Stéphanie Pierre

As a child - unlike my older sister Virginie-, I did not particularly want to be a glassblower. I enjoyed playing in the workshop during the summer months - the cardboard loaves of bread and coffee cakes I played with in my small bakery were legendary and consumed with great relish by my grandfather, parents and the workers. But that's where it stopped for me. Whereas my sisters are just incredibly creative and can draw, sew and craft the nicest things, I came into the world with two left hands.

My passion was and is and always will be languages. That is why, after secondary school, I chose to study translation/interpreting. At 22, I had a master's degree and knowledge of five languages. But I still didn't feel ready to enter the job market yet. So I chose to work part-time in the family business, where they needed help with the administrative side. In so doing, I was able to take on some additional shorter courses. After one year, I also started giving language lessons in addition to my work in the glassblowery. This taught me about the ins and outs of a business on the one hand. And on the other hand, it led me to discover an array of social skills which I could develop further through this 'dual job'.

For a long time this was an ideal combination. However, little by little I acquired more responsibilities. The work grew and became more diverse, and I saw my technical knowledge steadily increase. As time went by, I realised that I also possessed strong organisational skills, and this eventually led me to the decision of working full-time at Pierreglas. Around that same period my sisters' ambition to take over the company had become quite evident. Joining forces with them in that endeavour seemed a very natural evolution to me.

Working so closely with my family and making sure that they can devote themselves fully to production, by taking other matters of their hands reflects that I seem to have found my true purpose within the glassblowery, namely doing pretty much all that doesn’t involve the actual glassblowing.