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.
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. garibaldi glass
What started as a one-man operation in a converted barn—fusing small art panels for local galleries—quickly gained a reputation for technical daring. By the mid-1980s, Pfeiffer had built his first custom kiln capable of slumping and fusing large-format architectural sheets. Garibaldi Glass was born, named as a permanent homage to the volcanic peak that watched over every firing. Unlike standard float glass or mass-produced stained glass, Garibaldi’s signature lies in kiln-forming —a process that blurs the line between craft and industrial design. Here, glass is not cut and assembled so much as sculpted with heat. In an era of mass production and disposable
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. This is the story of Garibaldi Glass—not just