Simon Pearce

A year ago this month, my friend Lynne and I took a vacation to Vermont. We went with the intention of running a half-marathon, and then seeing what sights there were to see before/after the race.

One day, we were taking a drive, and if memory serves, we had gotten lost or perhaps had to turn back from somewhere due to weather; I can't quite remember, other than, we happened to stop at a covered bridge, got out of the car to take some pictures, and a local lady walked by with her dog. She stopped to say hello and recommended that we check out the glass factory that was right around the corner.

That turned out to be Simon Pearce. We wandered through this store for hours, looking at the gorgeous handblown glasswares and hand-fired ceramics. The stuff wasn't cheap but it was quality. I purchased a small glass Christmas ornament (a) it was one of the few things in my price range, and b) I was inspired after watching the artist in the glass blowing studio for a good while. The studio was open to the public and we watched this man make glass Christmas tree after glass Christmas tree, handling molten hot liquid glass, turning and heating and cooling and turning until, one after the other, they turned into perfect glass Christmas trees.

Part of the way through the process he asked if we had any questions. He had been doing this for so long it was like second nature to him. He fielded our questions without missing a beat. It was fascinating to watch him work, one headphone in his ear as he listened to music while talking to us at the same time while never missing a beat as he worked the glass. It was awesome, in the truest sense of the word, to watch true artistry and craftsmanship at work.

Fast forward to today. Lynne is back in Vermont, eating dinner at the restaraunt associated with Simon Pearce as I write this blog entry. She was able to return with her husband this year, and is introducing him to Simon Pearce. 

For Mother's Day, Lynne's two sons bought her a wine stopper from Simon Pearce. That got me thinking, because her birthday was a week later. Lynne and I have gone to many a wine tasting, including one day long wine trip hosted by the local community college on the day I was supposed to have graduated from grad school. I didn't graduate initially as planned but still wanted to do something to mark the day, so etching positive to show myself that my struggles with school had not gotten the best of me. And so I have many find memories of wine tastings with Lynne, including our experience at Simon Pearce. It just made good sense that I would look to that store for her birthday present. 

I ended up selecting a perfect, beautiful wine glass.

I had it shipped in a fabulous gray box with a box. I also may have bought one for myself, only mine is a red wine glass. Lynne's is for white. The glass is much taller, heavier, and more substantial than I expected. It is an object of great craftsmanship and that conveys the best of our friendship. And, in a beautiful act of symmetry, tonight Lynne texted me that she is enjoying a lovely class of Simon oearce's house Chardonnay in a hand crafted goblet in Queechee, Vermont, smiling and thinking back in our memories there together.