Garibaldi Glass -

This is the story of Garibaldi Glass—not just as a manufacturer, but as a guardian of an ancient material transformed by fire, gravity, and vision. The company’s roots trace back to the late 1970s in Squamish, British Columbia. Founder Eric Pfeiffer, a journeyman glazier and self-taught kiln operator, was captivated by the region’s dramatic interplay of light and stone. Watching the morning sun ignite the granite face of Mount Garibaldi, he became obsessed with capturing that transient brilliance in glass.

Yet for all its innovation, the soul of Garibaldi remains unchanged. On a clear day, Eric Pfeiffer—now retired but still a frequent visitor—likes to stand in the annealing bay as a kiln finishes its cycle. He places a palm against the warm steel door. Inside, a new piece of glass—half liquid, half solid—is becoming something that never existed before. Like the mountain outside, it will outlast its makers. garibaldi glass

As one tour guest wrote in the logbook: “I came thinking glass was a surface. I left knowing glass is a depth.” In 2023, Garibaldi Glass announced a partnership with a university materials lab to develop photovoltaic kiln-formed glass —solar cells embedded between fused glass layers without visible wiring. Prototypes are already lighting the studio’s own sign. The company has also begun training Indigenous apprentices from the Squamish Nation, incorporating traditional Coast Salish formline designs into limited-edition slumped panels, with proceeds supporting language revitalization. This is the story of Garibaldi Glass—not just

In an era of mass production and disposable decor, true craftsmanship has become a rare and precious commodity. Nestled in the shadow of the Coast Mountain range—within sight of the legendary peak for which it is named— Garibaldi Glass has spent decades defying industrial trends. What began as a small studio workshop has evolved into one of Canada’s most respected names in architectural and decorative glass, yet it has never lost its soul: a deep reverence for light, landscape, and the human hand. Watching the morning sun ignite the granite face