Aprosio & Co in Firenze, Florence, Italy | Gifts

Aprosio & Co was established in Florence, Italy, in 1993, as a source of research and also development in crystal and glass beads.

Out of the main tourist shopping area but still in the heart of the historic city, Palazzo Frescobaldi hosts th  beautiful new Aprosio showroom and shop.

In the corner of the historic Palazzo, Aprosio & Co  displays its dazzling jewels and accessories in crystal and glass beads. Each piece created exclusively by hand, is unique.

Meticulously produced for home decoration, curtains embellished with 'ramages' in beads, fantastic cushions are presented only in the florentine shop.

Fine shawls woven with cashmere and crystal are all a part of this very special collection of Aprosio & Co, Firenze, Italy.

You will find each season, new accessories designed by Ornella, that reflect the fashion influences, and that are previewed only at Premiere Classe in Paris.

Ornella says 'Nature is the inspiration for the major part of the design in every new collection'.

Its impossible to work with the beads without passion for this medium, it may mean a weeks work to create a new design, to find the right nuance of colour for an irridescent wing, to select the smallest beads and create a delicate, tiny little leg." The end result is a precious jewel of light.

Beads were the first ornaments to be worn by man, who enhanced their beauty in the fullness of time.

The production of glass beads by Venetian and Bohemian master craftsmen grew in Europe in the second half of the 16th century when the production and weaving of beads was considered one of the great handicraft of the Renaissance.