Family lace and linen house in a 1700s building on Piazza Galuppi, Burano, where four generations have worked Burano lace. A family museum upstairs keeps 18th century wedding garments and antique lace. Beyond lace it makes bespoke home linen for residences and hotels, and it also furnishes yachts and private jets. Three boutiques: the Burano flagship and workshop, one inside the Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice and one in Los Angeles.
Best for Burano lace and bespoke bed and table linen made on the island
Emilia Burano is a family lace and linen house on Piazza Galuppi on the island of Burano, in the Venice lagoon. The boutique and workshop occupy a traditional Burano building from the 1700s, which the house calls the Factory of Emilia. For four generations the family has worked with Burano lace, and the master crafters inside the store pass their lace making methods from mother to daughter. One flight up, a family museum holds 18th century wedding garments and antique pieces of lace that trace the family history. The house remains a family owned business and no longer confines its work to lace alone. It also produces bespoke home linen for private residences and hotels, and it also furnishes the interiors of yachts and private jets. Its stated philosophy rests on quality and handmade work under the banner of Made in Italy. Emilia Burano lists three boutiques, with the flagship store and workshop on Burano, a second inside the Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice and a third in Los Angeles. The wider range covers bed and table linen together with bath robes and towels, then cashmere throws and silk lingerie, and handkerchiefs for gifts. Worldwide shipping is offered from the Burano workshop through the online store.
Fortuny produces decorative textiles at its historic factory on Giudecca in Venice, using methods passed down through generations of makers. Mariano Fortuny and Henriette Negrin opened the factory in 1922, and the production studios remain closed to the public. Visitors can arrange a showroom appointment to explore textiles and home accessories at the historic property.
Best for Venetian decorative textiles and showroom appointments on Giudecca
Fortuny's Giudecca property brings a working textile business and a visitor showroom together on the same Venetian island. Mariano Fortuny and his wife and collaborator Henriette Negrin opened the factory in the summer of 1922. Its production methods draw on techniques and machinery passed down from the founders, with the details kept within the business.
The distinction between the showroom and the production studios matters when planning a visit. Fortuny welcomes visitors to the showroom and gardens, but the studios themselves are not open to the public. An appointment is therefore a way to explore the textiles and home accessories, rather than a promise of watching the printing process.
The company lists its Venice address at Giudecca 805 and takes appointment requests through its contact page. It also maintains a New York showroom, which is reserved for industry professionals. For a Venice visit, selecting the relevant location when requesting an appointment keeps the enquiry with the team at the historic property.
Seguso represents twenty-three generations of Murano glassmaking carried by one family. Its glass is blown on Murano itself, continuing a dynastic craft tradition passed down within the same family line.
Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua still weaves its prized soprarizzo velvet by hand on eighteenth-century looms once owned by the silk guild of the Venetian Republic, alongside damasks, brocatelles, and lampas fabrics for haute couture and historic restoration projects. The family-run showroom and shop on Santa Croce welcomes visitors by appointment to see the looms in action.
Best for Hand-woven soprarizzo velvet, damasks, and lampas on 18th-century Venetian guild looms
Martina Vidal has made Burano lace for four generations, now paired with luxury home linen collections of bed, bath and table linens in cotton giza, cashmere and silk. The atelier is based in the Palazzo dei Pittori, a three-floor historic building on Via San Mauro in Burano.