glassybaby tales

Bellevue Arrival...Heat Wave...Articles...Dexter

   If you are local please come visit our new store in Bellevue (10230 Main Street.) It is a treasure of a store. The design and layout are really lovely. A flat screen t.v. airs footage of glassybaby being made. We will stay open late on Friday nights...until 8pm...perhaps Monsoon for dinner and glassybaby for dessert?, a sweet date night. A twist on the glassybaby retail theme...the Bellevue store is available for events, think book club, birthday party, luncheon, PTA meeting, you name it, we will book it and give you the details.

   Seattle is currently experiencing a rare heat wave. Our glass blowers are heroically crafting glassybaby in 100 degree plus weather, in front of 2000 degree plus furnaces. It is impressive. Our 'hot shop' has taken on new meaning. Gatorade and ice cream bars were dispensed at intervals yesterday by Ryan, our Production Manager and resident gem, and Steve, our treasured CEO and humanitarian.

   Speaking of Steve, we often describe our glassybaby tribe as wearing many hats. Steve now has a fez to wear. Our darling intern, turned summer employee, Sophie, recently sojourned in Paris and Morocco. She returned to glassybaby bearing gifts for all of us. Steve got a fez, and our ladyship, so many ladies among us, received colorful wallets embossed with 22 carat gold. Ooo La La. Thank you Sophie.

   Other glassybaby minutes. A sweet piece entitled: "Rainbow Bright Lights," popped up in the Chicago Tribune (www.chicagotribune.com) authored by journalist Barbara Mahany. Barbara compares the excitement of discovering glassybaby color with the childhood excitement of 'cracking' open a  64 pack of crayola crayons. We love the reach to the windy city and the enthusiasm inherent in Barbara's article.

   Locally, glassybaby was beautifully featured in the home and garden section of the Everett Herald (just click on www.heraldnet.com/home.) The July 23rd article is entitled: "The Gardens That Grow Friendship." One of our dear customers, Sandy Scollard, took the time to hand deliver the newspaper to us. The garden of Allison Scollard, Sandy's daughter, is part of the gardens and friendship feature. It is a sweet read. Four amazing women, who's homes are clustered together, who's gardens are woven together and who's friendships are consecrated by a love of gardening are featured. The glassybaby part? Allison's open air porch has the sweetest vignette ever...including ice cream parlor chairs, an embroidered white table cloth, palm frond plates and beautiful, verdant glassybaby as drinking glasses. Beautiful

   We are a doggy bunch as previously blogged upon many times over. Drum roll please...there is a new puppy in our midst, soon to be a member of our dog treat club. Meet Dexter, the 7 and 1/2 week old Vizsla, owned by Sophie's brother Zach...we are intoxicated by his cuteness and Dexter is hydrated by our glassybaby drinker.

 

   End note...we have the wonderful honor of partnering with The American Cancer Society. A seminal event, that weaves glassybaby's partnership together with ACS, will take place this Saturday; it is the ACS Hope Gala at the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle. The guiding theme of the gala is: "lighting the way to hope." glassybaby will adorn the event...the reception area will be decorated with the calm and sublime beauty of all white glassybaby and the dining room will alternately dazzle with a mix of 24 colors. I love the juxtaposition. Beyond the adornments...glassybaby has donated glassybaby for a 'raise the paddle' auction item. Each glassybaby bid upon will go to a person who is battling cancer and the funds from those bid upon will go directly to the great work of ACS. We will bring more details post gala...and hopefully photographs of this lovely event.

    Until Next Time, Nicola

Seahawky...Lisa's SummeRun...Creme Brulee and Kindness

   Families collide in the summer months and often visiting family members make their yearly pilgrimage to glassybaby. It is really sweet for us to be on the family reunion compass. This week an entourage of Seattle meets California was in...2 women, 2 men and 2 teenage boys...flip flops were all around and great banter filled the room. What struck me was the highly evolved nature of this bunch. All were fully engaged in the glassybaby experience, lighting and kibitzing on color. The guys were elemental to the process. Elemental in a distinctly guy way. One priceless exchange between spouses and their son went like this:

woman: 'What do you think of this color honey?

man: 'It's very Seahawky.'

woman: 'That is not exactly what we are going for here. What about this one?'

man: 'That one is more Seattle Sounder-ish.'

woman: 'I like seeing the candle light through them.'

son: 'I like the Seahawky one.' 

   Other notes. Lisa Thompson,who inspires our giving trio named Marsha's Hope, will run this Sunday in the Swedish Hospital sponsored SummeRun to support Ovarian Cancer research. The effort toward early detection of Ovarian Cancer is a life saving endeavor. Lisa's team, Hell's Angels (emphasis on Angel) has raised more than 44 thousand astounding dollars. There is still time to make a pledge to Lisa's team, just click on: http://community.swedish.org/lisa. When you get to her page, you will learn of Lisa's personal journey with cancer, her indomitable spirit and her hope filled, exquisite writing. It is immensely moving. Good luck Hell's Angels and Lisa.

   End note. Two of my favorite new customers, Trisha and Sandy, have been to our Madrona store thrice.  I just love it when I see them round the bend. They enter with warmth and a nascent delight in glassybaby. They understand the complex beauty of creme brulee and thus far, it is their 'go to' color. Just yesterday we sought out the perfect creme brulee together. After fetching the best ones from the back, we found a beauty. We chatted as I boxed. Trisha revealed that the glassybaby was a thank you gift for her neighbors that she barely knows. Knowing that Trisha is undergoing cancer treatment...they came over to prune, trim and beautify her entire yard. There we stood, her wellspring of tears brought on mine, elicited from the utter beauty of kindness.

    Until Next Time, Nicola

Harriet...Twins with Cookies...Kelley Moore's 4th

 

   Meet Harriet, starlet of the Northwest...here she is, posing on driftwood, with glassybaby flanked to her right in the beautiful colors of big sky, milk and patent leather. She has been modeling for more than 7 years, which is obvious from her contrapposto leg arrangement, tilted head and Mona Lisa smile. We particularly love her extremely sympathetic and evocative gaze. Thanks to Valerie who wears so many hats for us, among them, corporate sales, business development and now professional photographer. Harriet autographs (sandy paw prints) available upon request.

   The joie de vive in Seattle is palpable now that the pall of grey sky has lifted. Everyone has a combination of amnesia and euphoria. Seattle is simply amazing in the summer. Part of the summer joy is apparently a compulsion to bake cookies and bring them to work. Here is a cookie tale from our camp with a twin twist. Sophie, our intern, turned valuable, 'can't let her go,' summer employee, breezed in one sunny day, wearing a flouncy short skirt, cotton T and stylish cardigan. She came bearing freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. We swooned and tittered with delight at cookies 'in the house,' delivered by Sophie's signature charming force field. Fifteen minutes later, Marissa arrived, our Marketing darling and resident stylista. She entered wearing a flouncy short skirt, cotton T and stylish cardigan. And, yep, in enters glassybaby occult, she came bearing freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.Peels of laughter ensued. If you made it through this tale...thanks for indulging the frivolity. Here they are:

 

End note...Kelley Moore, glassybaby patron saint and saint in general,is regularly featured in Seattle Magazine, with tips of aesthetic and gastronomic genius. In the recently published July issue of Seattle Magazine, she is featured with her husband and scads of charming young July children, in a feature spread on Seabrook, Washington. Kelley dazzles the pages with her inspired styling and she includes a white glassybaby tree, adorned with milk glassybaby. We are the white in her 4th of July red, white and blue. Thanks Kelley...great piece. (Beware...there is a recipe for banana s'mores included.)

 

   Until Next Time...Nicola

 

 

 

 

 

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