The pace is quickening. It is exciting around here. Planes are flying glassybaby envoys to New York City for our Grand Opening. In fact Bubbly is probably flowing at 555 Hudson as I write. Web orders are steady and have a holiday feel to them. We will open a 'pop up' store in Portland in early November through December. We will inhabit a space in the very lovely Bridgeport Village. Hopefully the Portland store will grow roots and become permanent...I will continue to blog on that hope. And with the dawning of November, it is our joy to announce that every single purchase at University Village glassybaby during the months of November and December will again translate into a donation to the White Light Fund at the University of Washington Cancer Center. The White Light Fund goes toward the hidden costs of uncompensated care for families dealing with the complexities of cancer treatment. It is simply a great purpose for generating funds. Thanks for joining us in this effort when you shop at University Village.
I exchanged a few lovely emails with a treasured , local, customer who is graciously allowing me to excerpt from her words:
"I have been to your Madrona Store and that is where I made my first purchase. I have bought at the University location, even the little kiosk in the middle when you were waiting for your new store to be opened. I have taken out of town friends to the University store and have given glassybaby as gifts. I bought Seattle Sunset for my sister in Wyoming and she lights it every night and thinks of me- and what should I get on September 17th, my birthday? "Sister" (glassybaby) arrived on my doorstep from my sister in Wyoming."
These were words from our first stroke of emails. Her sister lighting the Seattle Sunset nightly and the reciprocal gift of a Sister glassybaby just captures the imagination. Very sweet. Joyce followed with an end note and wrote this:
"I especially appreciate Seattle Sunset because it was named after Gretchen Mathers. Gretchen was Kappa Alpha Theta as I am. When I recently went to Big Fork Montana to visit a Theta sister and her husband, what was the glassybaby I took? Naturally, Seattle Sunset! It gives off such a warm glow and reminds so many of us not only of the beauty of Seattle sunsets, but what a wonderful and treasured sister Gretchen was to many Theta women."
Thank you Joyce for the great email exchange with all of its layers of connection to glassybaby.
Just yesterday a store exchange was particularly indelible and charming. A customer was in with her two, infinitely well behaved sons...in a glass shop. She was intrigued by the metals in various glassybaby. For example, True Love has gold in it. I dashed back to Ryan, our Production Manager and resident metallurgist, for a quick tutorial. I learned that most of our pink glassybaby have gold in them. Some of our blues have silver, in particular Keith and Hudson (our new, New York address inspired, stunner.) This lovely mom revealed, as she decided upon, the inherently silver, Keith, that:
'We are moving. My husband has all of my glassybaby packed and I can't handle it.'
Her Keith purchase?...the quintessential bandaid glassybaby. We love it. Happy Happy Halloween. I hope that you can light your Pumpkin and Black Cat glassybaby.
Until Next Time, Nicola
