Simon Pearce (born 1946 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) is an Irish-American entrepreneur in

glassblowing Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...

and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, who learned his trade in Italy and

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Business development

Pearce located his first US factory, in

Quechee, Vermont Quechee is a census-designated place and one of five unincorporated villages in the town of Hartford, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 656. It is the site of Quechee Gorge on the Ot ...

, in 1981. This site, which is powered hydroelectrically by the

Ottauquechee River The Ottauquechee River (pronounced ''AWT-ah-KWEE-chee'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Vermont in the United States. It is a tributa ...

and is part of the

Quechee Historic Mill District The Quechee Historic Mill District encompasses the historic heart of the village of Quechee, Vermont, a well-preserved 19th-century mill village. Extending along Quechee Main Street between the Old Quechee Road and the Quechee-West Hartford Ro ...

, became a showroom, restaurant, and glass-blowing demonstration facility. The ''New York Times'' described him as a prominent American designer of glassware and his works have been given as gifts to foreign dignitaries and to presenters at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

. Pearce's company headquarters is in

Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...

; another manufacturing facility is in

Mountain Lake Park, Maryland Mountain Lake Park is a town in Garrett County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,147 as of the 2020 census. History Mountain Lake Park Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Creedmore wa ...

. His company has several retail outlets in the East of the USA

Personal life and family

As of 2016, Pearce maintained a home in

Hartland, Vermont Hartland is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,446 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Hartland, Hartland Four Corners, and North Hartland. History Hartland, originally named Hertford, was char ...

; previously, he resided in

Norwich, Vermont Norwich is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshire acros ...

. He and his wife, Pia, have four sons. Their youngest son is Kevin Pearce, a

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

, who was seriously injured in 2009 while training for the Olympics. Kevin is the subject of the 2013 HBO film '' The Crash Reel''. Pearce's book, ''Simon Pearce: Design For Living'' was published in the fall of 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Simon Glassblowers People from Windsor, Vermont People from Norwich, Vermont 1946 births Living people