glassybaby tales

Eggplant Tears...Dula Checklist...Giving and Thanks

   On Monday our treasured Production Manager, Ryan, delivered me a great, blog worthy, glassybaby story. She had toodled to our University Village kiosk on a Sunday field trip. She went to survey our set up and visit her friend Lisa who works there. Ryan with her inimitable magnetism and glassybaby enthusiasm (she is in charge of all of their births) began a marvelous chat with a fellow selecting a purple glassybaby. His color mission was distinct. He needed a replacement eggplant glassybaby for his wife's collection. We did not have eggplant in stock. Ryan steered him toward the cousin color...purple haze. He was pleased with the alternative and purchased it. Upon further discussion Ryan learned that the gentleman's wife and her dear friend had been oogling over the glassybaby in their home. The dear friend, with freshly lotioned hands, had picked up an eggplant glassybaby...not anticipating its signature chunkiness, it slipped right through her fingers and met its tragic demise on the floor beneath her. The shopping gentleman described to Ryan that when he intersected with this incident, he found both women crying. glassybaby are so well loved and coveted... it is immensely sweet. The gentleman was attempting to dry their tears with his thoughtful purchase.

   Pat Snavely, brand strategist and owner/founder of Partly Sunny, conveyed a great glassyaby tale to us. I have had it archived for a rainy day blog. Here it is. Pat and his wife were expecting their second child and they employed the expert assistance of a midwife/dula. Before the birth, the dula and mother to be, reviewed items in the quintessential bag packed for the hospital. Pat chuckled recounting the dula's familial affirmation of the contents of the bag: 'O.k... good... you have a robe, water bottle, comfortable clothes, red glassybaby...you are set.' (Post Script...Pat and his wife have the sweetest, new, little bambino.)

   March is nigh. We are anticipating, with baited breath, the colors of spring and the colors of spring glassybaby. Especially as I drove in today through a dusting of snow. It is also wonderful to glance back to the holidays and report that numbers are in and the check has been cut. glassybaby holiday shopping at University Village translated into  a twenty four thousand dollar check to the White Light Fund at the University of Washington Medical Center. Together...we give. Thank you.

   Until Next Time, Nicola

  

Reverse Scalping...Giving Paid Forward...An Angel

   A lovely new customer visited our store admitting to her latest fetish...glassybaby. She was in to buy her San Francisco mother in law a set of glassybaby to be hand delivered. Very stylish. She conveyed a funny seconds sale moment to me. She and her pal strode to the back of our Seconds Sale line, on that January Saturday, warily lining up with the throngs. Then she caught an excruciating glimpse of early shoppers with bulging bags of seconds walking by. Judging the waiting time and their fortitude in heels, this customer shamelessly offered to buy the seconds passing by her, sight unseen, at a higher premium. Hilarious, glassybaby in a reverse scalping scenario. Her plea? summarily rejected. Post script...she was able to find a treasure trove of seconds once admitted to our sale den.

   Just today a shopping duo entered our store. We were bathed in February sunlight, a really lovely day. glassybaby glistened in the store rays. One of the duo cashed in a gift card for two glassybaby. Her choice? Two perfectly formed raspberry sorbet glassybaby. As I boxed the three of us bantered. The second of the duo, unearthed a business card. She owns a company named Detox Yourself...specializing in wellness and body treatments. She recounted hearing of Lee's ascendancy to the Nellie Cashman Award through the radio broadcast in Seattle: 'Women Chat.' So moved by Lee's commitment to giving, she has pledged a % of her sales to Camp Korey, one of the divine nonprofits that glassybaby gives to. The organism of giving paid forward...wonderful.

   Regularly I take time to review our web orders; and so often I find profound meaning within. Last week, one order struck me with its largeness. A sweet customer was sending an angel glassybaby to a family who has suffered the profound loss of their eight year old child to brain cancer. We are reminded and humbled by the presence of angels and their incomprehensible light that buoys, hopefully, our larger purpose. Our thoughts are heartfelt for this child and family.

   Until Next Time, Nicola

Smoochy... Majorca...KOMO...Twins Visit

  

   Katrin, one of our dear customers, occasionally graces us with her presence. She usually stocks up on gifts, often to take over seas. Soon, she will travel to a wedding on the Spanish island of Majorca. I wish that I could be her valet. If I made it to Majorca, I would definitely try to deliver a glassybaby to Rafael Nadal's mom, in the color chartreuse, which is our closest color to a Wilson tennis ball. I absolutely love Nadal who hails from Majorca. His tennis is preternatural.

   I digress...back to Katrin. She was in expressly for the color smooch. She translated her impetus...recently, she adopted a 15 year old dog, part Chihuahua, named Smoochy. She adopted this sweet, little, old timer who's designation was "final refuge," from the fabulous, angel winged, Everett organization called: olddoghaven.org. Katrin happened to catch a glassybaby segment on our local KOMO News. During the KOMO segment, Lee showcased our new, limited edition, smooch glassybaby. In that moment it was ordained, Katrin needed a namesake glassybaby for her new family member, Smoochy. We love Smoochy.

   Lee's KOMO moment was wonderful and it is always fun to feel the reverberations of her time in the lime light. Many local web orders streamed in with a note saying: "I saw you on KOMO." Marissa (Marketing/Sales lovely) shared another KOMO tale with me. A dashing serviceman, temporarily stationed at Fort Lewis, drove to us, all the way from Olympia, after seeing the KOMO piece on glassybaby. He bought his mom a sweetpea and himself a cabo. He would be traveling home to Florida within a fortnight, and sweetly felt the compulsion to take a bit of glassybaby with him. We are honored.

  

   Endnote...just a lovely Thursday moment. A mom entered our store having navigated adeptly the combination of our door and her tandem stroller holding two bundles within. Her answer to: "Are they twins?" was: "Yes they are." I went over and got to swoon over 2 boys, 7 months old, named Ari and Raphael. Perfect. And in a glassybaby moment they were gone with mom. We were just part of their afternoon stroll. So sweet

   Until Next Time. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day...you are our heartbeat. Nicola

Smooch...Hut...Link...Sacramento Mom...and Healing

   If you have navigated to the blog, you were smooched by our homepage. Our new, darling, pink glassybaby named smooch holds court there in all of its glory. Lee's daughter named it...obviously there is another visionary in the family.

   Our hearts are beating in anticipation of Valentine's Day. Who can resist falling into the red, pink, purple palette? My Valentine mix would be a pentagon of:

• lifeguard
• smooch
• true love
• raspberry sorbet
• crinolin

I can not wait for the parade of astute gentlemen shoppers that always grace our store with the sweetest intent on the 14th of February.

   University Village Newsflash...we are still there. Find us in the sweetest little glassybaby shelter near Ben Bridge and Soul Food. We wanted our 'Village' presence to be seamless, hence the hut. Our glassybaby leprechauns are busy building out our new storefront (formerly Coastal.) You will find us in March right next to the holiday store front that we inhabited. We are moving in 'permanently.'

   And we have a new glassybaby family member...Link. He is an 8 week old, mini, long haired, Dachshund. He belongs to Erin, one of our shipping lovlies. We are all swooning over Link. Once he has his 'sea legs,' Erin promises to bring him in (be still our beating hearts.) We are a doggey bunch.

   Then, just reflections on this Thursday. A tall, statuesque,  customer entered on a mission to buy her Mom a birthday present...something purple from her Mom's glassybaby wishlist. She landed, deftly, on raspberry sorbet. I fetched some icons from the back. She paired the chosen one with a box of soy tea lights and a satin bow from our treasure chest beneath the register, and she was off, soon flying to Sacramento to hand deliver her parcel to Mom.

   At the close of this February Thursday, I answered the phone. A lovely customer was phoning in an order. She was decisive. I recorded the trio of colors chosen and her heartfelt message...she shared with me that this was a soulful gift toward healing, going to a 19 year old woman who was recently diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. I thought about this woman all the home...and I know, in solidarity, that all of us at glassybaby wish her light and healing.

   Until Next Time, Nicola