BLOG – 35 YEARS AGO BLOG 25

Twenty years ago, Glass Creations nearly closed for ever. Reason being my wife and co-founder of our business died. May 3rd, 2005, almost fifteen years after we started Glass Creations and now fifteen years later I can (almost) look back without anger. So here I am more than halfway through managing a business on my own that certainly wasn’t planned. It was having a reason to live that avoiding the messy business of suicide. That reason focused on my glass work but also involved looking after our pet dog, “Rags.” About a year after Maureen died “Rags” decided that I was strong enough now to survive on my own, so he decided to die!

Its not really about surviving, its more about trying to turn the page forward to a new chapter if not a new book. I actually felt I could do with a new library! I wanted to do more than just survive and had to work out the best approach. I was used to Maureen being in the shop doing all the admin and serving customers. Not really my scene. Looking back, I realise that Maureen sitting at the table in the shop with “Rags” by her feet was a bit of a landmark for some. Even today when I was up at the cemetery, I met someone who visited the shop to tell me the wonderful greeting they got from Maureen. I told them that they probably wouldn’t get that now as I can be a miserable old sod!

Working on my own can be lonely but wonderful especially when one gets “lost” in one’s own creations. I see customers, visitors and just anyone who pops in as a rude interruption. Terrible, I know, and I will seek therapy to teach how to be nice to customers! For Maureen it seemed so natural but alas I missed out on the “nice” gene!

In writing this blog I wanted it to be accompanied by some lovely photos but after a little searching I got bored and thought f*** it, why bother?