One of my favorite artists, Solange, released her glassware collection this summer. I am a huge fan of her music and art and love how she styles her home.
Apartamento Magazine describes Solange’s home as “a mix of organic modernism, her own furniture designs, and Black art and vernacular objects she has collected over the years.”
Even though my husband and I are not big drinkers, I felt so excited to add one of Solange’s glasses to my collection. We occasionally enjoy a drink using items from our urban homestead and garden, such as lemons or herbs like sage or basil.
Using items from my garden as cocktail garnishes makes me feel like I’m back in grad school when my love and I would be at concerts all night where people ordered overpriced drinks in neat glasses with tons of fancy or trendy garnishes.
My spouse and I used to visit concert halls in San Francisco, Yoshi’s in Oakland, or other Bay Area venues once a week to enjoy our favorite live music. We were both studying in graduate school, and live music was our way to escape our busy schedule. Those were the days of young love, freedom, and exploration. Now, our walls are filled with images of us at those shows and vintage records from artists we have seen or wished to see.
Solange was one of my favorite concerts to see in SF. So, buying one of her glasses was a treat. The collection sold out within 2 hours, and I was happy to get at least one glass. Ive kept it in the box for months and only recently opened it.
The glass was thinner and more delicate than I had anticipated. It’s a beautiful glass and something that a classy lady would drink from—someone with steady and gentle hands. I could envision myself holding it while wearing one of the vintage-inspired gowns that make me feel like I’m living in my favorite fashion era.
But the reality is that I’m pretty clumsy and accident-prone, even in my fanciest thrifted gowns. I would break the glass in no time, so I decided to save the glass for one of our future children.
My husband has some glassware he inherited from his grandmother and a houseplant. Whenever I walk into the room, I greet the plant as if it were my husband’s grandmother. I water it and wonder if she ever imagined gifting her glassware to her grandkids. I must admit that glassware from back then was thicker and much more durable.
I hope my children will appreciate the beauty of the items we leave behind for them. At least one vinyl record of Solange’s music will be among the glassware, and they can play it while remembering that their mother never used the glassware out of fear of breaking it. Hopefully, as adults, my great-grandchildren will pour an occasional drink into the glass in memory of my loving yet clumsy hands.