Shard – The Beginning
Founded in 1984 by Artist and Potter J. Victoria Rattigan, Shard, based in Maine, originally handmade a timeless tabletop collection in stoneware with every piece being individually hand painted with their classic blue and white Coastal Village Design. In 2012, J. Victoria’s daughter, Sunshine Mechtenberg, became sole owner of the company. Sunshine expanded SHARD’s product line to include hand printed kitchen towels, placemats and napkins in addition to a variety of new and fresh earthenware patterns.
When Sunshine decided it was time to hand over the reins to Shard, she looked for a new owner that would carry on the quality and integrity of the coastal lifestyle brand. Anne Pecora, with her vast experience in design and expertly curated coastal design retail boutiques, was a natural fit to carry on the Shard tradition.
Meet Anne Pecora.
It seems like a long way from New York City’s high-profile commercial design scene to timeless, fun & functional coastal-design-inspired tableware. But owner Anne Pecora makes that journey seem like the most natural of events. Those who know of Anne’s work know that what hasn’t changed throughout her journey is the impeccable taste and the keen eye for design that she is noted for.
Trained at the NY School of Interior Design and the Germain School of Photography, Anne spent decades in commercial design, eventually becoming VP of Design Services for a firm whose portfolio included high profile clients such as The New York Stock Exchange, The United Nations, Hallmark Gold Crown Stores, and Vornado Group under which fell Madison Square Garden and Penn Station.
By 2012, Anne, a busy mom-of-three, was already a 15-year veteran of living the coastal life. She decided to begin the next chapter of her life by taking the impulsive plunge of buying an old bungalow and converting it into a charming storefront boutique in Long Beach Island, NJ. The rest, as they say, is history.
Now with four successful boutiques, Anne has also grown a much sought-after Design Services division, as well as acquiring Shard Pottery, one of the products near and dear to her heart in her own retail boutiques. The Shard Pottery company is poised for growth under Anne’s leadership and eye for design with the unique coastal designs continuing to attract customers hungry for the relaxing, yet tasteful, coastal lifestyle products.
The Keys to Anne’s success.
Anne has always prided herself and her team on their relentless pursuit of listening to the customer and understanding their needs and gaining their feedback. Anne feels the true key to her success has been her ability to put together a great team; she attributes the success of her business ventures to that team. “It takes dedicated, loyal, and hardworking teams to make things appear seamless. I’m fortunate to have all those qualities in my retail team members, design team, warehouse, and delivery teams. I’m humbled by the hard work and long hours my team puts in 365 days a year.”
Anne and The Shard Team looks forward to sharing our beautiful designs bursting with coastal vibes with you and your customers!
