No, we don't stock everything you see on the website...

When we first put together our website about 8 years ago, we had to determine whether we should offer only the items we had on hand in the gallery.  It was quickly apparent that I could spend far more time doing that than I spent actually making those things!  Just imagine, every time we sold an item in the gallery, we'd have to remove it from the website - and every day I made things (which was every day at that point), I'd have to also enter them into the website.

Don't get me wrong - I very much enjoy trying software that might be able to do that sort of thing.  Just ask our staff how many options we've tried!  The sad reality, though, is that the process is never as simple (or accurate) as promised. I act as our IT guy as well as glassblower, and the incredible time commitment required to get it to work was well beyond me.  

On top of that, we'd have to have storage space many times larger than our current gallery to house multiple copies of all the items offered here - AND a TEAM of glassblowers working around the clock to keep it stocked.  But no, it's just me, and I have to be realistic.  For my first 15 years or so of blowing glass, I worked very nearly every single day, and have come to understand my limits.

So, it became clear that we needed to pursue a model of offering whatever I could make, as long as I can make it reasonably consistently and in a reasonable amount of time.  That way, we can offer nearly all possible options, making them as the orders come in.  And that's why we offer mainly Floats and Shades on the website - though challenging to make uniformly, they're the items I usually able to be most consistent with.  Bowls and Vases are a different story.

In today's internet, people are getting awfully used to ordering something and getting it the very next day.  Well, that's not us.  We're more like the "slow food" movement - creating something by hand, doing it one at a time, and doing it specifically for the person ordering it.  There are times when we have the item on hand and we send it - when I know I won't be able to get to it for a while.  When possible, though, I prefer to make the item for the person.

Lastly, we realize that some people may have a specific time frame for receiving an item.  IF SO, we encourage you to include a note with the order - or even call the gallery and let us know.  We do everything we can to accommodate time-sensitive orders.

Thanks for your interest!

Bob

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