Holding Light: From Paris to Volterra

Paris in January can feel subdued, its skies low and moody, its gardens stripped to quiet silhouettes, but for Lori, the annual pilgrimage to Maison + Objet is something she looks forward to each year, regardless of the weather. This trade show offers a moment to reconnect with the artistry that fuels her work, and more often than not, to uncover something (or someone) extraordinary. It was there she first encountered the work of Roberto Bianchi.

This encounter was a chance meeting by all appearances. His booth was lined with luminous vessels, carved from a pale, glowing stone that didn’t just reflect light, but seemed to hold it. The alabaster pieces Roberto had brought to Paris were more than simply beautiful; they carried something older and deeper. Lori, with her gift for sensing not just aesthetic value but the soul of things, had to know more.

Their conversation began with technique. She learned how the Bianchi family has mined from the same Volterran quarry for generations, carving each piece by hand in a workshop tucked within the walls of an ancient Tuscan town. As they spoke, a genuine connection began to unfold. It was the kind of kinship that happens when two people share a reverence for materials, process, and provenance.

Months later, Lori would travel to Volterra to visit Roberto.

The town itself is a palimpsest of history of Etruscan, Roman, and medieval. Its stone passages have been worn smooth by centuries of footsteps. It was in Roberto’s studio, lit softly by the alabaster forms that surrounded them, where Lori saw the past come alive in the present. She watched the sculptors work, turning raw stone into radiant vessels as their hands moved with reverence and rhythm. In that space between shadow and glow, she understood what made Volterra’s alabaster so special and couldn’t wait to bring it home to you.

Lori has always had a way of finding rare objects of beauty that carry meaning and the artisans who create them. When she returned home, she brought the glow of something ancient made new again. It’s alabaster in its most exquisite form, the kind carved by hands that understand its weight and the beauty it holds.