glassybaby tales

July 4th glassybaby...Halloween Brilliance...Twilight Cubed

   Our 4th of July locally was 'hotter than a box of nails,' as my many Montana friends would say. A hot 4th of July? This is completely divergent from my decades long Northwest memory of always rainy 4ths. It was divine. My cast of characters ate American with reckless abandon. Our menu included homemade baked beans, coleslaw, a baked potato dish with the suspicion of mayonnaise in it and the confirmed topping of corn flakes (my personal favorite.) This was all rounded out by homemade rhubarb pie...not too tart, not too sweet. We were fire works free due to tinder box conditions. Instead, my brother in law hoisted a pinata in the form of Uncle Sam's hat...happy kids.

   All of this 4th reporting is a send up to sharing my favorite email of the week. My inbox on July 6th held a message and attachment showcasing the stylish photographic eye of our treasured customer and glassybaby 'share holder,' Susan. (Her fame with us is years long. She gave her husband a pre-knee surgery, surprise party, catered and lit by dozens of glassybaby...'one for the books.') Susan's email message said: "We brought them out as our contribution to the fireworks on the 4th...looked great." Here is the visual...Thanks Susan...so stunning.

   It is never too early to plan your Halloween costume. Another all time favorite email arrived to us. It read: "Dear glassybaby, As promised here are a couple pictures of our Halloween costumes. We each have a name we felt best represented our color, and if you look close you will see there is even a light inside our costumes! We're always happy to represent! Best Regards, The girls of Sunnyside, Mindy, Jessica and Alicia."

Here are the beyond adorable photographs...

                

                 

 

From left to right, Mindy is tutu, Jessica is hidden moss and Alicia is true love. Thank you Sunnyside girls, Halloween ambassadors...glassybaby super models. We adore you.

   End note, a summer notion...we have a beautiful new color named twilight. It is kindred to cloud and periwinkle. It is sort of a French Provencal color. Here is the summer notion: carve out an hour for yourself, plan it for a gorgeous summer evening, read Twilight (saucy, vampire, light read,) at twilight (earth's magic hour,) by the light of a twilight glassybaby...a perfect summer moment.

   Happy Summer from all of us. Until next time, Nicola

 

 

 

 

Erin Marooned...Cocktails?...Bellevue or Bust

   Sorry I keep writing about the Seconds Sale. It is just that the sale is so epic and material-rich. As you may know, we had a contest connected to our facebook launch. (Yes...facebook...please join us. It is fun. Home Depot is on facebook...we were compelled to join.) Three contest winners got to pre shop for seconds on the Sale day. Erin, one of the winners, dutifully arrived at 9:30 am, her early entrance winner time. My favorite visual from the sale is Erin marooned across the street, on her cell phone, calling us, asking if it was safe to transgress the line of anticipating shoppers? She was safely escorted in. She chose a bounty of gorgeous seconds. And sweetly she confessed that of all her purchases of glassybaby, she has never kept any for herself. She has built beautiful collections for both her mom and mother in law. However, now she has a lovely collection. Congratulations Erin.

   I promise...last word on the Seconds Sale. A dear customer shopped with us this week. Her presence is artistic and ebullient. Her style fills the room. She wears colorful, architectural glasses. Her hair is sheik and she totes a marvelous designer handbag. She described arriving to our recent sale and viewing the staggeringly long line. She saw lawn chairs, magazines, lattes and even laptops. She fled from the scene. In our encounter, she said to me: "Life is too short." Then, mirthfully, she told me that she has agreed to accompany her friend to our next sale...with only one small condition...waiting in the January Sale line must involve cocktails. We winked and laughed together at the notion of adding real intoxication to sale intoxication...seminal.

   It is official and imminent, glassybaby has landed in Bellevue. We will open in July (exact date TBD...I will keep you posted.) We are thrilled, and although it is tempting to leave the building that we will inhabit painted pink, we have opted for our signature, fresh, glassybaby white. The exact address is 10230 Main Street. If you google map this address...it will orient you to the geography. A particularly wonderful orientation to the geography?...we are neighbors with Belle Pastry. By all accounts this is a place where French pastry conquers perfection. Our Bellevue location has parking and the build out of the store is exceedingly beautiful. Shopping there will be a treat.

   Happy 4th of July. May the fireworks in your life be glassybaby.

   Until Next Time, Nicola

Gratitude...Growing Up To Be...Do Not Bring A Laundry Basket

   Reading this blog entry means you were greeted by the lovely image of our new color, 'gratitude,' on our home page. It is the green sibling of candy and spearmint; and somehow it perfectly imbues the meaning of gratitude. It is popular right now, many cherished teachers are receiving it.

   In the teacher category, a wonderful story was conveyed to us by our Valerie Waltz. Valerie, of T.V. news tenure, has joined us providing excellence and loveliness in Corporate Sales and Business Development...in other words a pot of gold for glassybaby. Valerie's daughter, Frances, attends the much coveted and beloved Frani's Preschool in Madison Park. At the end of every school year in June, Frani compiles an official yearbook, filled with pearls of wisdom from none other than the kids themselves. Responding to the question: "What will you be when you grow up?"...this year's litany of answers was priceless. One child will build houses. One will be a race car driver and if reborn, he will return as a rock star. One child will move to Georgia. One child's adult life ambition is 'to take care of himself.' And the group rounded out with the sweetest musings of Valerie's daughter Frances who replied: "I want to work at glassybaby." We love it and Frances...we will hold a position open for you (post Princeton of course.)

   I promised a Seconds Sale recap. Last Saturday, in typical Seconds Sale fashion, was a romp. We had 4500 seconds, and a lion's share of them vanished in 2 hours. The ladies and scant few gentleman queued at 8am. Many brought lawn chairs to await the sale in comfort. Shoppers came from near and far. One customer, hailing from Portland, Oregon quipped: 'My husband thinks we are in Seattle for a baseball game' (a classic Venus and Mars dynamic.) Another dear customer beelined to Seattle from her home in Missoula. Google Maps tells me she drove 478 miles (one way) for the sale...very impressive.

   At the sale I had the pleasure of meeting Jamie who has been one of our most enthusiastic and loyal fans for years. I have only known her virtually...she has been a phantom fan if you will. She reads our blog, she twitters with us, she always submits entries to our various glassybaby contests, she has glassybaby photos on Flickr, and often she features us on her blog...a must read at www.jamieofalltrades.com. I have to share an excerpt from one of her recent blog entries entitled: glassybaby seconds sale::tips:

"(this is hard for me to share, i don't want you getting my seconds!)

• get in line early. doors open at 10 so i'd recommend being in line around 8:30 at the latest. yes, i'm serious. it gets long.
• wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers so you can take items off or put on.
• bring your friends or your mom. it is more fun to chat with someone in line.
• have a plan for what colors you are going to go for once inside. divide and conquer if needed.
• bring a big, sturdy bag. so as you're making your way through the madness and see one you like, you can throw it in your bag. do not bring a laundry basket. i've seen it before, it's big, it's bulky  and it's just in the way.

i'll be tweeting from the event so if you want to follow along, catch me there.

happy glassybaby shopping. xo joat"

We love Jamie. Thank you Jamie for evangelizing...it was so nice to finally meet you in all of your glassybaby Seconds Sale glory.

   End note...if you want to visually experience the Seconds Sale, click on this You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CqM0LXi1l8. Thanks to one and all who braved the sale.

   Until Next Time, Nicola