Villi USA LLC

The history of glass as a unique material began in Ancient Egypt 6,000 years ago. Glass pearls, which had formed inside volcanic rock, were seen as a symbol of beauty and wealth then.

Glass was first manufactured in Mesopotamia in 3000 BC. Glass was melted in a fireclay core and then shaped. Alexander the Great discovered the peculiar material on his expeditions and spread it around the Middle East. The blowpipe was invented in the Mediterranean area and led to the manufacture of glass becoming an art form. For the first time, it was possible to shape glass.
The land of glass art -
the Adriatic Alps region
The old glass tradition started in the south of Austria, in the region of the Koralpe Mountain, at the glassworks at the former sites of production (forest glass, 1665 - 1738) and St. Vinzenz (glass chandeliers for Versailles and mirror glass, 1728 - 1764).

Its path takes us from Bärnbach in Styria (industrial glass production) to Tyrol and Swarovski and back across the Alps to Venice. From there, we return with the glass heads of Kiki Kogelnik to Lower Carinthia. It is here that we encounter another facet of glass-making: Glass art and, in particular, glass artists.

This look-back in history takes us to the beginnings of VILLIglas. Born of a vision, of innovation and a pioneering spirit, a unique product was created, for which we relied, yet again, on know-how from Italy. This is how this process, unique and patented around the world, was started.