We are honored to be named the glassybaby featured partner for October, and proud to share the beautiful votive chosen just for Eluna, Hide and Seek. For the month of October, 10% of all Hide and Seek sales, in addition to online sales of colors not designated to another charity, will be donated to Eluna. 

Learn more below from the team at glassybaby about what makes each and every glassybaby a purchase to be treasured.

What is a glassybaby? How are they made? What makes each one unique?

glassybaby are one-of-a-kind hand blown glass votives and drinkers made by artisans in Seattle, WA and Berkeley, CA. glassybaby come in 400+ rich colors, each with a unique name and story, such as ‘joy’, ‘hope’, ‘gratitude’, ‘roots’, and ‘home’. Each glassybaby is an individual work of art, and no two glassybaby are the same.

glassybaby are made in a five step process:

gathering; creation begins when our glassblowers first gather the hot glass on the blowpipe from a 2,300 degree oven. that's why we call it the "hot shop".
color: the unique color of each glassybaby comes from the dropping and rolling of the glass, with three layers of glass creating the color of each glassybaby.
mold: we call it glassblowing because the artist actually blows into the mold to begin creating the shape and forming the “ice”, or the clear glass bottom
trimming: trimming the glassybaby is when the glassblower crafts that perfect iconic glassybaby shape.
stamping and annealing: glassybaby is born the moment they stamp the bottom with the glassybaby logo, and put in the cooling oven for 15-16 hours to relieve the glass of any stress.

How long does it take to make each glassybaby?

It takes six to eight minutes for four people to blow the glass and form glassybaby, and another 16 hours for the glassybaby to cool properly.

Where did the philanthropic inspiration come from?

glassybaby was founded in 2001 by three-time cancer survivor Lee Rhodes. During her chemo treatments, Lee met patients who could not afford basic needs such as bus fare, childcare or groceries. When she founded glassybaby, it was with a core mission of helping to alleviate these struggles. The giving mission has since expanded to help people, animals, and the planet heal.

To date, glassybaby has donated over $7 million to non-profit organizations who help people, animals, and the planet heal.

Why did you select Eluna as your October partner?

We have long admired the work of Eluna. Camp Erin and Camp Mariposa are such a valuable, needed resource for kids who have been affected by grief and addiction. Once you learn about the work that is being done and the impact that it has on these kids’ lives, how could you not want to help?

Share an inspiring glassybaby story.

In 2015, when wildfires ravaged Eastern Washington, the glassybaby community asked us to help provide relief to those impacted. We began by working with the community to set up a series of local glassybaby road shows, supported with social media and email marketing. As those road shows took off, we dedicated ‘mountain lake’ as a single giving color to support relief and recovery to those affected by the wildfires across the Chelan Valley. glassybaby giving raised $25,000 in just over a month through the combination of in-store sales, online sales, and road show events, and the donations are still being used to help families throughout the region.

How do you come up with new colors?

Inspiration for new colors come from different places. Sometimes we’re inspired by what we see in nature. Other times, we find a great color bar and experiment to see how a light would flicker in it if it were a votive. Discovering a new hue for glassybaby is a truly collaborative process.

From the glassybaby perspective, what is it about candle light that inspires hope and healing?

There is something incredibly magical about dropping a tealight into a glassybaby for the first time. It radiates a glow that was not just beautiful, but healing and supportive. glassybaby are elegant in their simplicity, and the colors and flickers of light in the room encourage us to stop and take that deep breath we all forget to take.

Along with hope and healing is the community that glassybaby organically creates. When Lee first commissioned artisans to make more votives, she gave them to friends, and they gave them to friends. People choose to light glassybaby for people in their lives to provide strength as they face different challenges and to celebrate special friendships and good times. And they choose to share glassybaby both through the stories of how they received one as a gift or pass it along as a gift. glassybaby stand for more than just a beautiful votive - they represent a shared sense of hope and healing.

Thank you for sharing, glassybaby, and for supporting Eluna and children affected by grief and addiction!

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