glassybaby tales

Welcoming the New Year... Touching Stories... Glorious 'miracle'

 

 

"And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been"

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

 

 

As we escort the past year to its denouement and greet the new with enthusiasm, it's hard not to reminisce about the many changes that have occurred over the last twelve months in the world of glassybaby. We have new offices, new ovens, a new president, many new plans for growth in NYC...and by year's end glassybaby will have donated well over $700,000 to charities dedicated to health, healing and quality of life. It's been quite a year! We count our many blessings, and can hardly wait to see what 2012 has in store.

Will you spend New Year's Eve at a wild rumpus of a party with fountains of champagne? Or will you enjoy a quiet evening at home near the fire sipping a spot of bubbly from a glassybaby drinker.  This is the way I am imagining our evening will go:

 

I used 'hope', 'halo', and 'creme brulee' glassybaby, and 'alice' drinkers.

 

Cindy shared with me two touching stories from the Bellevue store.

A lovely lady had been coming into glassybaby about every other month while she had been undergoing chemo for breast cancer. Cindy had helped her choose colors while providing a sympathetic ear. Yesterday she arrived sporting a colossal smile... it was her last chemo!  After hugs and tears she bought a 'happiness' glassybaby.

Another lady who had finished her chemo for lung cancer was out celebrating with her friends. She said that Lee's story of courage during her own battle with lung cancer had deeply touched and encouraged her. She arrived in the store with her gal-pals (one of whom had given her a 'hope' gb when she was first diagnosed) and proceeded to cheerfully show her head where her hair was starting to grow in. She bought 'bff' for her friend who had originally given her 'hope'... and for herself... she obtained a glorious 'miracle'. 

'miracle'

 

Don't forget the glassybaby Seconds Sale is coming up on Saturday, January 28. The doors will open at 9:00am at our Madrona studio/hotshop, 3406 East Union Street, Seattle, 98122.  Hope to see you there!

 

Happy New Year dear glassybaby friends!      

 

Let your light shine!

 

 

Until next time,

Alice

aliceblog@glassybaby.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entrepreneur of the Year!... glassybaby on Your List... Days Getting Longer Now

Christmas has come early to

glassybaby this year!

Our very own Lee Rhodes has been named Entrepreneur Magazine's Entrepreneur of 2011. First woman ever and first Pacific Northwesterner! We are so pleased and proud of Lee and how glassybaby has touched the minds and hearts of so many.

Do read all about it: 

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222469

 

Comments are coming in from all over. Here are just a few:

Judy, who describes herself as a "delighted customer", writes, "This is so wonderful! Congratulations to Lee and all of glassybaby. Your light shines, even to Chicago."

From Rose we hear,"So cool. I love you guys!"

And from Sue, "Congratulations! You definitely deserve this award! I love glassybaby!"

Thank you to all of you in our extended glassybaby family for sharing this joy.

 

Don't look now, but a customer had their Elf on the Shelf end up on the glassybaby shelf. We have no doubt the elf reported to Santa how very "nice" the children in their home have been!

Not only do women have glassybaby on their list, plenty of men do too. Theresa let us know that her husband, Peter, a basketball coach, is (in her words) "addicted" to gb. He owns 40 of our dear little vessels. A few years ago their four year old daughter, Mary Meghan, teased her daddy that she was going to buy him make-up for Christmas. She and her mom stopped into a glassybaby store and, sure enough, the first glassybaby Mary Meghan plucked from the shelf was the then color 'lipstick' which the ladies decided was the perfect gift.  I'll bet Peter loved it as well.

As this is published, we have just passed Winter Solstice 2011.  Yes!! 

At the suggestion of our son, I am already planning a party to celebrate the date next year. I will ask all of the guests to b.y.o.g (bring your own glassybaby)...  as many as your arms can carry! Imagine this gorgeous picture below, multiplied by almost a gazillion!

 

Together we will light up the night enough to make even the sun envious on the shortest day of the year! And we will make merry, for each day will be a "leetle-bit" longer than the last.  At least for the next six months! 

As we go to press, I am thinking about tomorrow night, Christmas Eve. I don't know about you but before sweet visions of glassybaby start dancing through my mind, I'm going to jump in bed and cover my head because,...well, you know... 

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Merry and brightly,

Alice

aliceblog@glassybaby.com

 

 

 

Lion and Lamb... Red Licorice Holy Night... Fortieth Birthday glassybaby-style

 

And the lion will lie down with the lamb...

 

Every year, one of our Christmas traditions at home is to put together a very old lion with an even older lamb or two. This year we added a 'peaceful' glassybaby to complete the feeling of harmony that this time of year epitomizes.

Interestingly, the chameleon-like colors that 'peaceful' projects allow it to fit in and enhance any yuletide decor. And judging by the serene faces of the participants, above, they seem to think so too. 

 

 

'red licorice'

Have you ever seen anything as festive as the mantle adornment that Valerie put together at her house? It is stunning... Oh Holy Night indeed! 

We would love to hear about (and see) some of your glassybaby festive holiday decor!

Even though most of us are totally caught up with the jolly air of the season, we still love to take time out to celebrate birthdays. (My Ernie's birthday is between Christmas and New Year's... and yes, growing up and to this day (my bad!) he receives gifts that say on the card... you guessed it!... "Merry, Merry and Happy B'day!" (Or more truthfully, I just save out a couple of things.  Am I borderline wicked?)

Well, our glassybaby friend, Anne-Francoise, told us a wonderful holiday birthday story...

 

Her friend just turned forty, and not only did Anne-Francoise plan a surprise birthday party for her, there was a fabulous slideshow as well which included the picture above. Her hubby gave her the idea of the big 40, set in multi-glorious glassybaby. She thought she would have to make a foray to a gb store but realized she had just enough.  What a cool idea! I love it! Thanks for sharing Anne-Francoise.

As a recent customer was chatting with us on the phone about colors and choosing a gift, she had a sudden intuitive leap about what fun it must be to work at glassybaby. (And I agree it is!) She remarked that working at glassybaby would be the greatest job, for "glassybaby is happier than Disneyworld!"   (And we all know that Disneyworld is supposed to be the happiest place on earth! Right?)

 

Happy holidays our dear friends and hold your loved ones close at this special time of year and always.

 

Until next itme,

Alice

aliceblog@glassybaby.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds of Silence... Talented Young Artist... Taking Time to Renew

"See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... we need silence to be able to touch souls."

~Mother Teresa of Calcutta~

'silent night' set

This lovely holiday set, composed of 'hope', 'pearl', and 'dream', exudes the peace, and tranquility that each of us yearns to find at this joyous, hurly-burly time of year when we seem to spread ourselves too thinly.

As Lee, our founder, put it, "When you put a tea light in a glassybaby, it gives you that calm feeling that you can handle anything even if it’s just for the next five minutes.  It’s hard in this world to find that 30 seconds to stop and say, I want to concentrate on someone or something.  glassybaby allows that to happen."

What wonderful gifts glassybaby make: gifts of serenity. The man who introduced Lee as the keynote speaker at Northwest Entrepreneur's Network was spot on: "In a time where being 'social' is defined so much by our online interactions, glassybaby is a reminder of the importance and social power of how simple gifts and physical objects can connect people."

It is with great pleasure I introduce to you Courtney Hocking, the talented young artist who is producing the fantastic work for our 'name you own' 'Twelve Days of Christmas' set which you can see on the glassybaby home page.

Courtney at Work on "seven swans a'swimming"

Courtney, who grew up just north of Portland (yet in Washington!) has been working with glassybaby for 2 1/2 years ever since she graduated from the UW in English, really. She never had formal art training, but has enjoyed drawing all of her life at the knee of her mother, a successful artist who works mainly in pastels.  Courtney is another creative force on our team of aspiring young artists who, so it happens, mostly blow glass! We are so happy to have her with us. I just love the expressions on those geese a'laying! Is that an egg I spy?

~

I close on a nutty  note. We were just thinking... doesn't the above picture taken at the Madrona store, remind you of Charlie Brown (it's his shirt!) with a conspicuously more lush version of greenery than his usual little emaciated tree?  (Just reiterating, in case you didn't see this on our Facebook page.) 

I don't know about you but I think I'll wander over to the sofa next to my tea and cookies, light some glassybaby, soak up some silence and just renew for a bit. (Before I know it I'll be back out the door.)

Have a great week our glassybaby friends, and don't forget to take some time for yourself.

Until next time,

Alice

aliceblog@glassybaby.com

 

It's Coming on Christmas... Singing Songs of Joy and Peace... Shalom & Namaste

'It's coming on Christmas,

they're cutting down trees,

They're putting up reindeer

and singing songs of joy and peace.'

~'River' by Joni Mitchell ~

 

 

Above is a photo from the very first glassybaby holiday in the old Green Lake studio in 2003. Lee and Debra had been east of the mountains spending Thanksgiving in Mazama and brought back small trees to decorate. They built this winter-wonderland-of-a-set with reindeer and glassybaby as snow. What a joy that first holiday was in the gb studio which had previously been home to a dairy. Such promise and hope... and look at our glassybaby now!

Elves have been sprucing up our stores to spread a bit of holiday cheer. They are keeping the home fires burning.  Stop by and see for yourself!

 

I was perusing the holiday glassybaby sets that are available this time of year, and they are an elegant delight! Just look at this magnificent Hanukkah menorah depicted in 'the miracle of lights' set. It would bring grace, honor and light to any space.

And I just love the holly, jolly 'sleigh bells ring' set.

 

And the Elvis inspired... I-hul have a-ha 'blue christmas' set:

All of these sets got my cheeky, creative juices going so I decided with a little bit of mischievousness to try my hand at the 'name your own' glassybaby bouquet that can be found on our website. (I had seen one of our customers so creatively do a bouquet of the Muppets and thought why not? That looks like fun!)

Here is my first bouquet name, 'santa-mental' with co-conspirators, in order:

'tangled tree lights' 

'family love (no matter what)'

 

'treetop star'

 

'lump of coal (you know who you are!)'    

'uncle buck's spiked eggnog'            

and lastly, the pervasive

'greenbean casserole' 

 

Once I got started, quitting was no option. Set making is sooo addicting.

Next, I came up with the sentimental 'shalom' set. It goes as follows:

'mazel tov'  

'latkes like buttah'        

'dreidel fun'

'don't get me started'  

'verklempt for you'

 

And ultimately:

'... and now this!!'

  

I had so much fun making those 'name your own' sets and I hope you will give it a few whirls too. 

At this time of joy and peace, it gives me pleasure to think of connecting with our sisters and brothers of the world.  

 

Shalom, peace and love.

Namaste,

Alice

aliceblog@glassybaby.com