Glassblower.Info - Simon Pearce Restaurant and Glassblowing Studio

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Simon Pearce Restaurant and Glassblowing Studio

Simon Pearce is a chain of two restaurants that have excellent food PLUS a glassblowing studio!
Click here for the official SimonPearce website.
The two locations are: 1760 Main Street, Quechee, Vermont and 1333 Lenape Rd,West Chester, Pennsylvania.

According to the Simon Pearce website, "It may come as a surprise to some that Simon Pearce is an actual person and not just a well-known custom trademark for high quality glassware and pottery. Raised in County Cork Ireland, Simon Pearce began his career in glass at the Royal College of Art in London and worked in some of Europe's most renowned glass houses."

Simon Pearce's motto is "I believe in keeping it simple and getting the basics just right." What that means is that all of their handmade glass is crystal clear (no color, no "art glass"). In order that the pieces are sufficiently uniform, many of the pieces are made in various molds. This assures the same dimensions to each piece.

If you dine in West Chester, and like mushrooms, consider chosing an entree that uses the excellent locally grown mushrooms from Chester County
(half of the nation's mushrooms are grown and packaged in Chester County).

Here is an example of one of their pieces:
(note the double-foot on this piece!)

Click on any of the following 31 glassblowing photos to see a short Quicktime glassblowing video. Please note that in some browsers, the videos display rather dark. To solve this, save any videos you like to your hard drive, and run them directly in the QuickTime player.
Adding a foot Making the foot flat with a wood paddle Transfering from blowpipe to punty Heating piece in Gloryhole (note fan blowing to keep person cool!) Heating piece in Gloryhole (note black pressure-activated floor mat which opens the Gloryhole door) Using wood block to shape gather Blowing into mold (note the rotation of the blowpipe in the cylindrical mold) Using the jacks to make the jack line. Blowing into the gather (can actually see the bubble get larger!) Even a closer view of the bubble growing larger. You can see the end of the blowpipe inside the gather of glass. Blowing into the mold. Note the mold opens and closes via a foot-activated switch. Attaching the punty and transfering from the blowpipe Switching between two pieces at the glassblowing bench. Adding a foot Making the foot flat with the back of the jacks Adding the second foot Another transfer from the blowpipe to the punty Gloryhole door opens upwards, via foot-activated pressure mat. Rectangular piece being made in a mold. Re-Heating piece in the gloryhole (note fan blowing on the glassblower to keep him cool) Using the jacks to make the jackline. Watch how quickly the bubble grows inside the gather. Another movie of making rectangular piece in the mold. Putting a jackline into the rectangular piece. Transfering the rectangular piece from the blowpipe to the punty. Opening up the piece with the jacks. Using the wet wood block to shape the gather. Blowing a bubble into the gather (watch it grow!) Removing the piece from the mold (note the steam!) Putting a gather on to start to form the handle on the rectangular piece. Putting the piece away in the annealer (way in the back of the room)