Making of the Caledonia Chandeliers

Fascinated with the visual effects of light passing through glass, we continue to experiment with the near limitless possibilities of this concept. While creating new lighting pieces we craft glass as a vessel for emitting light, and utilize metal elements for support. These ideas are realized in the new one-of-a-kind design chandeliers that are now available from Simon Pearce this Fall. The designs take their inspiration from scenic drives through the Caledonia countryside admiring the twilight glow of towns and the interplay of light and shadow during the wintery months. 

Caledonia 6 globe chandelier
Caledonia 6 globe chandelier

The county is part of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, with rural terrain and farms mixed with the old world charm of New England towns. Many of the towns have an emerging craft revival with interesting makers of all kinds, and great food.  We all love the comforting old world glimmer of vintage street lights and shop windows in the rural settings, and thought we could capture this aura with our handmade glass globes.


Building upon this inspiration, we started our unique process with some drawings and refined them over time, to interpret the essence of this concept in a simple way. We then worked with Jan Mollmark, our masterful engineer who is fantastic with metal to iterate on building our first prototype in-house.  We used the prototype as a lighting element of our Portland Maine store, and received many inquiries if we would sell it.


When we considered bringing this design to the market beyond our prototype construction, we turned to our partners at Hubbardton Forge, who are known for hand-forged metal. Their expertise in fabrication of lighting elements helped us to refine the armatures for a 3 globe, and 6 globe version of our new chandelier.  They also have telescoping capability for hanging the lighting so we employed that into the design, allowing customers to raise or lower the chandeliers to the desired heights from a rod.
The two elegant Caledonia Chandeliers show off first and foremost our handmade glass, and the fine metal work achieved by collaborating with another great Vermont maker like Hubbardton Forge.

The modern American blacksmiths of nearby Hubbardton Forge transform their raw material with heat, force and skill much like what we do with the glass at Simon Pearce.

Our master glassblowers capture this old-world glimmer in each handblown glass globe, morphing the raw molten glass into these magical forms. Both chandeliers will cast an inviting glow upon your dining table, kitchen island or entryway. With our commitment to quality and craftsmanship, each piece is made to order.

The chandeliers are available in three different finishes of Black, Dark Smoke, Natural Iron. Visit our website to learn more. Browse our full range of lighting concepts to illuminate your interior as the days grow shorter.

caledonia 3 globe chandelier
Caledonia 3 globe chandelier

Designer James Murray featured in Surface Magazine

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James Murray pictured above, full article in Surface Magazine here.

“Whether ideating biomorphic chandeliers or sleek barware sets, the glassblowing aficionado searches for exciting new ways to honor Simon Pearce’s ethos of combining character with function.” -Ryan Waddoups

Some of the featured Simon Pearce products below.

alpine

“I’m most excited about Alpine, my soapstone and glass barware collection. The soapstone elements can be frozen, and once chilled, can keep drinks cold. It’s been well-received and demonstrates how uniting different materials can be a great source for new design concepts.” -James Murray

As the weather turns warmer, and we look for ways to stay cool, sipping chilled drinks can do the trick.  Ice is the usual cooling element, but if you don’t want to water down your drink we propose using frozen soapstone, paired with our handcrafted glass as an optimal way for tasting drinks, particularly bourbon.

The Alpine Collection was also featured on this blog here and on our website here.

vine chandelier

“The Vine chandelier is a new direction for Simon Pearce—we can combine glass in near-limitless combinations with metal for lighting.”

In partnership with the Modern American Blacksmiths of nearby Hubbardton Forge, this handcrafted light fixture is designed to illuminate your dining table, kitchen island or entryway in beautiful hand-forged metal and handblown glass.

The Vine Chandelier was also featured on this blog here and on our website here.

Future development in streamlined, glass-handled bar tools, prototypes shown above, also mentioned in the article.

Check out the full article in Surface Magazine here.

Chestnut Hill Store

We are pleased to open our 10th store today in our new Chestnut Hill, MA location. This store opening was made possible by the collaboration of key people with many different specialties, here at Simon Pearce. With this essential teamwork across departments, we have set a new bar for ourselves with this beautiful retail experience.

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The store reflects a new direction of design, that takes people on a journey to discover a unique connection to us through glass and pottery.  Our main intention of the store design, is to welcome the customers to explore the world of handcrafted excellence, and bring the essence of the Vermont landscape that inspires us to Chestnut Hill.   

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Overall, the store has a warm natural contemporary feel, with beautiful real materials of solid wood, wrought steel and earthy tones that are used throughout the main retail floor. It appeals to the customer that appreciates a humanistic approach to design, with a blend of our two important core concepts: exquisite iconic products and simple practicality to be enjoyed everyday. The product presentations are intended to inspire with dynamic displays and make shopping easy by categories.  The planning and product development teams mapped out the store with focused planograms.

A copper-top bar, similar to the large one we have in our flagship Mill will highlight our barware, and connect back to Vermont.  We are featuring a pair of our recently launched vine chandeliers that make a focal point in the center of the store. They show a new dimension of what we can do with our glass and the element of light.

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In the front of the store we installed a large scale video screen, that reveals the mastery that goes into our products, with the artisans that make them. 

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The retail team, lead by Dana Sabatino, VP of Customer Experience, coordinated efforts to outfit the store and finesse the product displays.

The store fixturing is an assortment of furniture designed specifically for this new location.  The combination of solid walnut and burnished steel create a streamlined aesthetic for the retail floor.  Jan Mollmark built the illuminated shelving units throughout the store, that feature our quintessential glass and pottery.

From drawing to reality.

We partnered with Andrew Pearce to have the pieces hand-built here in Vermont, at his facility in Hartland. Andrew and his team worked over the span of many weeks to refine the construction details for both the steel welding and wood, to finish it all under one roof. The result is an elegant group, built to last.

The new store design features a separate studio space in the back that highlights our handcrafted pendants, and lamps with a table in the center, where interior designers can meet with clients. 

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The studio is also conducive to the Gift Registry, where customers have this work table on which to create their ideal place-setting, or to choose the personalized assortment that they would want to have in their home.

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The retail team has opened the doors!

“The new store is fantastic; awesome job by all. Thank you.”       -Simon Pearce

Vine Chandelier

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An eye-catching beacon in our retail locations, by popular demand, Simon Pearce now offers the Vine Chandelier for the home.

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Design of the chandelier was inspired by clusters of grapes growing from vines in the South of France.

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Head of Design & Product Development James Murray collaborated with Hubbardton Forge to create the now-iconic chandelier silhouette that lights the Simon Pearce Bar at
Quechee and our Portland location.

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In partnership with the Modern American Blacksmiths of nearby Hubbardton Forge,
this handcrafted light fixture is designed to illuminate your dining table, kitchen island
or entryway in beautiful hand-forged metal and handblown glass.

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Each glass globe is handcrafted by our master glassblowers, thus creating a truly unique and one-of-a-kind piece.

Edit: You can buy it here.