Simon Pearce was born and raised in Country Cork, Ireland. He began his career as a designer and blower of glass at the Royal Academy of Art in London and the Glass House in Covent Garden. From there he went to work in some of Europe’s most renowned glass houses including Leerdam in Holland, Vennini in Italy, and Boda and Orrefors in Sweden. In 1970 Simon returned to Ireland and established his own workshop in Kilkenny, where he designed and produced his original glass line for ten years. Then, in 1981, he moved his operations overseas to a historic woolen mill in Quechee, Vermont. There he successfully revived the traditions of glass blowing, fueling his glass furnace with hydro-power from the nearby Ottauquechee river.
Simon Pearce has always worked in clear glass. His pieces are all of original design, made with the highest quality craftsmanship and created with two things in mind: beauty and function. His glassblowers are primarily American-born, trained by Simon himself and are joined by craftsmen from Sweden and the Czech Republic. They work in teams of two or more, using molds as well as free blowing techniques, and finishing all the rims by hand. The rough cross underneath each glass piece is made by the pontil iron which holds the glass as it is finished and symbolizes the unique nature of each piece. It is consistent with the feeling of the glass as something handmade and personal. For this reason, the cross is left as the Simon Peace trademark.
