When you visit our store the glassblowing is visible through a windowed garage door. It is the dynamic in experiencing our store. We give tours quite often and the groups reside next to that window to view glassybaby production. We always use various props to explain who we are and how we are made. In this vain, Lee brought in 5 archival glassybaby. Their vintage dates back to the early days of glassybaby. They are unstamped, with a latitude of sizing. I presume they predate the glassybaby mold. Anyway, these sweet little soldiers are great props for our tours. They show from whence we came. Now we are down to 4 of the vintage beauties. To explain...Lee and I were in the store when a customer sidled up to the register proudly putting forward 3 glassybaby. In her line up, one stood out. This sensitive customer had chosen, unknowingly, one of the vintage darlings in a deep purple, a color that we call Iris. I wish that I could insert a photograph here of this glassybaby with such inner beauty. I summoned Lee over. She was, of course, thrilled that this dear customer had chosen the gorgeous motley one. In Lee's typically abundant candor she exclaimed: "It's yours...no charge." A great 'match made in heaven' moment.
In the spirit of abundance...I harken back to a blog note that I have had stowed away. A member of the glassybaby fold is friend and glassybaby incarnate, Kristine. She is a 'lifer.' Her abundant humor fills a room as evidenced by the following tale. Flanking our store entrance are two gorgeous planters brimming with geraniums. Next to the geraniums resides our sandwich board which reads the glassybaby adage:
- flowers wilt
- chocolates melt
- glassybaby forever
In the spring when the old guard geraniums of '07 had, well, yes...wilted. Kristine in her inimitable humor threatened to put a melting chocolate bar on our sign next to the pots of wilted geraniums as a kind of installation before entering our 'forever zone,' the store. We expressly got new geraniums before her ruse...but it still makes me smile...the visual.
Endnote...with our adage on the sandwich board and the maiden customers who skim read our sign...I wish I had a dollar for every time baffled potential customers come in and ask: 'Where is the chocolate?'
Until Next Time, Nicola
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