Who are we and what do we offer?
I am Stacey Gray, the owner of Glas Collection and Glas Events.
My company started as an Event Hire and Event Management business, but due to the pandemic I made the decision to split the business into an online homeware shop and an event hire business. The Event Hire is Glas Events, and the online shop is Glas Collection. We provide hire items for weddings and events and home décor and homeware products.
As a company we take our influences from the industrial and natural world and work to merge the materials of both to provide balance in styling.
We believe in being as eco-conscious as possible working with our hands to reclaim and recycle materials. We source from artisans and ethical companies, so that we can offer products for event hire or home styling that do not compromise on ethics or standards.
We use natural tones and industrial colours, within our product range, to provide a consistent and contemporary product range.
How did we get started with our work?
Prior to working within the events industry, I was an Art and Design teacher. After working as an Event Manager for a few years I noticed that a lot of the options for styling and hire within the South West didn’t provide for a more contemporary or alternative market. I had studied modern art and design, and this didn’t seem to translate into the events world as obviously as I had thought it would. I decided that I wanted to create a range that was ethical, stylish and alternative to the boho or vintage options available. So, I began researching products and started to figure out exactly what my business would look like.
I spent weeks trying to work out my company name and I knew in my heart what the overall tone should be, but I couldn’t articulate it. So, for inspiration, I drove to the coastline on a very cold, very wet winters day and sat overlooking the sea, notebook in hand.
I have always sat by the sea in the stormiest of days to clear my mind and remind myself that this world is so much bigger than me. It is amazing how the sight of waves crashing on the rocks, or the wind whistling around the cliffs edge can do that.
It was there, in my car, in that moment, that I was really struck by the power of the sea and the raw wild beauty of the coastline. I was influenced to merge nature, my Cornish heritage and the greyish blue colours of the sea into my branding. I googled Cornish words until I realized my surname, Gray, was the perfect choice. It was the colour of the cliffs I was in awe of, the colour of the wintery water below. And there it was, so simple – The Cornish word for Gray is Glas. In fact, it’s the Celtic word for grey/blue. And so Glas was born.
What inspired us to create an eco-friendly product range?
Being conscious of product sourcing has always been important to me, even before starting the business. I take a lot of my inspiration from the natural world and from a young age I have had an affinity with the wild.
I grew up in a seaside town and am at my happiest exploring or swimming in the sea. I think this love of the wild and nature has always made me want to protect it.
So, when I began to think about my own business and the thing that mattered to me, being an eco-conscious company that upheld the standards and ethics I would want from a product became the leading element.
I have been surprised at how challenging it has been to find companies that use recycled materials or that are ethical in their material sourcing. But I am really pleased with the companies I now work with and with the products we make in house using only recycled and reclaimed wood. My business partner is an incredible craftsman and together we have worked to create a truly stunning range of products.
What’s our favourite order to date?
My favourite product that we have made for our homeware store has to be our cedar wood stars. We were incredibly lucky to repurpose the wood and the colours, tones and smell of the cedar wood is striking.
My favourite product that we have made for the event hire has to be our bar cart. The cart is made from reclaimed wood and was a real labour of love in our early days. We fitted it with castor wheels, industrial piping and stained the wood to be in keeping with our dark wood and black range. I was so happy with the final finish but more than anything it was working through the cold winter nights, outside, before we had our workshop that brings back the fondest memories. I can not help but smile when I look at it.
My hope
My hope is that people love the aesthetics of our range but that they also love the ethics of our company. We want to provide quality, not quantity and we want to assure our customers that we are constantly working to ensure that we are not wasteful, that we are a company that people can be proud to have worked with or purchased from. Our hope is that as we grow, we will begin to add a charitable element to our business and give back to those most in need. We want to look back at all we have done and know we worked hard to be part of a positive change in a market that has been historically wasteful.