“Why do people join a group?”
“We are all different with different likes, dislikes, personalities and egos that may clash, good days, bad days … So, with all this in play, why do we even join a group? Because we all have a love of whatever the group’s focus is. You can have a limited amount of joy by yourself, but it multiplies with others. Through a group we can learn, we can share what we have learned, we can be introduced to pieces unseen to us before and we can introduce our pieces to others.”
Why you should join the best Chalet glass discussion group – ‘50 Shades of Chalet’
‘50 Shades of Chalet’ is a private group. Only approved members may view and post. Group members are coast to coast in Canada and internationally from the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Estonia, Lebanon, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. A very diverse group. ‘50 Shades’ members collect primarily Canadian vintage art glass made by Chalet Artistic Glass, Lorraine Glass Industries, EDAG, Mosaic Artistic Glass and Altaglass etc. but all glass discussions welcome. Canadian glass makers were hugely influenced by Murano, Czech and Scandinavian designs so not to discuss these for context and comparison would be very short sighted.
It is a very relaxed, extremely curious and active group. Involved Administrators ensure that it is a safe, welcoming environment. Several times a week, we do a ‘themed post’ to broaden inclusiveness and to stimulate discussion. It is also a very special group in that its emphasis is on it being member driven. Feedback from the membership is routinely sought and acted on. Members not only post with their own questions, new finds or advertise pieces they want to buy, sell or trade but they also contribute ideas for the ‘themed’ posts, do ‘unboxing videos’, offer suggestions for the Web site articles this Web site’s articles participate in the group yearly anniversary celebrations and group sales events … End result – ’50 Shades’ has a real sense of community.
All members are encouraged to post pictures of their collections, post pieces for identification or discussion. And since it is also “the Chalet” group for learning – we have built a ‘Resource Library’ that is filled with film clips, tutorials, articles, historical photos and information, catalogue pages… We are honoured that several of the Chalet artists and family members belong to the group. And so fortunate that they actively contribute by not only answering questions but also by providing pictures and context. The group is serious about extending our knowledge of Chalet and its contemporaries and have a proven track record of doing so.
‘50 Shades’ has a mascot - the ‘Wandering Whimsey.’ This basket bomboniere (named “Finn” by a member) is on an epic journey. he started in British Columbia, visited the U.S. and now is back back to Canada – staying with members at each stop. He has been “wined and dined” handsomely AND taken to Egypt! His adventures with each member are posted and we all thoroughly enjoyed seeing members’ hosting experiences with Finn.
But this goes hand-in-hand with a “fun” side. Videos, polls, “Mini Movie Mondays’, we go off topic to change things up … When the group “turned a year old”, there was a week of special anniversary celebration postings . This included the launching of the 50 Shades “Shadey Awards” which recognize extra special posts - 50 Shades’ version of the Oscars. In 2020 and 2021, members contributed pictures and clips of themselves and their glass for huge compilation videos. For the 2nd year celebration, the “Super Supporter” member awards were launched. These are a special “Thanks” to those members who go “above and beyond” in their commitment to the group and our glass community. 50 Shades will be celebrating its 4th year very shortly and I suggest that if you are not a member yet, you should be! It is a safe, relaxed and fun group. Its also the best and most active Canadian glass group around with the most knowledgeable collectors.
If you’d like to sell pieces in the group – also allowed. If you want to promote your online or physical store, you are welcome to as well. You can sell, buy or trade at anytime individually but 50 Shades likes to provide a setting to help members both downsize and grow their collections – the second Friday of every month is’ Flea Market Friday’ where you can sell/purchase glass in a group format. We have a yearly group ‘Claim Sale.’ Members have held auctions, post sales videos with music – Kermit recently helped a member sell an olive-green centerpiece ‘cos “It’s not easy being Green.” We also hold group auctions. Most recently, 8 sellers (from both Canada and the United States ) listed 16 pieces made by not only Chalet but other Canadian glass houses.
Here is the video that was featured as part of the promotion and support for the auction. “I want you to want me” used with permission by the copyright holder - music artists “Cheap Trick” (1979).
As mentioned earlier, we routinely seek member feedback and participation to monitor how we are doing and shape our path forward. So, when ‘50 Shades’ reached 100 members, we asked members to answer this question:
“50 Shades works well because…”
Light-hearted or serious – didn’t matter, we just wanted blunt and honest.
Some Responses:
“50 Shades works well because members have a common bond, a thirst for knowledge and a love of glass.”
“50 Shades works well because it’s interactive and people don’t act like know-it-all-dicks!”
“50 Shades works well because we get a chance to share our collection and our enthusiasm with each other.”
“50 Shades works well because it’s a respectful channel between a member’s art glass and the community. Twists and stretches your current understanding by more experienced members who freely share their knowledge.”
“50 Shades works well because its a comforting place to come together with others who understand your passion for collecting this very special glass.”
“50 Shades works well because I am surrounded by like minded people who I can show off my collection to and enjoy and be inspired by theirs!”
A year later, ‘50 Shades’ had grown to 800 members so we reposted the question and this response best sums it up:
“ The reason I love THIS group is the welcoming spirit of the members. In OTHER groups, I have seen snooty-ness. As a newbie less then a year ago. I posted some things that I now know weren’t Canadian, or the best pictures to find out more etc. I never once felt made to be “stupid” for posting or asking. This is HUGE because without group participation- it’s just a page lol I love love, love, the ideas you come up with to keep things fun! To get us all involved! All the work you, your kids and the other admins do to make it feel like a group of friends is spectacular! Also - I can speak for everyone I’m sure, it’s FUN to show off your new finds, thrifts, and share with other collectors our glass!! Woot woot keep it up!!!”
