Every Dog has its Year

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The all-new sculpted glass dog is close to the heart of many of us here at Simon Pearce. Dogs are intelligent, loyal companions that are with us through thick and thin. They are treated like a member of the family, and a few of us bring our dogs to work, which adds another dimension to the workplace.  To commemorate this special relationship, we set out to create the ideal interpretation of the quintessential dog that relates to our methods of making glass. The design started with some sketches, and we had a Labrador Retriever pose as our model.  After several drawings and iterations in clay, we landed on the character we wanted to capture in glass. The final design stays true to our ethos of beauty and simplicity.

 

 

With 2018 being the ‘year of the dog’ (according to the Chinese Zodiac); we couldn’t think of a better time to start crafting these in our hot-shop, and make them available for the glass enthusiast.   Our brilliant glass shows off the exquisite surfaces and contours of the shape.

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The iconic glass dog is a joy to have and to hold.

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Apprentice Glassware

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Practice makes perfect imperfection on the path to mastery. A side benefit of educating a new generation of artisans? Seeing and feeling the vibrant authenticity of their initial creations. Each unique apprentice piece illustrates the meaning of “handmade” with a wabi-sabi aesthetic that brings the energy and passion to your table.

Simon Pearce glass blowers train for years, much of the time, working in tandem with another glass blower to perfect their craft. Along the way, however, each glassblower spends time alone, creating what we call “Apprentice Glass”.  An apprentice glass (or bowl, or vase) is created from a singular gather of molten glass from the furnace, and is shaped in its entirety from this one gather. This allows the glassblower to develop their proficiencies in elements of glassblowing such as gathering, blowing, transferring from one pipe to another (with the aid of a stand), shaping and opening the glass. Working swiftly, each piece takes 8-9 min, and in a day, the glassblower will complete up to fifty glasses.

Another element of the apprentice glassware is its simplicity of design. Only general specifications are followed, and without a partner, the glassblower can not add design details such as a foot, rolled rim, or texture, to the glass. As you can see from the above photos, blowing a simple drinking vessel out of glass, is at once, a race against time and an exercise in precision. The end result is perfect imperfection. Each vessel has its own character, and yet they hang nicely together as a group. The Apprentice Collection has become one of our customers’ favorites, as they choose the shapes they like from a group on display.

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Celebrating Everyday Moments

Simon Pearce Engraving

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Tell your story.

The flat rim of our best selling Celebration Bowl was designed to showcase engraved sentiments of all sorts, making it the go-to for those milestone moments.

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Behind the scenes engraving.

Its strong, tapered base rises to a flat, flared rim that’s purpose-built for engraving.

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New Celebration designs inspire even more ways to etch good times in glass.

 

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Celebration Tealight

Highly customizable, perfectly functional and designed to go with any décor – stock up on one of our best selling gifts.

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Watch as one of our artisans creates the canvas on which so many of life’s momentous occasions have been marked.

Celebrate in Style.

Make Gatherings Merry & Bright

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Every holiday season, the design team presents new ways to entertain family and friends, around the table. Set a striking tablescape using our glass evergreen trees, down the center of the table with an expression of lightness.

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Our intention is the make the highest quality artifacts of glass and pottery, to be enjoyed for years to come. We have a vibrant team of highly skilled craftsmen whose talents bring life to our fine products everyday.

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At the heart of our mission, we want to inspire and delight everyone, with new additions to our holiday decor; this year we have several new ornaments to add to any collection.

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Brunswick Charity Ornament & Snowdrift Ornament

Forest Alchemy: Holiday Table

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 !

The Echo Lake Collection

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Upon, studying the water flowing over the waterfall at the mill and the ice that forms in the winter, we came up with these natural textures to capture in glass.

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The glass blowers use fine strands of molten glass that are quickly wrapped around these cylindrical shapes to create a watery and icy effect.

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As a beautiful series of winter hurricanes, the candlelight glows through the finer wrap texture in a way that is visually stunning.

 

We started with initial drawings but also worked closely with the glassblowing team, to arrive at the optimal amount of textural coverage. Each vessel turns out unique, and we embrace the irregularity that comes from the process of making them.

Perfectly, imperfect is a key characteristic of Echo Lake, and a hallmark of our ethos.

Tis the Season: Evergreens

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The Simon Pearce Vermont Evergreens have become iconic symbols that truly emphasize our brand originality and authenticity.

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They remain a true reflection of the design influences that surround us in our beautiful Vermont setting. Our crystal clear glass formula along with the hand-tooled forms capture the magic of a tree as if it were made of ice.

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They create conversation and certainly stimulates the imagination. No two are alike. As with trees in the natural world, the subtle differences give them a unique personality.

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Make a Magical Arrangement

It’s desirable to have them in groups which might inspire years of collecting and growing a forest. We refer to them as “investment” pieces that can be used and reused every year as seasonal decor items, as well as the fact that they can stay out all year long.

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A new textural addition to any forest is the Snowy Branch Evergreens which are lightly dusted in white powder on the branches. This gives the impression of freshly fallen snow on our iconic trees. Enjoy the season!

Watch the video below.

 

The Bristol Collection

 

The Bristol Collection originates from studying the “Golden Section” Proportions found in nature. Yet, no matter how refined the design or how forward-looking the concept, hand-crafting is required.

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For the Bristol Collection, James Murray, Simon Pearce’s VP of Design, began with ideas for a flute and a tumbler that he carefully rendered on paper. After making numerous revisions, the process of manufacturing began, which required blowing, shaping, sculpting, cutting, trimming, molding, and cooling in our workshops, of Vermont and Maryland.

 

“For the Bristol Collection, we use old-world techniques and real, basic tools to make something that is decidedly modern,” says James.

 

Visitors to our workshops can witness the process.

Belmont 25th Anniversary

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Design Matters

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Growing up in a family of artisans, where aesthetics and attention to detail is a part of everyday life, each piece carries a story from the design origin to the act of handcrafting these artifacts. We’ve built success in designing and producing exceptional handmade glass and pottery for over 40 years.

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Design explores directions that stretch out the imagination and yet remain true to the brand heritage.  We push boundaries to express new forms and textures in our materials; the artisans have a muscle memory for making our products that typically bring new ideas back through a Simon Pearce lens.  We search for character, and then blend that with function, to turn out something that is beautiful.

We strive to inspire with handcrafted excellence. This is what we do every day…