Our story begins around the table with a family where food and ideas, aesthetics and functional design, were served daily. Creativity and innovation run deep in the Pearce family. Three generations found their inspiration in raw materials: Andrew’s grandfather, Philip, worked with clay, Andrew’s father, Simon, works in glass. For Andrew, the raw ingredient is wood.
Andrew Pearce
Andrew was raised in a creative environment that is an important part of the Pearce family tradition. He was encouraged by his parents to pursue his passions. After working alongside his father in the glass business for ten years, Andrew decided on a new path: “I wanted to do my own thing, I needed to make something with my hands, and I liked building machines. I wanted to try something that hadn’t been done before, and I knew I wanted to live in Vermont.”
Andrew took a woodworking class with Johannes Michelsen in Manchester, Vermont, and discovered his love for the craft of making wooden bowls. Technical innovation and resourcefulness are very important to Andrew and he values the importance of flexibility, efficiency, and innovation when making things. His wooden bowls combine the artistic integrity of a hand-turned, hand-finished bowl with the efficiency of a machine-made bowl. With equipment and machinery that he designed and helped build, he created a process that produces very little wood waste, minimizes environmental impact, and encourages forest sustainability. He drew upon simplicity, natural curves, and beauty for his bowl designs.
Andrew and his wife, Christy, work together in the business they have created. Christy focuses on sales, marketing, and their new store at their workshop and headquarters in Hartland, Vermont. Andrew and Christy have two young children, Madison and Oliver, each developing their own creative ways to make things.
Continue to follow the Andrew Pearce story on our blog and our Facebook page. Please join us and be a part as each new chapter unfolds.
Philip Pearce, Stephen Pearce, and Simon Pearce
Philip Pearce
Years ago, Andrew’s grandfather, Philip, left the family printing business in London and he and his wife, Lucy, started a pottery at their home in the village of Shanagarry in County Cork, Ireland; they called it Shanagarry Pottery. Their black-and-white earthenware plates, bowls, and pitchers—all made from local clay—are recognized for their simple, elegant designs and timeless functionality.
Stephen Pearce
As a teenager, Andrew’s uncle, Stephen, worked in the family pottery in Shanagarry before later establishing his own creative venture, Stephen Pearce Pottery, on the family property. His distinctive terracotta earthenware decorated with a brilliant white glaze is made from clay dug in the local Blackwater River valley.
Simon Pearce
Andrew’s father, Simon, grew up in Ireland, helping in the family pottery with the goal of become a potter, but as a young adult, Simon struck out on his own to find his own raw material to work with. He was drawn to the subtle movement and luminous light in handmade glass. Simon opened first glass workshop in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1971. Utility and beauty are critical to Simon’s designs. In 1980 Simon and his wife, Pia, moved the workshop to Quechee, Vermont, where they restored an historic woolen mill on the Ottauquechee River to become Simon Pearce Glass. He and Pia then opened a store and the Simon Pearce Restaurant at the mill.
Visit our Workshop Store in Vermont, Open Daily!
When you are in Vermont, please visit our Workshop and Store on Route 4 between Quechee and Woodstock. You can watch our craftsmen at work. In our store we offer bowls—and much more—for you to use and enjoy every day.
59 East Woodstock Road (Route 4), Hartland, Vermont 05073
802-735-1884
