“It’s not just about glassware. It’s about being contemporary.”

After moving to Venice in 1988, leaving behind her job in New York, Marie could finally pursue her creative talent. An idea had clicked in her mind after her stepfather gifted her a stock of old goti de fornasa from a nearby antique shop. These glasses were traditionally made by casually mixing glass scraps without worrying about their appearance. Moreover, used by the glass masters to drink from during their workdays, the goto de fornasa wasn’t meant to leave the furnace. Nonetheless, Marie saw in their varied aesthetics the opportunity to create something new and personal. She reinterpreted this undefined process and designed her Goto in 1994. The same year, she established Laguna~B’s first studio out of her penthouse in Palazzo Brandolini.

After apprehending the process the masters followed to make the goti de fornasa, Marie codified her own recipes and methods. She meticulously designed each piece herself, selecting and assembling bits of glass canes and murrine with the greatest care, always ensuring the glasses didn’t look too perfect or too similar. Her designs celebrated diversity and irregularity as the distinctive characteristic of objects made by the human hand. 

In a 1996 Archive letter, Marie gives a detailed description of the making process, which hasn’t changed since: “The maestro takes a pear-size quantity of burning glass from his kiln and dips it in a colored glass powder that determines the background color. Afterward, he puts it back in the kiln so the powder melts well into the glass. He then rolls this glass pear onto a small iron table on which I've placed the elements forming a design and picks them up. Once they are well embedded in the glass, he starts to blow and shape it.” Afterward, the glasses are left to rest in a kiln at decreasing temperature until the following morning.

Marie Brandolini conceived Laguna~B’s glasses as collectible, functional art. The uniqueness and story of each piece, as well as the creativity and the talent that the Goto incorporates, make it the perfect collectors’ piece even now. Often imitated, each Goto has its own glass “recipe” and secrets about colors and compositions.

Many of the letters, gifts, and greeting cards found in the Archive testify to the frequent and depth of relationships Marie established with whomever entered her world, especially her clients. Since 1994, many have become collectors and some of Marie’s Goti have been sold in international auctions.

Still working with the glass masters in Murano, Marcantonio developed new collections like the Berlingot Evo, the Berlingot Evo 2, and the Tropicana. He also launched a continuously evolving collection of limited edition pieces, pushing the boundaries of traditional techniques and offering a broader variety of glasses that would encourage diversity and playfulness at the table.

Laguna~B’s ambition to play a relevant role in the contemporary cultural landscape extends its influence beyond the drinking glass: a curated dispatch of mixed editorial content is delivered monthly to subscribers; limited edition publications are developed every year and shared with friends and clients; new projects are carried out yearly;

The first store, Spazio, opened in Venice in 2023. It features a fountain of glasses installation and a library; Laguna~B’s ideal tablescape defies conventional rules and favors experimentation, expression, and creativity.

The commitment towards reducing our environmental impact resulted in VITAL, a natural capital restoration project carried out in collaboration with We Are Here Venice that intends to offset the company’s emissions locally. Since 2021, Vitalhas been led by a team of experts working to restore the Venetian lagoon’s endangered marshes and their ability to stock CO2.