Iconic items,
The steps of our history
The glass working in Empoli area has been documented since the fifteenth century. Between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth numerous glassworks specialized in particular on the production of demijohns, flasks and green glass tableware (Tuscan bufferia) were built. In the second post-war period a serious crisis in the sector led to diversify the production with the creation of cooperative glassworks for the manufacture of artistic glass, not only in green shades.
At the end of the 1960s the area of Empoli was going through the years of industrial major growth in glass production reaching its historical high with 38 glass factories and 3500 workers. Hundreds of small processing firms were involved in these activities: decorators, grinders, women flask menders. About ten thousand people in a 60,000 inhabitants area.
Alvaro Landi, glass master with experiences in many Empoli glassworks, and Adriano Caponi, director in the leading glass decoration company in the city, decide to pool their skills in addition to the friendship that binds them. The idea is to propose customized glass items for catering and bars.
With the collaboration of the wives Renata and Fabrizia they give birth to their first small artisanal glass processing company where the ideas in their pocket come to life: the name was LAVEB (Lavorazione Artigianale Vetro Empoli Bar). In this workshop they create the first models of glasses, goblets and vases that will gradually be more and more successful.
In 1979 the experience gained led to the decision to set up a higher level company that could meet the ever increasing customer demands. This is how FARA was born, with the precise mission of “making customized glass and porcelain products for the hotel, restaurant and bar industry”.
We aim to represent through some iconic items the steps of our history.
1973: LEV glass
From an idea of Alvaro and Adriano the first glass produced on an industrial scale in over a million pieces. On the market there is still a revised and correct version of this item that in Italy made the history of the bitter at bar.
1976: Ossigenazione decanter
In the latter half of the 1970s the growth o Italian wine culture had a great surge. Wine, from tavern drink sometimes of poor quality, undergoes a development in production techniques and consumption patterns. It is in this period that the decanter became the “symbol” object of wine tasting. FARA was the first glassworks to produce it in Italy and throughout the 1980s this product, made in blown glass in Empoli, was our best-seller.
1980: Grappino glass for distillates
At the same time as the decanter also the Grappino glass, handmade in blown glass in Empoli, was a great success and allowed us to enter the North European market where Italian distillates have great development. This glass was in production until the end of 1990s.
1986: Carli oil cruet
The exclusive set for the famous mail order brand composed by two blown glass bottles, customized for oil and vinegar, was a very significant project for our company in this period. The lid is a treat: it, too, in blown handmade glass, empty inside.
1995: Oil tasting glass
The tasting glass manufacture begins after the publication of the regulations for the olive oil sensorial tasting by the International Olive Council. Interest in oil culture is growing and the oil tasting glass becomes an indispensable tool for its evaluation. Made in mouth-blown glass, it is immediately produced in cobalt blue and transparent glass.
2003: Swatch flower pot
An exclusive project for the famous Swiss watch brand. A one-flower jar made of blown glass inside of which the “Mother’s Day” special edition watch was placed. The product was customized with Swatch logo on lower part.
2019: Tuscan Bufferia
Our latest project aims to enhance the local craftsmanship. We revisit our historical molds and models in a contemporary key and the typical processing techniques of blown glass come back to life through the collaboration with the Tuscan master glassmakers to create 100% handmade products in Tuscany.