AWFULLY YOUNG TO BE AN INSTITUTION:

Simon Pearce and family craft a way of life (Mary Grauerholz, December 23, 2009, Boston Globe)

HARTLAND, Vt. - Simon Pearce, dressed simply in jeans and a cotton shirt, his hair a bit mussed, is standing at the Wolf range in his kitchen, tending to several bubbling pots. Beside him is his wife of 30 years, Pia. The couple, who do this all the time, move easily through a holiday menu that begins with a Provençal fish stew and ends with a white-chocolate mousse cake. “We’ve built a lot together,’’ says Pia, “just like the cooking.’’

The Pearces own the celebrated artisan glass and pottery stores named for Simon, which now number 10 and include two restaurants. They are also authors of a new book, “A Way of Living,’’ filled with beautiful photos of their tableware, their dining tables at home, the renovated barn they live in, antique furniture from Vermont and Ireland (where Simon was raised and learned pottery; he studied glassblowing in London and the Netherlands), and mementos of their life raising four sons. The light and airy kitchen, which overlooks vast fields rimmed with trees, is a large open space that holds the family dining table and sitting room.

At the stove, Simon is obviously the chief cook and Pia his right hand.