in the area, Barovier & Toso was established in 1295 and is still going strong today.
Some of Ritzy Rocks jewellery features ‘millefiore’ glass, which translates to glass of a ‘thousand flowers’. The results are stunning as you can see from these pendants above. Other items include Birthstone bracelets featuring Swarovski crystals, earrings made with Venetian Glass beads, unique watches featuring different coloured bands and hand-crafted fully adjustable rings. Many pieces are one of a kind.
But as you can see below, life is tough for Renata! She has to travel regularly to Venice, particularly to the island of Murano just north of the city to source new and exciting materials for her customers. Yes, I know…all that travel is a heavy burden…
