My grandmother always had tons of these around the house. She loved traveling to countries in Africa, and would frequently bring more of these back. So, when I started researching the beads that I love, I was surprised to learn that these beads had more than African roots!
Millefiori is Italian for "1000 flowers" and is made using slices of multicolored glass rods (canes), pressed smooth while hot into the surface of a core piece of glass. Although the technique was mastered in Italy, it dates back to Egyptian times several centuries ago. It's thought that the Egyptians were the ones who knew how to mix different colors of glass. This technique was then used in Rome, but it's unknown if they influenced each other.
You’ll see many millefiori pieces in Julielle Jewelry’s summer and tribal collections!