Italian Millefiori

Italian Millefiori resembles tiny pieces of Christmas candy because it is made in a similar way.  Glass artists will take many thin glass rods and arrange them in a bundle so that they form a pattern in the cross section.  The artist checks the pattern by looking at the end of the bundle.  Once the pattern is set, the rods in the bundle are fused together into one rod with a torch.  This rod is stretched thin while it is hot, allowed to cool, and then cut into pieces that we know as millefiori.  Millefiori means "Thousand Flowers" and it is often used to represent flowers in mosaic pictures.  While the most common pattern in millefiori is a basic flower shape, other patterns are also popular:  stars, bulls eyes, hearts, swirls, etc.   The millefiori assortment we sell includes many patterns and colors.  It's a great accent for all sorts of mosaics, particularly those made with mixed materials, but keep in mind the pieces are rather small (less than 1/2 inch in diameter.)  The thickness varies roughly around 1/8 inch, so millefiori can be used with glass mosaic tile

Our Mosaic Questions page or our page of Mosaic Instructions has information about how to glue mosaic materials and how to mix and apply grout.  Both of those pages can really save a beginner time and frustration.

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