Makers

Understanding Vietnamese Lacquerware

Understanding Vietnamese Lacquerware

How to tell genuine hand-sanded Vietnamese lacquer from a painted imitation - look into the surface, not at it - and how to keep it that way.

Understanding Vietnamese Lacquerware

How to tell genuine hand-sanded Vietnamese lacquer from a painted imitation - look into the surface, not at it - and how to keep it that way.

Caring for Solid Bronze

Caring for Solid Bronze

How to wash, dry and store solid bronze so it develops an even patina instead of tarnishing unevenly - and why polishing it to a mirror shine defeats the point.

Caring for Solid Bronze

How to wash, dry and store solid bronze so it develops an even patina instead of tarnishing unevenly - and why polishing it to a mirror shine defeats the point.

Spotting Real Marbled Paper

Spotting Real Marbled Paper

How to tell hand-marbled paper from a printed imitation - the small irregularities, the soft colour edges, and why no two genuine sheets are ever quite the same.

Spotting Real Marbled Paper

How to tell hand-marbled paper from a printed imitation - the small irregularities, the soft colour edges, and why no two genuine sheets are ever quite the same.

Spotting Genuine Murano Glass

Spotting Genuine Murano Glass

The pontil mark, where the colour sits, and why no two pieces from a real furnace match exactly - how to spot glass actually blown on Murano.

Spotting Genuine Murano Glass

The pontil mark, where the colour sits, and why no two pieces from a real furnace match exactly - how to spot glass actually blown on Murano.

Spotting Genuine Italian Leather

Spotting Genuine Italian Leather

What separates full-grain leather from the corrected and synthetic kind - the grain, the crease, the edges, and why it should improve with use.

Spotting Genuine Italian Leather

What separates full-grain leather from the corrected and synthetic kind - the grain, the crease, the edges, and why it should improve with use.

Vase Taka, Miel — mouth-blown recycled glass by La Soufflerie, Paris

Reading Hand-Blown Glass

The physical signs that a piece of glass was actually blown by hand - trapped air bubbles, applied bands that never quite match, and a base that shows how it...

Reading Hand-Blown Glass

The physical signs that a piece of glass was actually blown by hand - trapped air bubbles, applied bands that never quite match, and a base that shows how it...