DESIGN DAILY: A trip to Simon Pearce

Everyone is so excited for the start of summer but I am already missing winter. This weekend, 10 friends and I sadly shut down our winter ski house in Killington, Vermont. It was a six-month rental, which should have left us ample time to explore the surrounding area, but as life goes, we crammed all our touristy adventures into our final day of the season: a Vermont cheese farm tour, maple syrup tasting, a brewery visit, and my new favorite, the Simon Pearce Glass and Pottery Mill.


Simon Pearce has been a major national retail business for over 20 years but once you get to their historic river-powered mill in the small town of Quechee, you feel like you’ve discovered an artists’ commune. Glass blowers move through the facility with the precision and intention of a bee colony--dipping, trimming, and shaping the glass around the heat of the kiln. In the potters’ room, one ceramist mixes glazes for the latest bisqueware while another is kneading clay. A shelf of glazed vases and dishes sit perfectly on the shelf, reminding me that I am in also in a retail store. I head up the stairs to the shop which feels more like a living room than a showroom.


When I asked the salesperson what was new, she showed me the new Lyra Lamp from the Simon Pearce Signature collection. The teardrop shape, each and every air bubble, the seaglass translucence . . . . I love everything about this lamp.


There is an organic quality and an honesty that I really adore in Simon Pearce. They're a big business but they have kept production handmade, in-house, and powered by their local and natural resources. For an great example of true artistry in retail, I recommend a visit to the Mill at Quechee, VT .

Anne E. Collins
Editor, PointClickHome