PORTA x Ansuini & Co. Marbling Workshop

For one night only, Jessica Ansuini of Ansuini & Co. brings her Florentine workshop and the centuries-old art of marbling to the PORTA garden. No experience is necessary and all materials are provided, simply come ready to make something wonderfully one of a kind. 

Gather around the table as Jessica reveals the strange magic of marbling: ink blooming and swirling across water, never twice the same, guiding each guest through the making of twelve one-of-a-kind cocktail napkins to take home. As we work, finished pieces will be hung throughout the garden to dry, alongside wine and light bites.

Marbling’s earliest form, known as suminagashi or “ink floating,” began in Japan over a thousand years ago when monks and poets set ink adrift on still water to summon patterns as unrepeatable as clouds. The tradition gave rise many moons later to the European tradition Jessica draws on: in the 18th and 19th centuries, workshops across France, Germany, and Italy standardized classic patterns like nonpareil, peacock, and the Spanish wave for fine book endpapers and covers. Though the heavy hand of technology has since mechanized most sheet printing, artisans like Jessica, and you after this experience, can keep this fantastic technique alive and well today.

Kindly note that due to the intimate nature of the workshop and limited number of reservations available, all ticket sales are final and non-refundable.