When the first glassybaby was created in 1998, Lee Rhodes, glassybaby creator and founder, was raising her three small children and fighting what would become a 7-year battle with a rare form of lung cancer. She had endured surgery, countless rounds of chemotherapy, and was searching for a few moments of serenity to escape the fear that encompassed her life. Inspired by the beauty of these elegant vessels, Lee filled them with tea lights and scattered them throughout her home. She found great hope and healing in their color, light and love.
Our favorite description of glassybaby
was written by Lee’s 12-year-old son, Mericos,
and given to her in the early morning one Christmas.
A glassybaby is physically a small, colored glass cup, candleholder, or vase. But the light of a candle coming through a glassybaby generates more: it gives warmth to a cold day, a calm token of peace in a busy world.
Since 1998, Lee Rhodes has been designing publicizing, and selling these small, extremely tough and strong cups. In 2001, she began to learn to blow these glasses, and has produced many glasses since.
glassybaby are made through a multi-layered glassblowing process and their color comes from different shaded color rods to produce a mix of opaque, translucent, and deeply colored glasses. This method creates a thick, strong piece of glass that has many functions and uses.
glassybaby come in a multitude of different colors that you can mix to create a stunning, flickering picture for a quiet vigil or a bustling party. Shining out of a window, a glassybaby creates an aura of love and good that fills the heart of anyone on the sidewalk or street.
There is almost no limit to the moods and feelings that a glassybaby or group of glassybaby can produce in someone, be it the calm and tranquil mint green or the inspiring dark orange.
As glasses, glassybaby are beautiful and useful: they act as cups and goblets, and the transparent colors are ideal for this job. glassybaby are dishwasher safe and are practically indestructible when you drop them.
glassybaby are useful in many ways. But their real use is lifting bad moods and loneliness. Their warm and colored light flickers like we do in everyday life. glassybaby serve as a metaphor to symbolize hope and are humble in spirit but not in beauty. Whatever your mood, a glassybaby can keep your home inviting and full of spirit.
MERICOS HECTOR RHODES
Over the next few years, Lee hired talented glass artists to create more glassybaby. And as she began giving them to others, glassybaby was born. To Lee, they represented "that deep breath that we often forget to take."
In 2003, glassybaby opened its first retail store and glass blowing studio. Today, the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle is home to the company's studio and flagship store, where a team of dedicated glassblowers produces an average of 500 glassybaby daily. The company also has stores in Seattle's University Village and in Bellevue, Washington.
“It is at the core of this company to give back,” says Lee. “When I founded glassybaby,
I never knew these little glass votives would have such an impact on people touched by cancer.”
To honor those who have walked down her same path, Lee established glassybaby goodwill, which remains the company's foundation and mission. During her cancer treatment, Lee met many other patients who could not afford even daily needs such as bus fare, childcare, or groceries. Today, much of the money donated by glassybaby goes directly toward meeting those basic needs. Each year, the company spreads hope by supporting charities dedicated to health, healing, and quality of life.
As each glassybaby leaves the door, Lee, reflecting on her own journey, knows that it will play a part of light, beauty and healing in a new story. This is our journey. We invite you to join our online community and share your story as others have shared theirs.
