December, a famous month for us, came and went at full holiday tilt. University Village welcomed us into their fold, raising our tent in the utter nexus of the 'Village.' Given an aerial view of the University Village, I imagined our spot as the bull's eye from above. It was a perfect location. During our intrepid tent adventure, we braved a power outage, temperatures in the 20's, quasi flooding in the parking lot, a wind tunnel effect created by our 3 sided vinyl structure and quite often tent shopping frenzy. It was fabulous, and most fabulous will be the grand sum raised for the University of Washington Cancer Center. Glassybaby has committed 40 thousand dollars...glassybaby friends will give as well. Our goal is to exceed 100 thousand dollars, all pledged to the White Light Fund that we have established in wonderful partnership with the University of Washington. Furthermore, the fund is earmarked for unrestricted care. To explain, quite often, families encounter great hidden costs associated with cancer treatment. Unrestricted funds help take the edge off of these financial burdens. The design of The White Light Fund is intentional...we are so happy to be a part of fueling this often overlooked area of need.
Stay tuned for the final numbers achieved for The White Light Fund by the end of January. With the end of December, we officially 'sealed the deal' on purchasing a building in the Madrona neighborhood. Our beloved Greenlake location is reaching its final chapter. Condos will reincarnate the old Vitamilk Dairy where we reside, thus our search for a new home was decisive. We are moving to an auspicious new location....originally a church and currently a computer company...our new building is spiffy and we are thrilled with the vision of our next chapter. However, our shipping agent, Kobi and I are extremely concerned about our impending proximity to Cupcake Royale....an outstanding cup-cakery. Willpower alone must combat our certain breakfast cupcake cravings.
Endnote...a wind storm knocked out power in a swath of Seattle so large that the recovery effort took quite a few days. One of our cheerful customers without power took refuge shopping at the University Village. She explained to me that her home became "Camp glassybaby." Neighbors and friends were all welcomed into her home for bowls of hot chili by the light of glassybaby. Happy New Year... with electricity.
Until Next Time, Nicola
