The Zafferano story

We spent a month in Italy at the beginning of summer and fell in love with all things Italian. Our days were filled with many different adventures. From the spectacular heritage and chaos of Florence to the breathtaking beauty of Lake Como we thought we couldn’t see anything better until we arrived on the Amalfi Coast. After a hair raising drive around the cliffs past some of the most spectacular views of the Mediterranean we arrived in Positano. Oh my god this place has to be seen to be believed from the moment we left our car in the parking station and made our way down into the town we were mesmerised. The huge numbers of people, the colour, the excitement and buzz captured our imagination and our hearts. We wound our way down to the beach through the narrow streets overhung with the most glorious shades of bougainvillaea and just knew we had found a very special part of the world. Shop after shop tempted us with gorgeous relaxed linen fashions and colourful ceramics typical of the coast. However what caught our eye and made us do a double take was a set of coloured glasses in a shop window. I don’t know why exactly but I think it was because they sparkled in the sun and reflected the colours of the beauty all around us. They were quite unlike anything we had seen at home and at this moment we knew they had to come home with us.

That set of glasses has started this new journey for us and there began our love of Zafferano - our first collection.

Federico de Majo, founder and designer of Zafferano, spent hours as a young boy playing in the attic of his grandmother’s terrace where he came upon collections of the prized family glassware.

This is where he found his love of brilliant glass…..the way it glowed seized him with wonder and stirred emotions that started his passion with glass. Federico’s desire to learn more took him from streets of the local towns through old junk dealers, refined antique shops and old country houses where his discerning eye took it all in. He started in the family business on the isle of Murano in the seventies. He learned from the skillful hands of the masters how to create the stunning hand blown and artistic glass that had captured his imagination as a child. Federico is devoted to his art …designing and creating collections of stunning glassware that bring dreams and emotions to life. His collections for Zafferano have distinguished themselves at an international level for originality and creativity in a very short time.

Zafferano brings mouth-blown and handmade collections in wine glass, coloured glass and porcelain that provide a complete offer for setting a table and a mise en place featuring creativity and style with a richness of colour.

The choice of Zafferano by top restaurants and chefs around the world - bears testimony to the recognition of the high-quality artisan workmanship and originality of his designs.

When we returned to Australia we contacted Federico to tell him our story and how we want to share his story with Australia, and here we are.

"Every great design
begins with an
even better story
"