glassybaby tales

Safe Return...Five...Food Improv

   Here is a gem that landed in our customer service inbox giving us a lovely full circle:

"I wrote to you sometime ago about a marine deployed, the need for a glassybaby in marine color, for a visual tug at the heart. That marine has returned home safely, all the parts work (kinda what you wish for in a newborn,) mom and son are fine. After being re-called, he will be back "home" within a week. Your suggestion of color was great as always. We gaze at the marine glassybaby everyday. I appreciate your suggestions.

So, thanks, and I will be offering an Easter and Mother's Day glassybaby this year. Orders to follow. Thanks, Bill"

What a touching follow up. To learn that a glassybaby was imbued with such  profound hope and that the hope of a marine son returning home has been realized...this moved us all. Thank you Bill for your welcome words.

   Another great bit...one of our dazzling customers came in with her knock out smile the other day...and proceeded determinedly to find the perfect set of 5 True White glassybaby. She explained her intent...while dreaming up a dinner party and the guest list, she realized that five of the friends to be invited are cancer survivors. An awesome, critical mass of survivorship would be gathering together. With her revelation it was decided, the centerpiece of the dinner table would be 5 True White, the original "giving" glassybaby, proceeds from which go to the worthy institution, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Stylishly, the five survivors, would each go home from the party with a True White.

   And a food footnote, because I can not resist the vicarious allure of a menu. I had to inquire what the meal plan was for this great evening. They were to dine on pheasant (her husband's catch) with lingonberry sauce and various other marvelous savories. Ode to Julia.

   Lastly, because it made me smile...an additional food note. My french husband, who has a cooking style that I call improvisational, chronically puts together the most freelance mixture of ingredients. Right now he has a penchant for juicing every night. A juice concoction might include, ginger, cucumber, strawberry, beet, grape, even the ever skunky turnip. Which leads me to this...the other night improv guy, sweetly wrangled dinner together for us. He prepared traditional pan seared steaks, sauteed potatoes and 'special' sauce. The sauce, origin of my smile, consisted of: steak pan drippings, butter, shredded brussel sprouts, red wine, green grapes (halved,) and yes...maple syrup. Wait a beat...it was delicious.

   Until Next Time, Nicola

Welcome Ryan...Hiker's Reunion

   We have a new member of team glassybaby...Ryan, and, in a word, he is awesome. Quality control has landed in his hot little hands and he definitely gets where the bar is set. Since his arrival, Ryan has been down to business and the excellent Kim has him in friendly glassybaby boot camp. So, it has been my challenge to eek out a bit of the person Ryan behind the glassybaby Ryan, and then there was this...when we gift wrap we strive for a seamless, well folded affair. It takes some practice and a requisite tutorial from the master, Kim. Upon Ryan's first try, Kim approached the offending package chuckling. Ryan had this to say about his wrap job: "I never knew ribbons had emotions...mine is really sad." Welcome Ryan.

   For weeks in my blog file I have had notes from an earlier store encounter...incubating.  A woman came into our store and pulled a seemingly disparate grouping of color. She lit each glassybaby with careful pondering. Although I am a dog person more than a cat person, I feel feline in my curiosity. I had to ask where these glassybaby were going. I received a lovely explanation. For sometime our customer has made a yearly pilgrimage to some beautiful place to gather with  a group of dear friends. The friendships were forged through a love, even a passion for hiking. I believe, if my memory is correct, these 8 women met hiking in the Grand Canyon (a personal dream of mine.)

   The glassybaby were being carefully chosen to give each of the hikers. On a very poignant and solemn note...one of the friends has the difficult diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's Disease. Here is the beauty...with collective fortitude and support the group decided upon the importance of being together just like any other year. Even though hiking can not be a focal point as before, they gathered. I love thinking of their circle, glassybaby glowing and the mountains they have and will continue to travel together.

   Until Next Time...Nicola

No Frills and Surrender

   Weeks ago I had the pleasure of receiving a call from Joan Sputh. She explained the impetus of her call was to rent glassybaby. She was spearheading an auction for the Eastside Domestic Violence Project. Her goal?...to raise funds to purchase computers for kids at the crisis center. Through our conversation I learned more about Joan's role in this event...it requires a list:

• Creator
• Decorator
• Caterer
• Master of Ceremonies
• Banker/Accountant

You name it she did it...with the generous support of her dear friends, volunteers, her husband, her 12 year old daughter, and her step daughter who flew in from California to lend a hand. Joan dubbed it the "No Frills" Auction and pulled it together in a mere 6 weeks. Six weeks plus Joan equals 16 thousand dollars for computers. Altruism, generosity, stewardship are apparently alive and well. It is inspiring.

   A footnote to the event. Although glassybaby might be considered a frill at the no frills event...Joan harnessed their beauty into dollar power. She lit her event with a rainbow of color and offered the glassybaby for sale at a slightly higher premium...her organization was able to take home the difference. Brilliant. And Joan's 12 year old bought a Poppy glassybaby, at the steeper price, with money from her piggy bank.

   Let me describe a recent store encounter and the embroidery from a conversation that has nicely hovered in my memory. A woman came in to our store to select a spring colored glassybaby...something to brighten her day. I learned that she had gone for a routine mammogram and felt good about her slightly overdue, healthful feat. She then traveled to Value Village, a local thrift emporium, to have a brief conversation with the manager there. Her question to the manager was something close to this:'Perchance, had an employee or customer found a cache of family, gold jewelry, including a diamond necklace, hidden in the pocket of an old ski sweater that was donated?' She awoke recently in the middle of the night to the excruciating revelation that her Spring cleaning had gone too far. The manager had not recovered the jewelry. But this I love...our sweet customer's philosophical bent was expansive. It was her day to surrender to the loss and finally let the jewelry peacefully go. Wonderful. Surrender and a single glassybaby antidote...so wise.

   Until Next Time, Nicola

Pleather, Weddings and Compassion

   Announcement...I have a new work bag. My old 'fellow,' very worn, has finally retired and been replaced by a new one, which  is stylish, slightly studded and even machine tooled in places...can you say: "pleather." I foolishly,truly believed I was getting a steal, an all leather work bag. My husband pointed out the tag which describes the material in euphemistic terms: "durable material"...in other words...plastic. Sorry, frivolous blog content...I just wanted to write the word "pleather."

   A signature of Spring at glassybaby is our bridal 'hotline.' The phone begins to ring in a nuptial way, and our rental calendar starts to fill in. Being the card carrying wedding lover that I am, it is a treat to hear all of the nuptial details... including glassybaby color choice.

   One couple has chosen the auspicious date of Friday 8-8-08 to seal the deal. They will wed in a Madrona park and promenade with their guests to glassybaby for their reception (we rent our space for all sorts of events.) The reception will include glassblowers, myriad glassybaby glowing, bistro tables for perching and heavy appetizers. I am sure there will be bubbly and music as well. We are honored and enamored with the concept of our first glassybaby wedding.

   Another couple to wed in August came in with the bride's mother. They toured color, thinking about the wedding palette and impressing me with their 'way ahead of time' organization. They will place a rental order closer to their day. Addendum that made me smile. Both mom and bride went away with a single glassybaby. Mom chose Grass and her daughter Deep Sea. As they exited our store, the mom glanced back at me and quipped: "See you next paycheck."

   Endnote...this from our pulse...a woman entered our store...she explained that she recently learned about us through the wonderful article in the Seattle P.I.. She was shopping with a special purpose...her dear friend was undergoing a second surgery in her struggle with breast cancer. The surgery was concurrent to this customer's time in our store. She felt compelled toward us...sweetly...knowing our deep connection to cancer causes. She chose her friend one of our giving glassybaby. Her compassion filled the room. Godspeed to her friend from all of us at glassybaby.

   Until Next Time, Nicola

Laughing Buddhas, Globe Trotting and Best Friends

   Declaration of the week...people read their newspapers, especially the business section. Cecelia Goodnow, an intrepid Seattle Post Intellingencer reporter, encamped with us for hours on February 15th, which led to her thorough, wonderful piece on glassybaby in the Feb. 16th edition of the P.I..(Check it out.) Her article began with a sophisticated compliment: "There's something sensual and slightly improbable about glassybaby(s,) the hand blown, color saturated tumblers that have become darlings of the design world." The 'one-two punch' was this compliment followed by my favorite glassybaby simile to date: "As round and fat as laughing Buddhas..." We had a crush of business from this wonderful feature.

   And in the same week this came from customer Peppe Enfield (I covet her name): "...to have found you again! Thanks to an excellent article in the Seattle PI I now know where you disappeared to. We live by Greenlake and I used to buy gifts for special occasions in your shop, once carrying 7 glassybaby in my backpack when I went to Sweden to visit my family back there. People thought I was crazy, it's like giving the baker's children bread, after all, but each family member loved the gift, carefully chosen as to color and feel."

   Peppe continued... beautifully lauding the glassybaby covenant of giving to Cancer causes. So, globe trotting to Sweden and the invocation of Buddha...it was a good week.

   Endnotes...again, the words of others...Tracy of Bellevue sent herself some glassybaby...taking the time to include this note: "A friend gave me some for Christmas...she warned me I was going to get hooked...she was right!"

   Then this...I noticed Kathryn ordered a gift set named "Best Friends"...it went to her sister...so sweet.

   Thanks for friendship and Karma and the words of others that celebrate glassybaby...you touch us daily.

   Until Next Time, Nicola