|
glassybaby is a private company based in Seattle, Washington founded by award winning entrepreneur Lee Rhodes. Its primary product is a handmade glass votive, also known as a "glassybaby", produced in more than four hundred colors and sold over the internet and through a few retail stores in the Seattle area and San Francisco. Their tagline is "one of a kindness." The company donates money from sales to charities helping cancer patients with costs during chemotherapy, and other charities "dedicated to healing".〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ceo-giving-money-away-helps-company-grow/ )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seattle-based-company-glassybaby-reaches-goal-of-2-million-in-giving-to-charities-dedicated-to-healing-255493111.html )〕 ==History== In 1995, at the age of 32, Lee Rhodes was stricken with a third round of a rare form of lung cancer. The mother of three had previously given her then husband, Emery Rhodes, glass blowing lessons, and he created small glass cups, or "baby glasses", which she would light with tea light candles to find solace during the difficult cancer treatments.〔("Small Retail: It's the inner glow that sells handblown Glassybabys" ) Seattle Post Intelligencer 2/15/2008〕 Encouraged by the demand from her friends, Rhodes hired local glassblowers in 1998 to produce more glassybaby, and began selling them out of her garage. From the beginning, Rhodes wanted to spread hope and give back money from sales to help cancer patients. "glassybaby allow people to take that 30 seconds of peace and calm to find healing," says Rhodes, "I see people who come into glassybaby hurting. They still mean to other people what they meant to me. I feel joy that we created something that touches so many people." The company was officially founded in 2001. In 2003, Rhodes set up a glassblowing studio in Seattle’s old Vitamilk Dairy building, since demolished.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://seattletimes.com/html/retailreport/2010365213_retailreport27.html )〕 In September 2005, Rhodes appeared with Martha Stewart on her television show. Sales, which had reportedly been averaging about 4 a day, leaped to 400, and although the surge slowed somewhat, the impact on the glassybaby business was tremendous.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://seattletimes.com/html/homegarden/2002561455_glassybaby15.html )〕 In 2007, glassybaby moved to a studio and retail shop in Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220373 )〕 In 2008, Lee Rhodes was the Nellie Cashman Woman Business Owner of the Year.〔("The 2008 WBO Nellie Cashman Finalists" ) WomanBusinessOwners website〕 This award is given by Woman Business Owners, a Puget Sound organization for women entrepreneurs, in the name of Irish nurse and gold prospector Nellie Cashman. In 2011, Rhodes was honored with the "It's Always Something Award" by Gilda's Club New York City for all of her work to help cancer patients. She was given the award at a ceremony at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.〔("A business that shines a good light" )〕 In 2009, glassybaby opened retail outlets in Seattle’s University District,〔(“Glassybaby opens University Village Location” ) NWSource 5/19/2009 〕 Bellevue,〔(“Glassybaby finds new home in Old Main” ) Bellevue Reporter 10/15/2009〕 and New York City.〔(“The Flicker of a New Store” ) New York Times 10/15/2009〕 Also in 2009, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos purchased a 22 percent stake in glassybaby. A spokeswoman for Bezos suggested that he was passionate about the product, and thought the company, which grossed over $2 million in 2008, could eventually reach the $100 million mark in sales.〔 In 2011, glassybaby hired Greg Huey from the Alliance of Angels as President and COO.〔("Greg Huey catches ‘startup bug,’ departs Alliance of Angels for Glassybaby" ) Geekwire 9/2/2011〕 In 2012, glassybaby closed their retail outlet in New York City. The store had been the subject of a New York Times case study, which detailed the difficulties experienced by the store.〔("Seattle Firm Struggles in the Biggest Market" ) New York Times 9/29/2011〕 In 2013, glassybaby opened a retail outlet in San Francisco's Presidio Heights neighborhood.〔("Glassybaby's Lee Rhodes lights the way in S.F." ) San Francisco Gate 11/8/2013〕 The company was also reportedly in negotiations to lease space for a glassblowing studio in the Presidio.〔("Glassybaby is among 3 signing Presidio leases" ) San Francisco Gate 12/18/2013〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Glassybaby」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|