{"id":40185,"date":"2023-09-21T22:46:43","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T22:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/21\/how-andrew-pearce-makes-bowls-the-white-house-loves\/"},"modified":"2023-09-21T22:46:43","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T22:46:43","slug":"how-andrew-pearce-makes-bowls-the-white-house-loves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/21\/how-andrew-pearce-makes-bowls-the-white-house-loves\/","title":{"rendered":"How Andrew Pearce Makes Bowls the White House Loves"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Andrew Pearce\u2014a third generation craftsman living and working in Vermont\u2014isn\u2019t quite sure how he started making gifts for the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that somebody in the Biden Administration reached out and specifically requested our product,\u201d he told me over the phone from his workshop, which now has the tools to engrave the official seal and signature of the President, First Lady, and Secretary of State onto any White House custom order.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve felt, seen, or heard about the quality of Andrew\u2019s wooden bowls, cutting boards, and kitchen items, the White House approval shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise. Andrew Pearce products\u2014which are handcrafted by his team in Taftsville, Vermont\u2014effortlessly marry wood\u2019s natural beauty with thoughtful design.<\/p>\n

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\n A Walnut Live-Edge Salad Bowl from Andrew Pearce<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo by Ty Mecham<\/span>
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I can personally speak to the quality of Andrew\u2019s work. Before ever considering speaking with Andrew, I tested one of his cutting boards. And, to put it plainly, Andrew\u2019s board is\u2014by far\u2014my favorite I\u2019ve ever used<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Andrew may not exactly know how his bowls ended up in Washington D.C., he\u2019s certain of his own story. From working at his father\u2019s glass shop to now owning and operating a woodworking business with 25 employees, Andrew articulately retraced the most pivotal steps of his journey during our phone call.<\/p>\n

Why bowls?<\/h2>\n

Roughly 15 years ago, while still working in the engineering department at his father\u2019s glassware company, Simon Pearce<\/a>, Andrew\u2019s dad asked if he wanted to visit a soon-to-be-out-of-business wooden bowl manufacturer that had the technology to \u201ccut a bowl out of a bowl out of a bowl.\u201d Although mechanically minded (he built much of Simon Pearce\u2019s custom equipment), Andrew couldn\u2019t understand how the bowl-cutting technology worked. Intrigued, he agreed to the visit.<\/p>\n

On the car ride home, Andrew had the idea for what his company is today. \u201cIf you use their system, but cut the blanks thicker, dried them really well, then put them on a lathe, you could hand turn them and add shape and a really beautiful hand-finished feeling to something,\u201d he shared with his dad and the other engineer in the car. They were all convinced. At some point, they even discussed opening their own wooden bowl shop.<\/p>\n

Then the next day, everybody forgot about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t touch the idea for another five years, and then kind of got to a crossroads at my dad\u2019s shop,\u201d Andrew said. He then spent a few days constructing a list of different entrepreneurial ideas he\u2019d had over the years. \u201cI got to wooden bowls, which was probably like 11th on the list, and then I just stopped the list and knew\u2014this is what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n The Willoughby Bowl from Andrew Pearce<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo by James Ransom<\/span>
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How His Bowls Create Cutting Boards<\/h2>\n

True to his original vision, the core of Andrew\u2019s process mimics the bowl technology he observed 15 years ago. \u201cI didn’t invent any of the technology, but I did create this new process of combining machine-made bowl blanks with hand-turned finished bowls,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The process begins with procuring specific types of high quality wood. \u201cWe partner with about two or three different suppliers that are pretty local to us, and we tell them exactly the grade, the diameter, and the length that we’re looking for, and then they put a load together for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Once delivered, the wood\u2014which arrives as whole logs\u2014is sawed into two- to three-foot wide chunks. Those chunks are then cored, a process that ultimately produces a Russian doll of blank, unfinished bowls. Afterwards, the blanks are dried in a kiln for 30 days and then hand-turned on a lathe. While on the lathe, the wooden bowls receive their distinct shape and hand-finished feel.<\/p>\n

This process minimizes waste, too. \u201cFor example, the cutting board that you have on your counter, that is a byproduct of making bowls,\u201d Andrew said, explaining that my board\u2019s wood was essentially repurposed waste from the coring process. \u201cWe basically take every part of the wood and use it to its maximum. We even take our sawdust and wood chips and give it to a local dairy farmer and they use it for cattle bedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n The Double Live XL Walnut Serving Board from Andrew Pearce<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo by Rocky Luten<\/span>
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Woodworking (obviously) requires trees to be cut down. The company goes through roughly 365 logs in a year. Mindful of their impact, the company plants a tree for every log they consume. \u201cWe plant anywhere from three to 400 to 500 trees a year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Andrew\u2019s passion for his home state and local environment runs through every aspect of his business. \u201cIt\u2019s a really quiet, small little state\u201d he said, \u201cbut most of the wood that we use comes from very close by, so we’re close to our raw material source, which helps cut down on the transportation side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n This Cutting Board Never Leaves My Kitchen Counter
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