Laguna~B is a Venice based company that has been producing its signature Goti and iconic Murano glass drinkware for over thirty years. Since its beginning, it does that in its own particular way, working with Murano glass, a material shaped by centuries of tradition, with a contemporary mindset.
Founded by Marie Brandolini in 1994 and led by her son Marcantonio since 2017, Laguna~B has chosen to focus on a single product typology, the drinking glass, a choice that allows for both refinement and experimentation.
On the ground floor office of Palazzo Giustinian Brandolini, we spoke with Caterina Capelli of the communications team. She described a shared effort within the studio to create a cultural space that goes beyond glassware, defining a new way of thinking about Murano glass, and perhaps about Venice itself. One that looks to the future rather than the past.
Hi Caterina, thank you for this interview. Can you tell us the story of Laguna~B? How did it start?
Laguna~B was founded by Marie Brandolini, Marcantonio’s mother, who lived on the last floor of this building. She created the Goto by reinterpreting the odd drinking glasses Murano glassmakers used to make at the end of the day with leftover glass. These were entirely improvised, made with whatever material was on hand, and used by the masters themselves for drinking.
When Marie discovered these goti de fornasa, she decided to develop her own version. She was an artistic and contemporary person, raised in a world of art, Calder and Miró were among the inspirations for her work. That is how Laguna~B began, and for twenty years, Marie ran everything on her own. After her passing, the company paused for a time, it could not continue without her. So that’s how in 2017 Marcantonio returned from studying abroad and took over the company.
Marie was already making contemporary glassware, but our idea was building a company that felt contemporary especially in its communication, something that has always been missing in Murano and around Murano glass, and still is today. At the beginning, the company was very small, Alessandro [Laguna~B’s photographer] and I arrived in 2020 and 2021, when the communications department didn’t yet exist. Today, it’s one of the defining elements of Marcantonio’s approach.
The value of Murano glass has traditionally come from its deep-rooted history, shaped by people with decades of experience. Our vision is quite different. We believe Murano needs energy and young people, and why not, people from abroad. All of this needed to be condensed into a form of communication that aligned with our vision.
Let’s talk about your drinkware. You have the well known Goti, and what else are you producing within the classic collections?
Looking at the classic collections, meaning the original ones from the 1990s, the first one is indeed the Goto. Then come the Berlingot, named after the French candies from Marie’s childhood, the classic striped glasses. And then the transparent version of the Goto in the Fantasia collection.
There are also other collections like Filigrana, made with a refined Murano technique. Dune, a set of champagne glasses, Bolle, and Margherite. All of these collections were designed by Marie, Marcantonio later developed his own takes, like new color versions of the Berlingot, many different colorways – the opaque version that our clients often use as vases, and the Tropicana.
Are the Goti made according to a standard design, or is each one different?
That’s the beauty of it, they come out slightly different each time. Marie designed them herself, combining and arranging elements. Today they are made by master glassmakers, but since they are handcrafted, each one is unique. Marie standardized the process, setting aesthetic criteria and clear rules for how her Goti should be made. For example, using the larger murrine, which are also the rarest.
Larger murrine?
Murrine are long glass rods. You pull and pull, the rod stretches, and the end part remains larger. Then they are sliced into sections, placed on a hot metal plate, and the hot glass is rolled over them. The end of the rod is the biggest and the rarest, that’s why Marie chose to use that part for her glass. In this way, she defined how her Goto should be made even though, of course, no two are ever exactly the same, simply because they are made by hand.
And the Limited collections?
One of our core principles for Laguna~B is table diversity. A Laguna~B table is one where each person chooses their own glass with a gesture that is both expressive and playful. That’s why we do not sell sets, only individual glasses, encouraging people to create unconventional tables.
The Limited series was introduced with this in mind. Partly because Laguna~B’s approach to Murano glass is experimental, we are always looking to try new techniques, or to use leftover or rediscovered murrine. These are limited editions because the techniques involved are complex, and producing large quantities would cost too much. New editions are released regularly, because we want to expand the diversity of our collections, adding glasses that are fun, more playful.
There are also some important collaborations, can you talk about them?
Yes, we do collaborations as well. We did one with Saint Laurent, but it was released only on their website as Laguna~B x Saint Laurent, we don’t sell it ourselves. In the past, we’ve also done other collaborations with Frédéric Malle, a longtime friend of the founder and a fan of the Goti, or more recently with Simple Flair. But in general, the collaborators handle the sales, we focus only on our own glassware. In fact, we only make glasses. Only drinkware. We don’t make plates, we don’t make bowls. The idea is that if you focus on one thing and keep doing it, eventually you’ll do it better than anyone else. But if you spread yourself across too many product types, it’s harder to reach that level of excellence. We want to become a cult name in the world of drinking glasses.
This year, in terms of limited editions, we’ve been very experimental. Look at this one, for example [Please don’t sit]. But that’s the point: to take a disruptive approach to Murano glass, to bring in new ideas, and never take anything for granted.
And how has this attitude been received in Murano?
Actually, it’s been well received. Maybe deep down the glassmasters think, what are these crazy people trying to do now, but I really do think they enjoy experimenting with new things. For example, we did involve the masters in this project: a series of sex toys created in collaboration with artist Francesca Albergo, who’s incredibly talented. No, they’re not functional, they’re art pieces. That was definitely a moment of clash, where people were asking, wait, what are we doing here? But even then, Francesca went to Murano and worked closely with the masters throughout the process. We made four pieces, which now belong to the world of creative commissions and artistic collaborations.
There’s also a whole universe of non-product collaborations that we call creative commissions, because they’re initiated by us and entrusted to artists, photographers, or illustrators. Often they’re friends of ours, or artists we admire and follow. The projects are very diverse.
In addition to collaborations, you’re also working on some important projects. Can you tell us more?
Yes, projects have been part of Laguna~B since Marcantonio took over. One of the most important ones we’re working on now is VITAL, developed in collaboration with the association We Are Here Venice, and the idea is to find way of offsetting our emissions locally.
The carbon credit market is fairly controversial, and we’re trying to find a solution that works at a local level. It makes far more sense, after all, this is where resources are used, this is where emissions happen, and where boats transport goods. To do this, we’re working with We Are Here Venice to regenerate some of the barene in the northern lagoon, which have a strong capacity to store carbon. So we are measuring how much carbon the barene can hold, while continuing to monitor our own carbon footprint. By comparing what a barena can store with our own emissions, we are developing a model to offset that impact, with the goal of offering the same approach to other businesses in Venice.
The other major project we are involved in is Autonoma, created to bring new energy, young and international, to Murano, so that it can become a place for exchange and experimentation. One of the biggest issues facing Murano glassmaking is the lack of a new generation of glassmakers. It is demanding work, and it requires a particular kind of lifestyle, in many ways, it feels like a world apart. You have to get up early, it is physically intense. There are still people doing it, and some talented young glassmakers, but they are very few. Attracting new people to glassmaking is an urgent need. Becoming a master takes years of experience, it is not easy. Think about it, many of today’s masters started working at thirteen – they are now in their eighties and still at the furnace.
This long introduction is to say that Autonoma is designed to find new talent from abroad, especially young people, and bring them to Murano for artistic residencies.
Looking at the photos of the project the participants look really young, are they still in school?
Yes, we have a partnership with an American school near Seattle, Pilchuck Glass School, created to bring new creativity to Murano and to give these young people the chance to learn directly from the master glassmakers. In recent years, we have also been developing an exchange program with students from Abate Zanetti, a high school in Murano that also has its own furnace. These students meet the American glassmakers from Pilchuck, a community full of passionate and highly skilled people. The next edition is scheduled for July.
We also began another major project last year with the company Promemoria, which also publishes the magazine Archivio. To mark Laguna~B’s thirtieth anniversary they created the historical archive of the company, working with our in-house archivist Marta Dell’Era. We now have the full archive in digital form, including all the materials we have collected over the years, from glasses to postcards.
We also have a few smaller projects, but this year I think we’ll mainly focus on these.
That’s already quite a lot.
Yeah, it really is [laughs].
Among Laguna~B’s many projects, I found the Magazine to be quite interesting.
The Magazine is an evolution of the editorial newsletters we started in 2022. From the beginning, Laguna~B’s communication was never meant to be purely commercial. The goal was always to offer cultural value, an idea, some inspiration. That was the spirit behind the newsletters we used to send out, which gradually evolved until this year we decided to turn them into a proper magazine. In fact, it will evolve again in 2026, when we plan to launch a print edition to coincide with Biennale Arte.
So we’re working on that too, because Laguna~B’s mission, beyond making exceptional glasses, is also about being culturally relevant, about giving visibility to emerging talents and creative voices. The Magazine is meant to reflect our universe, which goes beyond glassware. It’s a world with a lot to offer on a cultural level.
Above all, the vision of Venice that we put forward resists the usual stereotypes. It avoids showing what has already been seen, always looking for a fresh perspective. That mindset applies both to the design of the glasses and to how we communicate. It’s about questioning what already exists and bringing something new.
Reading the magazine, I got the sense of a big family. There seems to be a kind of coming and going of interesting people who converge here and find ways to collaborate.
Yes, it’s nice that you mention that because that’s the ambition, in a way. But it also comes very naturally to us, because what matters most is our relationship with people. Everything we do comes from that, from our relationship with people we know and consider friends.
We’ve also found other local realities, neighbours we get along with and who share our vision of what Venice could be in the future. For example, there’s bruno, a bookshop and graphic design studio, we’ve done many publications with them, and they also curate the library in our shop. That’s their project, hosted within Laguna~B, and bruno regularly brings in new titles they’ve selected. They also write a column for the magazine. It’s a collaboration we really value.
Then there’s Lorenzo Mason and his studio, they work in graphic design. We collaborate with them on publishing projects, and their studio is nearby. And there’s Signor Blum, who make hand cut wooden sculptures that fit together like puzzles. They usually make toys, but using the same technique they created a shop window for us to launch a limited collection. These are all creative realities, and then there’s Vini da Arturo.
Would you say Vini da Arturo is a bit of an obsession?
Actually, we have a strong connection. I personally love it, but it goes deeper, he was a friend of the founder, Marie, and of Marcantonio, they used to go there with the whole family. He uses our glassware in the restaurant, and it’s a place we always recommend to people who visit us, we’re really fond of it. We even published a book to mark its 50th anniversary, as a way of celebrating it. Every year we publish one of his recipes, three in total so far. It’s one more collaboration that means a lot to us.
There are also many individual creatives we work with. For example, Simone Carraro, who is featured in the Magazine, made a tapestry that used to hang in our old office, and now he also contributes to the Magazine’s fiction column. He’s someone who’s always been part of our world and continues to create wonderful things. There’s also Giacomo Bianco, and others who become part of the Magazine over time. Even the people we interview in the Magazine we know personally, they are all very special and inspiring.
Let’s say that when it comes to our values and our way of seeing things, it’s easy to find people who are aligned with that. It just comes naturally.
For a better look at Laguna~B glassware collections and cultural projects, visit their website lagunab.com, or check their Instagram accounts @everywhere_lagunab /@magazine_lagunab
