Our company.
Who we are and who we were
From the 1960s to the 2000s. Our history has spanned many eras, habits, and ways of living. Yet, we are still those who love glass (and more) and continue to decorate it. The market has changed, Empoli is no longer the cradle of glassworks. Techniques have changed: more machines and less manual work. This is why we take care of our incomparable craftsmen who still know how to hand-blow a glass and then grind it, detail by detail. We are the offspring of the experience and work of our founders, Alvaro and Adriano. Some of their original designs, those that gave life to iconic objects like the Lev glass, are before our eyes every day and are a continuous source of inspiration. By looking at them, we rediscover the vision that leads us to the future.
We and the clients
Whether it’s a restaurant, a hotel, a pub, or a neighborhood bar, each venue has its own style. It represents what it offers and to whom it offers, and tells which people will choose it, among many others.
This is our starting point every time we receive a request. Everyone seeks a way to be recognizable: a screen-printed or engraved logo, a colored rim, a 1950s-style grinding. Everything is part of the customization we do thanks to the skills of our style office. You are not like the others if you choose a personalized item.
Our showroom
Over the years, we have created many collections and as many products. The showroom is a space created to value our history and, above all, to offer the opportunity to see and touch what we know how to do. It is our good living room, where we welcome those who come to visit us and where even a simple water jug becomes more beautiful, thanks to our decorative techniques.
We and the world
Our products love to travel, often reaching wonderful places: the starred kitchen of Le Cirque in New York, already in the 1970s, is an example.
They are always stories, almost never random, of bright and extraordinary encounters, just like our glass.
When it reaches the hands of the best professionals in the restaurant and hotel industry, it transforms their clients’ experience: our yogurt jars created for the prestigious Hotel Passalacqua on Lake Como, the glasses for Palazzo Papadopoli in Venice, the first AMAN resort opened in Italy.
Certifications
For some years now, we have been MID certified (EU Directive 2014/32/EU) obtained thanks to the Certified Quality System we created in compliance with the UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 standard.
The people of Fara
From our hands to yours: our products are the result of work we do together, valuing each individual’s skills.
Behind every plate, glass, bottle, or cup, there are our ideas and also yours, which accompany us and give us trust since we were born.
Ours is a long history made by over sixty collaborators: some arrived just eighteen and built their professional but also life path within the company. We have seen experiences form, families grow, and many of those who helped us become what we are now reach their well-deserved retirement. And it is the path we are still walking today.
Your style is our story.
When a master glassmaker and an expert decorator meet, something special can happen.
Bound by a great friendship, Alvaro Landi and Adriano Caponi decide to combine their skills to shape an idea: to create customized glass items for restaurants and bars.
Together with Renata and Fabrizia, their wives, the first small artisanal glass transformation reality is born, where ideas kept in the drawer finally find space: LAVEB, Lavorazione Artigianale Vetro Empoli Bar.
In this workshop, the first models of glasses, goblets, and vases see the light, which step by step begin to achieve increasing success.
In 1981, the experience gained and the continuously growing demands lead to a change of pace: to found a more structured company, capable of responding to an increasingly demanding clientele.
Thus FARA was born to create customized glass and porcelain products for the world of hotels, restaurants, and bars.
Our iconic items:
1973
LEV glass
From an idea of Alvaro and Adriano, the first glass produced on an industrial scale in over a million pieces. LEV made the history of amaro at the bar in Italy. A revised version is still available on the market.
1976
Oxygenation decanter
In the second half of the 1970s, Italian wine culture grew significantly. Wine, a tavern drink, often of poor quality, underwent an evolution in production techniques and consumption methods. It is in this period that the decanter established itself as a “symbol” object of wine tasting. FARA was the first glassworks to produce it in Italy. Strictly mouth-blown in Empoli, it was our best-seller of the ’80s.
1986
Carli Oil Set
The exclusive set for Olio Carli, the famous mail-order brand, was one of the most significant projects for our company. Composed of two mouth-blown glass bottles for oil and vinegar, personalized with the brand. A gem? The stopper, also mouth-blown glass, is hollow inside.
1995
Assaggiaolio®
Production of the tasting glass begins following the publication by the International Olive Council of the sensory tasting regulation for olive oil. Interest in oil culture grows, and the glass becomes an indispensable tool for its evaluation. Made of mouth-blown glass, it has been produced in cobalt blue and transparent glass from the start.
2003
Swatch flower vase
An exclusive project for the famous Swiss watch brand. A vase for a single flower made of mouth-blown glass. Personalized with the Swatch logo on the lower part, it housed the special edition “Mother’s Day” watch.
2019
Bufferia Toscana
A project that aims to enhance local artisanal craftsmanship. We revisit our historical molds and models in a contemporary key, through collaboration with Tuscan master glassmakers. Typical mouth-blown glass processing techniques come back to life to create 100% handmade products.