Simon Pearce announces it has entered into a “strategic partnership” with a California private equity firm, a move the renowned glassware designer said will provide it with a financial foundation to expand its business while avoiding the pitfalls that family companies often face past their founder’s generation.

SBJ Capital, a Walnut Creek, Calif., investment firm that acquires stakes in small to mid-size family businesses, has made an undisclosed investment in Simon Pearce, the glassware designer founded 53 years ago by artisan Simon Pearce, the partners announced in a news release on Tuesday.

Read full press release here.