Meet Dennis, Deborah and Fabio

Dennis is from Ghent, New York. Deborah and Fabio are from Murano, an island in Venice, Italy Dennis is a former Christian monk and met the couple years ago while working in Italy. Today they consider themselves family. Murano is world renowned for its glassmaking. Venice was the leading glassmaking empire in the 8th century. In 1291, a law was passed that required all glassmakers in Venice to move to Murano. The move was intended to protect Venice from fires caused by glass furnaces but some historians believe the move was intended to isolate glassmakers so they couldn’t share trade secrets. Glassmakers were highly valued and enjoyed privileges like immunity from prosecution. Deborah was born on the island and comes from many generations of glassmakers. Fabio was born in Venice and began his career has a glassmaker when he was 18. The two met when Fabio moved to the island as an apprentice at just 18 years old. That is not only when their glassmaking journey begin, but when their love story began. They are each other’s first loves and pray to be each other’s last. They have been together for 40 years. On March 10th, they will have been married for 36 years. Fabio spent his life working alongside some of the best glass makers in history. He currently works for a furnace that has done work for many world renowned Italian companies, such Armani, Hermes, Versace, and others. Deborah learned the art through her father and she now owns her own store on the island. She said, “Glass blowing is a difficult life. Especially when you are on an island. The island is quiet and safe island although the cost of living is quite more expensive. Everything, including simple life necessities, must be transported to the island. We have a very small community. We all know each other and we all share the good and bad together. At times, because of the tides, the island is almost completely underwater, such as the floods of 2019. At times like those, our community comes together. We have to. We have to help each other rebuild.” The couple travels home back to Murano in two days. The one thing they want to tell the world is, “Love yourself first. Everything else will come. You can do anything you set your mind to.” Thank you so much for visiting!