Holiday Gatherings

December 18, 2019December 19, 2019 Leave a comment

Come in from the cold and create warmth at your table this holiday season with our new candlelight designs. The Engraved Aspen Forest Hurricane brings a new feel to our assortment with its engraved art. The engraving lends itself to wintery themes and the candlelight reflects between the branches. It’s a simple silhouette with a unique touch.

Another way to incorporate candlelight is to place one of our many tea lights at each place setting. Every guest can enjoy their own candlelight gift to take home at the end of the evening. The Echo Lake Tealight is a new treasure with strands of molten glass that wrap around, creating shimmering light. We’ve placed one atop our red napkins, with a clever fold that holds evergreen sprigs. The KP Love Your Brain Snowball Tealight * adds whimsy with its shape and texture of a freshly formed snowball and would also add a festive flare at place settings.

* 20% of proceeds from this item fund Kevin and Adam Pearce’s LoveYourBrain Foundation, and its mission to promote holistic healing for those affected by traumatic brain injury.

Down the center of the table, we begin with our customer favorite, the Scandinavian White & Natural Runner. Any of our candlelight vessels will captivate with their handcrafted shapes, weighty presence, and unique surface treatments. To create a centerpiece of candlelight, nestle tea lights and hurricanes of various sizes amongst seasonal flora. In Vermont, it is red-berried branches and various evergreen sprigs that we can bring inside. Eucalyptus would add another interesting shape and hue. Shown here also, is our Alabaster Votive with a milky marbled surface that plays off our clear glass and adds dimension. The final accent is our twinkle string lights set in and amongst the greens and candlelight. Read on to learn about the new hurricane and tree collection that is quickly becoming a new favorite.

In Northern Vermont, the Long Trail winds around the edges of Sterling Pond, whose icy waters inspired our Sterling Pond Collection. Small crystals of glass encase the simple soft hurricane shapes, creating beautiful candlelight flickerings. The same crystals cover our conical shaped trees for the ultimate winter wonderland forest.

The beauty of the Sterling Pond Trees is the many ways in which they can be lit. We love the way the twinkle string lights (also available in battery-powered) create a glow when placed inside each tree or amongst a grouping. They can also fit over our mini LED light (an alternative to placing on top of our larger LED base). These 6, 8 and 12 inch trees create the perfect trio to use on your table. They can be moved to the sideboard or window sill when more space is needed at the table.

For place settings, consider adding pieces from our Barre dinnerware in the satiny Alabaster glaze, perfect for this crisp table setting. Framing the settings here is our new Charlotte flatware. We love the textured handles with their simple, geometric shape and the perfect balance of the pieces when we hold them.

* linen is a sustainable fabric. Far less water and pesticides are used to grow flax, from which linen is woven, and no parts of the flax plant are wasted (yielding linseed oil, twines, and ropes)

Our partnership with Celina Mancurti to design holiday linens has led to a favorite motif, the evergreen, and we offer it in a variety of colors, shown here in white on red. Also, Andrew Pearce wood side plates are shown layered here in cherry wood, for a light and crisp holiday setting.

The tablescape is inspiring and inviting. Your guests are about to arrive and you have chosen your wines for the evening. The recently launched Vintner stemware is our choice for the table this season. Its bowl and stem are shaped and pulled from one gather of molten glass, creating a beautiful angled shape with a lightweight feel in the hand. These are the characteristics of a great wine tasting glass, ready for an evening of friends and festive times.

Spring Tablescapes

April 19, 2019April 26, 2019 Leave a comment

As days grow longer and dappled sunlight casts its playful shadows through our windows, we set our tables with Burlington Cloud dinnerware and exclusive Watercolor Floral print table linens (napkin, runner, tablecloth).

From Spring holiday tables to Mother’s Day brunch and all the casual family weekend lunches in between, the wavy and organic silhouette of the Burlington dinnerware melds with natural elements for the table, while the versatile floral print linens can be styled with cool or warm toned floral and centerpiece accents*.

*It should be noted that linen is the ideal sustainable fabric. Far less water and pesticides are used to grow flax, from which linen is woven, and no parts of the flax plant are wasted (also yielding linseed oil, twines and ropes)

The “must have” new hand blown glass star of our Spring tablescape is the Addison Basket. Fill it with eggs or a May Day plant and offer it as a hostess gift, or set multiples down your table for a festive centerpiece. This year we are offering hand carved marble eggs as well, to fill the basket with, or to lay along your tablescape.

Two new light and fanciful elements for the Spring table are Horn Handled flatware and a napkin folded “nest”. The flatware is crafted in France. The horn pattern (made from acrylic) is hand finished and each piece of the set has a unique and gorgeous design. We fashioned the napkin “nest” by rolling and coiling our napkin just so, to cradle a marble or real egg .*

*We’ve used the iconic blue egg from the Araucana chickens, that we hunt down at local markets here in Vermont, but you could paint a wood egg as well.

The finishing glass touches to our Spring table begin with Woodstock tumblers. We love our small tumblers with the rounded silhouettes because they can work as stemless wine tumblers, cocktail glasses, or a simple water glass. This Woodstock (and that of the Apprentice glass) silhouette is fuller, shorter, and more casual, while the elegant Hampton Stemless Tumbler, with its thinner and slightly tapered, taller shape, offers a more refined option.

Our favorite new candlelight option is the Bristol Small Hurricane with its lower profile and angular shape. It brings a modern and fresh element to the table.

As Spring progresses and the peonies blossom, consider adding our new Engraved Floral Addison Vase, engraved with spring blossoms, to your spring table or windowsill. The engraved design adds texture and the tapered opening holds delicate blossoms or greenery alike. It is fast becoming a Spring favorite of our customers.

For fuller and larger Spring gatherings, consider adding these three customer favorites:

Barre Bowl (great for salads, trifle or fruit- we suggest the M or L)
Hartland Cake Plate for the most elegant tart or cake presentations
Whitewashed Rattan place mat (available in oval or round)- adds texture and layers beautifully with the floral table linens

Chestnut Hill Store

August 30, 2018September 7, 2022 jamesmurray27Leave a comment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The retail team has opened the doors!

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

Summer Indigos for the Table

July 12, 2018September 7, 2022 Leave a comment

Whether you take in summer days by the ocean, in the mountains, or on the deck, let our collection of wavy glass, matte white ceramics, light wood accents and cool indigo blues offer relief from the heat.

The Waterbury Tumbler, with its wavy texture, is, no doubt, the showstopper of this table. Glassblowers add the waves of glass to the tumblers as they blow and shape them, making each one unique.

The table’s palette is set with floral patterned, organic cotton table linens. The pattern is created with wood block printing and natural indigo dye. Atop this, we layer our matte white Westport Dinnerware with Andrew Pearce’s 7” plates of cherry wood, and our Indigo colored, marble glazed appetizer plates (shown below). Round, chunky woven placemats set the stage for this layered look, and we are excited to offer teak flatware, the perfect outdoor or back porch choice; simple in silhouette and lightweight.

We like to include beautiful serveware to use at the table when designing at Simon Pearce. The modern feel of the Indigo Marble serving bowl and platter, as well as the Alabaster Barre Pottery pitcher (shown at the top), are perfect choices for summer entertaining alfresco.

Forest Alchemy: Holiday Table

December 5, 2017September 19, 2022 Leave a comment

Frosty mornings in Vermont inspire us to create table settings for the Holidays with natural elements. In this table setting, we create a lavish setting by combining our beautiful new Burlington dinnerware and redesigned Stratton stemware with botanical elements and a sophisticated color palette of silver and white.

The elegant swirling pattern of the Stratton stem and the organic shape of the Burlington dinnerware make for an ethereal pairing. The stemware swirls take on a natural vine like appearance, and the cloud colored, irregular surface of the dinnerware adds a warmth to the sophisticated tones of silver and white.

Beneath the cloud colored dinnerware, we layer our Eucalyptus Runner, in white linen with a silver print. The artist screenprints these runners by hand in a color mix exclusive for Simon Pearce. I love the look of this runner on its own, down the center of the table, but you can also layer it with our Stonewashed tablecloths in Silver or White, and nothing is stopping you from placing multiple runners across the table under the place settings, as shown above. We’ve paired the runner with our silver and white stonewashed napkins in these shots, but the Eucalyptus print napkin is subtle enough to pair with the print runner as well.

Stainless adds the final pop to this tablescape, in the form of hammered Simon Pearce napkin rings and mirror polished Georg Jensen serveware, all available online and in our retail stores. We are excited to offer Georg Jensen designs for purchase for the first time. The modern and timeless designs are a favorite of Simon’s.

Finally, we’ve shown our newest hurricane, the Echo Lake on the table for the ultimate candlelight experience. You could opt to use the Echo Lake hurricane for floral, and add in Georg Jensen Cobra candlesticks. It is the versatility of our product and the mix of materials that makes Simon Pearce tablescapes come alive. Cheers !

Gathering Time: Thanksgiving Table

November 21, 2017September 19, 2022 Leave a comment

This Thanksgiving we set a table where luxurious solid linens and flora and fauna of the region set a backdrop for textural dinnerware and candlelight.

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Our new Echo Lake Hurricanes create a harvest centerpiece. Strands of glass wrap around the hurricane, reflecting candlelight with a romantic flicker, while pears, rosemary and Amaranth flowers are intertwined.

Place settings are set with our milky glazed Burlington dinnerware, rustic Woodbury Graphite flatware and Woodstock Red Wine glasses. Finally, solid washed linen napkins in a warm “Ashes of Roses” color, play off similar tones in the Amaranth and Red Anjou pears.

The table could also be set with the Moss glazed Burlington dinnerware, and the solid linens come in several warm and cool tones to choose from. Either way, simple elements mixed with the festive hurricanes create a warm and luxurious table around which to gather.

Belmont 25th Anniversary

November 1, 2017September 20, 2022 jamesmurray27Leave a comment

Functionality and beauty have always been the core criteria of Simon’s design philosophy. The Belmont collection has stood the test of time, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It is a unique style of dinnerware that bridges the gap between a classic and causal aesthetic, that remains true to our brand heritage.

It’s origins are from a passion for hand thrown pottery. A blend of earthy materials and old world process that are also known for their durability. The central swirl motif on the plates accentuates the centrifugal movement of how the pieces are thrown on the wheel.

Crackle glazes are enjoying a resurgence of interest, particularly with younger customers that appreciate handcrafted excellence, and want to personalize their tabletop with a mix and match of pottery. Belmont comes in two crackle finishes, ivory and celadon, that work great together when layered in a place-setting.

Commemorating the 25th anniversary, we launched a new Centerpiece Bowl magnificently scaled as both a functional and decorative piece. The voluminous bowls express the simple richness of the Belmont pottery.

Simon Pearce

Extraordinary Design for Everyday Moments

Tag: dinnerware