Tag: hurricane

Simon Pearce Summer Photo Shoot

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Just before the big tourist rush hit Cape Cod on the Fourth, a group of us made our way to Massachusetts for an on-location shoot for our summer campaigns.

The week was full of long workdays unpacking products, beachcombing for props, scheduling shoots around the tides, and chasing the most beautiful lighting (often quite early in the morning – and with plenty of Beanstock coffee to fuel our efforts) – followed by short-but-sweet evenings sharing grilled pizza and ideas for how to best show our customers how much we love doing what we do.

Together, we came up with new ways to show the beauty of our handmade glass and pottery, in settings that bring forth the strong influence nature has on our designs – like showing the rugged New England spirit of our Bristol Hurricane standing up to the waves of the mighty Atlantic or our Revere Hurricane serving as illumination for the perfect summer view.

And we welcomed our newest colleague into the mix: Victoria (also known as @daisy_roots_ ) who created visuals for our retail stores for over five years, and is now bringing her incredible eye to our digital marketing efforts. We’re thrilled to have her on the team!

We hope you love the images we captured as much as we do – and that they inspire you to enjoy every moment of your summer. Check out the homepage to see our photos in action!

Sheltering at Home

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With current events impacting us all so deeply, we collectively discover ways within ourselves to embrace the unexpected.  We find comfort and positive support through togetherness. We explore a new path forward and enrich our lives while sheltering at home. We find more meaning in gatherings especially around the table whether at home or virtually. 

We yearn for a warm cozy atmosphere and strive to cultivate a sense of safety and serenity taking hints from the danish concept of Hygge.  Well being is key, while optimism and finding balance in our lives helps uplift us throughout each day.  A new normal evolves, and a homebound routine incorporates virtual meetings with colleagues, while the home office becomes a dynamic hub of activity.

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Working from Home

We seek interaction and connection with family and friends to compare notes on ways to feel good, be healthy, share recipes and stay nourished.  As we navigate these times a new appreciation for the things around us emerges as we curate a sense of what we want in our home environment.  While embracing the change we can still celebrate life’s holidays, birthdays, milestones, and make things work for us at home.  Entertaining can be a source of joy by sharing botanical drinks, creating craft beer tastings, wine & cheese, or sending invites to a virtual happy hour.

Look for What Speaks to You

Throughout our Simon Pearce line, we have many of the quintessential handmade elements available to make those home moments special.  Our drinkware collections contain a fine selection of beautiful and functional items you can use to curate your home.  Having the time to pay attention to details, you can appreciate the nuances of the handmade. 

Alpine Whiskey with Soapstone Base
Coral Tealight
Vintner Decanter with Marble Stopper
Shell Bowl
Sunderland Artisan Board
Waterbury Hurricane

A few Spring New Arrivals now available are the Coral Tealight, Vintner Wine Decanter with Marble Stopper, and the Sunderland Artisan Board made in Vermont.  We are now offering the Alpine Tasting Flight that is excellent for chilling beer on the soapstone base.  The perfect addition to outfit the home bar cart for any tasting event.

Alpine Tasting Flight
Stock the Home Bar Cart

Keeping the Furnaces Turned On

At Simon Pearce, we have adapted to the new paradigm and are continuing to practice our craft. Our ethos of ‘handmade quality’ drives us forward and everything we make is a unique expression of humanity.  

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Puppy on the Glass Floor
Dog

The hand is involved in every step of bringing each object to life.  We hand draw, and model concepts, like the dog and the new puppy then work out the details on the glass floor with the expertise of our glassblowers.  Each object is a combination of the hand of the maker, the form, the fine quality of the material, and that is blended with our distinct  ‘point of view’ about design.

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Renderings
Hand Thrown Pottery
Glassblowing

These elements cannot be separated. Our passion for handmade excellence permeates everyone in the company with ‘purpose’.  We love to share what we create, because we are confident it will make these times spent at home, that much better.  

Bristol Red Wine & Decanter
Pontil
Waterbury Tumbler

To see the latest items for sheltering at home please visit our website.

Link to the At Home Offerings

Try Our Take Out

If you need a break from cooking in your kitchen, and you are in the Upper Valley, the Simon Pearce Restaurant has a new menu with delightful dishes of ready to heat dinner. Jerod Rockwell is running the kitchen for take out which can be picked up with curbside service.

Link to the Simon Pearce Restaurant

The Mill
The Restaurant
Woodstock Red Wine Tasting
Take Out

 

Holiday Gatherings

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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.

 

Live Simply

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There is a change in the air that heralds the coming of Fall. It is a transitional feeling, where the long heat filled days of summer give way to earlier sunsets and brisker mornings. We settle into rhythms back at home as summer’s adventures begin to wane. For this transitional time period we’ve paired patterned glassware, reminiscent of summer’s waves, with hand painted linens and warm wood accents for simple casual dining. Take it outside while you still can!

Andrew Pearce’s warm cherry wood bowls and plates are a great way to change up outdoor dining. They are unbreakable,  sustainable, and their oil sealed surfaces can hold any food you serve. Just stack them up and clean them gently at the end of the meal. We have some beautiful wood chargers and teak handled flatware to complete the layered setting of warm woods. The chargers are particularly beautiful in that the maker discovered a way to cure them without cracking. 

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The hand painted linens we feature are a recent discovery of Simon’s. He was drawn to the intention of these makers and the authentic beauty of their product.

Bertozzi Linens is an established family run business in Northern Italy, where solar power and other sustainable practices drive their business. Since 1920, the company has hand-carved thousands of peartree wooden block stamps. Their linens are then hand painted with proprietary dyes based on natural indigo based ingredients, and they use a unique process to steam these dyes into the linen fibers, which lends a superior product with vibrant hues that are resistant to fading. All their linen is certified from Europe, field to fabric and their production is Oeko Tex Certified.

Links to the Simon Pearce website for Bertozzi napkin and runner.

The Waterbury glass collection in this outdoor setting consists of a carafe, and small tumbler, and we introduce for the first time, a tall tumbler to complete the set. Add a glowing Waterbury hurricane to the table as your guests linger past sunset. Each piece is unique with its hand wrapped waves, swirled and then heated for a permanent wavy texture.

A final touch to our early Fall soiree is our collection of hand blown glass pumpkins. We have added an artistic flare to them this season, creating curly glass stems, each one unique, so you can choose from our glass patch of pumpkins, much as you would in the pumpkin field. 

The glass pumpkin can be found in small, medium, and large sizes. The velvet pumpkins can be found in salmon (small, medium, large), maize (medium and large), and graphite (medium and large) colors.

Handcrafted Home Fragrance

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Add a New Dimension with Handcrafted Scents for the Home

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Simon Pearce glass is known for its clarity.  A captivating and lyrical quality of flickering light is created when a candle burns in one of our Silver Lake pieces. The Silver Lake glass texture we created is reminiscent of the reflection of birch trees that surround Silver Lake, not far from our Vermont glass blowing studio. With our home fragrance line, we offer a new way to experience Simon Pearce in your home, with scents curated to reflect a simple and pure approach, in line with our design aesthetic.

When creating the scents, we were inspired by the vast and dense Evergreens in the surrounding forests, the freshly mowed fields that we pass on the way to the glassblowing studio, and the gorgeous Peonies that bloom in Simon and Pia’s garden each Spring.

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Our Scented candles and diffusers use the same durable and beautiful handcrafted vessels as our other products, which makes our home fragrance program unique.

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The Limited Edition ceramic vessels are glazed in unique colors for each season. Made with our porcelaneous stoneware (stoneware containing porcelain ingredients), they are strong, long lasting and reusable as mugs, vases, storage vessels, a pot for your small plant, or a votive candle holder. Available in our retail stores.

The diffuser vessel is a hand blown organic shape we love and fill with a blend of essential oils and all natural fragrance. The fragrance is absorbed through rattan reeds, and the essential oils slowly release the fragrance over time.

One bottle of diffuser oil can last between six months to a year, after which, you could purchase replacement oil, or use the vessel as a vase. 

Available in the scents: Coast, Peony Blossom, Tranquility, and Evergreen.

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Every aspect of these candles and diffusers is carefully considered. From the hand made vessel, soy grown in the USA, to the lead free cotton wicks, the small batch production and the packaging, which makes our scented candles or diffusers the perfect gift.

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Try our current scents:

EVERGREEN: Spruce, fir needles, balsam, citrus

COAST: Ocean mist, briny kelp, fresh citrus 

PEONY BLOSSOM: Oriental blooms, green stems, rose musk

TRANQUILITY: Herbal patchouli, vanilla, lime

PRAIRIE: Cut grass, hay, lavender

Spring Tablescapes

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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*.

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*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 .*

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*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.

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

Holiday Decorating

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Hygge Holiday 

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At Simon Pearce we are embracing the Swedish lifestyle of Hygge (“hoo-gah”) by creating warm and cozy moments where our handcrafted glass and pottery are at the center. Styling our extra large hurricanes with multiple candles and some seasonal fill such as pine cones, sugar (as snow) or bits of nature we gather creates a centerpiece for a hygge atmosphere where candlelight is central.  We include Crystalline teardrop vases in candent with our alabaster and selenite votive holders, and we have the perfect mix of subtle and soft textures and colors.

Holiday Centerpiece

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Create a centerpiece with our new Echo Lake Bowl. With the same light reflecting qualities that inspired our Echo Lake Hurricanes, the texture of this bowl can either illuminate or subtly reflect the contents of the centerpiece. 

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Here we show natural elements on their own and illuminated by string lights, as well as cranberries floating in water, illuminated by our floating candles. The shape of the bowl also makes it a natural for serving trifle desserts or other holiday food you wish to highlight.

Small Touches 

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Some of the finest details can make the most memorable moments for friends and family over the holidays. In our stores, the customers’ faces light up when they see our 1” glass ice cubes wrapped like presents with ⅛” red ribbon and placed around our glass Christmas trees. Groupings can adorn the table or mantle in this way.

Recently, we added a place card holder, created from our ice cube molds. Try wrapping the cardholder with red ribbon around the sides and add a name card for each place setting, or simply wrap a cube for each guest, or both!

Crystalline Ornaments

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The allure of our subtly textured crystalline inspired our potters to try the mysterious glaze techniques on something our customers love, ornaments. The small round porcelain shape our potters create has the perfect contour for the glaze crystals because it is all about timing and shape with our crystalline glaze. As the ornaments are slowly cooled, and then held at a certain temperature, the liquid glaze becomes more like molasses. Only certain components of the glaze move around within the liquid and form crystals, their size determined by the amount of time they remain in this state. It is the magic and unpredictability of this process that creates the beautiful surface of our crystalline.

Holiday Floral

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The Silver Lake Bowl has a wonderful icy texture that hides the stems of beautiful greenery and florals that you might gather outside your home. What we love about this bowl is how it makes floral arranging for the holidays so simple. Skip the florist, in favor of gathering greens and berries left on branches, while you walk the dog, or stroll with a friend, then bring them inside and arrange with ease, as the tapered base holds the stems in place for you. Flower arranging, Vermont style.

Illuminate the Holidays

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Our LED bases have illuminated our glass evergreens for years, but more recently we are enamored with silver strands of tiny LED lights. A 30 ft. plug in strand with a blank leader works well for creating mantle and centerpiece displays or to decorate your Christmas tree. The shorter 15 ft. strand has a battery pack for use in other, more precarious situations, such as inside one of our hurricanes in place of a candle, for coffee table vignettes or even around place settings at a holiday table, with the battery pack hidden under a table runner. It’s even possible to use these strands to adorn branches with hanging glass ornaments over your dining table for the ultimate holiday atmosphere.

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