Glass House creative community

07/28/2024

“Oh, come back baby…”

What’s better than a summer night beneath the stars, surrounded by friends and enveloped in good music? Not much, that’s what.

We hope you’ll make plans to join us on Saturday night, August 10 for an evening of blues music at the glass house. We’ll have snacks and drinks on hand—you bring the good vibes and laughter. Grab tickets on our website, and we’ll see you there!

📸 .kieda
📸

08/25/2023

Hey friends, it’s been a couple months since we’ve hosted a community gathering, and we’re so ready to see your smiling faces again. 😊

We’d love for you to come join us next month for a night of jazz at the glass house. Expect classic ballads, good snacks and drinks, and great conversation beneath the stars. Light the candles, raise a glass, and sing along.

Tickets are available now on our website. Hope you can make it out!

08/23/2023

As we reach the halfway mark of our season at the glass house, we’re energized by holding space for 30 special couples along with their family + friends. What a delight!

We’re now booking 2024 dates, so reach out with your ideas. Let’s create something special.

Shout out to one of the best around who took these lovely shots of Ashlyn + Logan this spring.

05/06/2023

Finally, spring! We couldn’t have ordered up a more perfect night for our first gathering of 2023, a couples soirée for those looking to get married in 2024.

Our creative team helped host an intimate dinner experience, shared from their hearts, and answered questions about the flow and spirit of the glass house.

What a joy and honor to share in these couples stories and to get to work alongside such creative dynamos.

Big 🙌🏼 to .floral and

We’ll have photos soon from , but in the meantime enjoy these snaps of the night from .floral who manages to be in the moment and to capture the surround so well. 🤍

04/22/2023

“In a 1959 letter to Russell Kirk, Otto von Habsburg, Archduke of Austria-Hungary, wrote: ‘I am very much interested to learn from your letter that you devote so much attention to the development of [the journal] ‘Modern Age.’ I think that you do here a tremendously important task, and after all, even politically speaking, the most important thing remains to convince intellectuals of the conservative idea. Since the break up of our civilisation started among the intellectuals, the recovery also can come only from these quarters. Consequently, it is decisively important to gain the intellectuals….’

“The correspondence between Kirk and the Archduke spanned three decades. It is a delightful and interesting glimpse into an important international friendship which also highlights the deep concern both felt for the weakened foundations of the West’s common Christian civilization. Kirk and the Archduke both embodied the spirit of the gentleman and were dedicated champions of ordered liberty. They are exemplars for us today as much as ever.

“This correspondence recently came to light when the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, which manages the archival collection and intellectual heritage of its namesake, began to prepare for a conference marking the 110th birthday of the Archduke. The Foundation chose the topic “Conservative Minds: The Legacy of Otto von Habsburg and Other Conservative Thinkers from a Transatlantic Perspective” for the conference held in Budapest on November 19-20, 2022. The event was focused on engaging prominent American figures of the American conservative intellectual movement and European writers and statesmen.”

Visit the post for more.

09/08/2022

Hooray! Chels is coming back this fall to teach a botanical watercolor class (10/4) and a landscape class (10/5). Several spots are left for each class, and we’d love to paint with you in next month. Bring a friend, bring an open heart and mind, and let’s make something beautiful. (Or, you know, passable. Either way it will be a delightful evening ☺️)
Links to tickets on our website: glasshouse.community.

09/01/2022

Jazz is back at the glass house on September 17.

We’ll be channeling the spirit of Django Reinhardt and 1930’s Paris as we welcome Nate Roberts and a swinging band for a night of gypsy style jazz.

Bring a friend, bring a beau, it’s going to be great and we want you here. Tickets and more details can be found at glasshouse.community. Au revoir for now friends, and we’ll hope to see you in a few weeks for jazz manouche at the glass house.

08/08/2022

What a night! Thanks to the talented teacher, artist, and friend, for showing us the print making ropes this weekend.

So many lovely and creative designs came out of this group, and it’s got us thinking about getting together this fall/winter with Becky for some card making or custom wrapping 😊

If you’re not on our email list yet, be sure to sign up at glasshouse.community to get notified first about some exciting September events. See you soon!

07/28/2022

Hi friends, we’re so excited to host our friend and artist here on Saturday, August 6. Becky will be teaching us how to make modern prints using lino cuts.

There are so many great applications for this medium, we think you’re going to love it.

Pick one of two sessions, grab a friend, or a child 10-17, and come create with us in our century old glass house space. We’ll provide the refreshments and all the supplies you’ll need to walk away with your own original design—and a very full heart. No experience is necessary as Becky will walk us through the entire process. Hope you can join us for this Saturday afternoon/evening fun!

Tickets are available on our website: glasshouse.community. See you soon 😊

07/03/2022

What’s inspiring you this summer?

We’re enjoying a few intentionally slow weeks around our home, and finding inspiration on the grounds, in the midsummer flowers, the simple food and bounty of the season, the kind words of friends, and the creativity in our community.

We’ll be back with new community events in August including exciting collaborations with artists and makers that we’ve admired for a long time. Be sure to register to receive our email on our website to get early announcements.

Enjoy the holiday, friends. Independence forever! 🇺🇸

06/05/2022

After weeks of prep and staining, our old red barn has a new look and we’re pleased as ◼️◾️▪️ punch. We tested a handful of products and colors, all variations on a theme, and we ended up going with a stain called…black. Hows that for poetic simplicity?

Our barn has been the setting for wedding ceremonies and receptions, barn dances, and concerts. Not to mention a storage place for all manner of farm implements and equipment, animals and hay, and a barn swing once upon a time.

And on wedding days when the weather doesn’t cooperate, it’s been a life saver as a spot to enjoy pre-dinner refreshments and games and late night dancing.

We’re thankful that with a fresh coat of paint and some maintenance, it will have many more years of use ahead. So many great memories still to be made!

Thanks to painter John Ruggles and builder Anthony Scheerhorn for their respective painting and repair work. We couldn’t have done it without a great team involved—a team undaunted by heights generally, and a few hornets nests thrown in, just for fun.

We hope you’ll make it out for an event this summer and take a look. If you’re the dancing type, you can join us for a family barn dance with our friends from Michigan Academy Folk Music on 6/14 or 8/23. Check out mifolkmusic.com/events for details.

05/04/2022

Our barn has always been one of those wistful “someday” projects. It’s great for dancing, ping-pong tournaments, quiet ceremonies, and as a beautiful backup plan in case of inclement weather.

Now that the weather is clearing, it’s finally someday. This spring our barn is getting some much needed love and attention. ✨ The pictures will tell all in a couple of weeks, but until then, enjoy this snap of the old girl from and wish her vast redness “adieu.”

03/26/2022

It’s a small act of faith to believe that spring weather is actually right around the corner on a day when the snow is flying in late March. But it really is!

And while we hole up inside, the ramps are pushing up through the forest floor, and our seedlings are making their own spindly way toward the grow lights—a garden in miniature.

This year we’ll welcome nearly 30 couples and their dearest people into our home as they wed and start their lives and new familes together.

We feel honored to share in their joy, and to cheer them on as they make such a beautiful, transformative commitment.

It’s a joy to get to work with this team of creatives too as we offer weddings by the glass house this season. This package includes a delish farm to table dinner by , complete floral design by .floral, and wedding day coordination by .

Thanks to all the couples who’ve entrusted the details of your wedding day into our hands, and thanks to all the couples patiently waiting for 2023 dates (released on May 1). Think warm, and we’ll look forward to seeing many of you at a wedding, party, or community gathering here soon!

Thanks for the 📸 😌

01/07/2022

The winter birds are back again, throwing their songs into the frozen morning air. Apart from their crystalline voices, born aloft by the hope of warmer days and for the pure joy of singing, all the woods hold their breath:

“And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs -
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.”

From God’s Grandeur, by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)

11/20/2021

Hi friends!

We love the spiritual richness of Christmas carols, the hopeful waiting of Advent, and the tradition of wassailing--singing carols from house to house at Christmastime.

So for our final community gathering of the year, we invite you to help us welcome in the season of Advent with a night of carol signing and music in the glass house. Let's wassail!

Tickets are completely free for this gathering, but if you’d like to make a donation, your gift will bless our lovely young musicians and support .

Snag your tickets on our website at glasshouse.community, and come sing with us next month.

11/16/2021

One of the best gifts of this year has been connecting with our community in a deeper way than we were permitted in 2020 given concerns with the pandemic.

is one of the year’s specific gifts. She joined us as an instructor for two workshops (July and September) and took some time in the fall to Sabbath, rest, and create while staying for a few days in our cottage. What a treat it was this week when she sent us a little montage video describing her time here and journey into rest.

May it be an invitation to you to slow down, breathe, and to create out of a place of rest and belovedness.

09/26/2021

As day turns into night, a new kind of magic envelops the glass house. It’s the time to sip something warm (or warming), dance beneath the stars, and enjoy the lush and twinkling glow surrounded by your nearest and dearest.

Thanks to for capturing this day so well on camera, and huge congratulations to Morgan and Justin too on their wedding day. Blessings on your marriage and new life together!

09/11/2021

A tiny look at jazz at the glass house on Friday night. Thanks to everyone who made it out and helped make the night so magical.

Thanks to for the delish smoked salmon, , and for supplying the raw materials for an awesome affogato bar, and big thanks to our drink/dessert station crews & Geoff. It really does take a team effort to make these gatherings a reality and sow much love and goodness back into our community.

See you next month for a harvest dinner and barn dance! (Coming at you on 10/23 with more live folk music and eats from ).

09/05/2021

Gorgeous details today for Audrey and Marques’ wedding from . The rain held off for their party and the overcast skies are going to make for some photographic magic from .photo. Congrats to the lovely couple and their families and well done all!

09/03/2021

🕊Birds flying high you know how we feel.
☀️Sun in the sky you know how we feel.

We’ve got two sweet weddings here this long holiday weekend and…we’re feeling good. Like Nina Simone kind of good.

September kicks off the second half of our wedding season, and we’re so excited to cheer our couples and families on this fall.

If you’re getting married next year and looking for an intimate space to hold your ceremony and reception surrounded by your nearest and dearest, let’s talk! Our availability is shrinking for 2022, but we’ve still got a handful of weekend dates available May through October. Follow the profile link to get in touch.

08/17/2021

It’s true friends, we’re sold out for our upcoming watercolor class with the talented on 9/20/21. So sorry if you were wanting to join us and couldn’t this time around.

To be added to our waitlist (cancellations do happen) visit glasshouse.community and follow the link to the event.

And if you haven’t joined our email list yet to get advance notice of upcoming events and a first crack at tickets, you can easily join there too.

And thanks to .kieda, you generous soul, for the gorgeous photos of our last class.

Hope to see you here soon!
- C & B

08/14/2021

We’re made to create and be known.

Doing something hands on like painting while in the context of community has been so stretching and so life giving this year, and we’re excited to do it again next month.

In case you missed our email today, is coming back to the glass house on 9/20 to teach us how to capture the botanical world through watercolors.

We had such a delightful night with Chels in July—all skill levels and no skill levels were represented, and anyone who wanted to could share about what inspires them and their own artistic journey.

We ended up with a waitlist for the event too, so if you couldn’t join us last month, we hope you’ll make plans to paint with us in September.

Visit glasshouse.community to snag a seat—we’ve got 9 spots left!

08/13/2021

Remember live music?

The energy it gives you, the way it invites you to lean in and pay attention?

Of course you do, you hepcat. Well, music is back, and we're ready to enjoy it together.

On Friday, September 10, we're excited to welcome our friend Nate Roberts back to the glass house. He's a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and instructor , and we're honored and delighted to have him as part of our community.

Nate will lead a small band of jazz musicians and vocalists for a couple hours of music while we enjoy snacks, drinks, and conversation all in the warm glow of the glass house at night.

There will be time to mingle with friends, connect with someone new, and time to just listen to what the band is laying down. This is going to be an intimate show with limited seating, so snag your tickets ($40) early and often here: http://ow.ly/BPU650FQE30.

Join us for live jazz music in our one of a kind glass house on September 10.

06/22/2021

We had a very special Monday night learning with area couples about the beautiful service that the provides to our community.

Exec Director Mary Rottschafer explained that their new facilities will allow them to go from serving tens of thousands each year to hundreds of thousands in a setting that is inclusive to children and adults of widely different physical and cognitive abilities. The farm also serves as a vital link for many children and students between their burgeoning interests and a future vocation in agriculture.

In addition to our kids attending critter camp this summer, the new farm’s on-site grain mill has us pretty geeked too ; )

Special thanks to and for organizing the tour, dinner…and, of course, the treats 👌🏼

See the plans for the new farm and consider getting involved at https://critterbarn.org/barntofarm.

05/19/2021

We’re honored to host a gathering tonight with artist to support a great cause, the . Learn more about their work in their profile.✔️

04/27/2021

That happened fast...
our painting workshop with is fully booked as of this morning. Thanks to everyone who’s signed up, and we can’t wait to paint with you on May 25!

03/31/2021

Who’s ready to regather this spring? ✋🏼

We’re counting down the days until our season opens in May, but the planning and spring projects are in full swing.🙌🏼

In the meantime, here’s a little BTS with two of our home team creatives and . A May painting workshop is in the works y’all. 🎨

03/29/2021

One of the bright spots of 2020 was that we got to meet some amazing people in our community, including the V talented .j.johnson, who hosted her wedding reception with us in the fall. What a delight to learn she’ll be back this spring to coordinate a wedding!

She’s got us thinking about coffee bars, pop up shops, work space (free suntan included 😎) and lots more. Thanks for the creativity infusion!

03/29/2021

Hello hellebore, and a good spring morning to you too!

We’re in full on project mode here as we prepare for our 2021 season (new glass house fixtures, fire place surrounds, custom furniture additions & more), but this weekend was a little reprieve as we got to spend time planning with some of our very favorite local creatives .floral, and . Beautiful wedding and event collaborations are in store for the coming year as we look to offer more comprehensive support for families that desire it, but in the mean time, we’re enjoying these elegant bud vases and the very first of spring flowers. Enjoy the sunshine today!