Vanessa Cavallaro

Glass engraver

©Vanessa Cavallaro

©Vanessa Cavallero

A woman thriving in a man's world

Vanessa's father wanted to pass on his engraving skills only to women
In 2016 she received the Maestro d'Arte e Mestiere (MAM) prize
She uses the same engraving technique as the ancient Romans

For Vanessa Cavallaro, devoting her life to glass engraving was like going back home. After graduating in advertising graphic design from the Istituto Europeo di Design in Turin, Vanessa decided to leave the big city and move back to Altare, a small town in inland Liguria where her father used to run his workshop. The history of this region is closely tied to the production and engraving of glass, which was introduced at the end of the 19th century by a Bohemian master artisan who had fallen in love with a local girl. “This love at first sight started a tradition that has made Altare famous throughout the world,” explains Vanessa in her shop situated on the central piazza of the small town.

Interview

©Vanessa Cavallero

What was it like for you to work in such a male environment?: In the beginning it wasn’t easy. If my father hadn’t decided to stay by my side I probably wouldn’t have been taken seriously. Glass engraving is a traditionally male craft, and it is a hard job. You have to sit down for hours, and at the end of the day your hands and arms hurt very much.
When did the other masters start to take notice of you?: For years I was almost transparent. Then colleagues who met me at events started to understand that I was determined, and they began talking to me. I was lucky to be trained by a very special master: my father decided to teach the trade only to women, because in his opinion we have better taste.
How do you combine innovation and tradition in your work?: The technique itself is traditional, and involves engraving glass using ceramic wheels turned on a lathe, creating patterns which are also traditional, because this is what clients look for. I innovate by using classical decorations from other cultures, like the Bohemian rose.
Do your remember your first engraving?: I certainly do. It was a glass on which I had drawn a Smurf. I must have been 11 years old, the same age of my oldest child now. He and his brother often come to see me at the workshop after school, and they are already pretty good at creating dots, which is the first step when you learn this craft.

Vanessa Cavallaro is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1993