AT Corso Como 88 in One Ayala, there’s always something interesting for your eyes to land on. Among the new additions is a P15-million Murano glass horse, flecked with gold.
On July 31, the store held a Venetian-style masque to celebrate the Murano glass items that they have added to their inventory. The island of Murano near Venice had been a center of glassmaking in Italy since the Middle Ages, and all sorts of glassware, from jewelry to sculptures, has been exported from the island.
“We started with glass jewelry, which sold very well, and now we have Murano exhibition pieces and mosaics,” said store owner Imelda Menguito in a statement. The glass horse, and an accompanying tiger also flecked with gold, were both created by the Pino Signoretto studios, its namesake one of the greatest masters of contemporary glass art. The studio has been managed by his family since the death of the artist in 2017.
There are other artworks on display: aside from smaller pieces depicting similarly flamboyant animals, there are also paintings and other wall hangings. The store, which opened last year, presents familiar European brands like Bottega Veneta and Fendi. However, their point of pride comes from small artisanal Italian brands like Biagini from Modena, Buti from Florence, Gianni Chiarini from Florence, and, very soon, Gherardini from Florence.
“Each Murano piece is unique. They cannot be done a second (time),” Ms. Menguito said, explaining in an interview how the Murano glass pieces fit into this vision of selling artisanship. “There couldn’t be another piece made. It will be different,” she said.
“Everything that we put in Corso Como, besides it being made in Italy, there’s passion that came into it.”
The store started with her purchasing Italian bags for friends, and then it grew into a business. While closing down the initial branch at Ayala Malls The 30th, she plans to open a second branch in BGC. Furthermore, they’re beefing up their online presence via https://corsocomo88.com/.
“We could reach out to the clients,” she said. “Humbly, I say that the Visayas and Mindanao regions are actually very receptive to the Italian brands; more than the top brands. They appreciate the craftsmanship of ‘Made in Italy’ quality.
“Filipinos really know what they want in terms of how things are made,” she said. — Joseph L. Garcia
