We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sydney Gardner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sydney below.

Sydney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I had been working in the event industry for just about five years at the time. I had done floral, furniture staging, incentive travel operations, etc. I even worked in Alaska with a cruise line for a time. I just loved to learn I think I would take up just about any opportunity to learn a new skill or gain some fun knowledge that I could potentially use or share with others. I always entertained the idea of venturing out on my own and doing something that would allow me full creative freedom, I just didn’t know what that would look like. I felt passionate about a lot of different things. Living in Orlando, I felt that one of the gaps in our local wedding market was the smaller scale rentals, more specifically table-top rentals. I loved the idea of being able to collaborate with everyone – florists, planners, catering teams, venues, and even larger scale rental companies. There was a need for upgraded table decor that I could carry and offer to both vendors and couples. I just remember spitballing ideas with my friends at dinner and turning to them to say, “Wait I could totally do that.” I was excited at the prospect of building an inventory that could be an asset to everyone, and to find something that fulfilled my desire for a creative outlet. From that point on, it just snowballed. I am very, very fortunate to have made good friends in the industry over the last several years. Their support and confidence in me has really carried me and has allowed me to grow personally and professionally more than I could have imagined in such a short time.

Sydney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I started out, I was an Event Management major at UCF’s Rosen College. I began as an intern and I quickly fell in love with the whole picture. I loved the fast-paced day-to-day, getting to travel to new venues, meeting tons of new people, & experiencing the design process. I was just absorbing everything so intentionally and slowly narrowing in my on my own vision and style during those formative years. Another thing that I think I tapped into pretty early on was the need for a healthy dose of empathy. There is not much else that is more valuable in the service industry than compassion and understanding. For anyone reading this that has ever served in any capacity, I am sure I’m preaching to the choir. Not only for those that we are working with, but also for ourselves. Everyone has a full plate, I have yet to meet someone in the event industry that is not wildly busy. I try to approach every interaction with understanding and help people feel that they are allowed to ask questions or express concerns.

There is nothing more rewarding than bringing a couple’s vision to life, I love to design and I love to nail it. But I do hope that what sets us apart is the individualized experience we aim to offer. I hope that clients and vendors that place their trust in us feel that they have made a worthwhile partnership with people who care deeply. I can confidently say that we do take a lot of time to address each of our couples and, in turn, we are grateful to have worked with some of the most patient and kind people.

I think at the end of the day, the table is really such a cool place. It’s where families and friends gather, where we have intimate discussions, where we celebrate, and usually where we eat some really great food. I feel overwhelmingly proud to say that we get to play a role in these moments.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

We actually do not manufacture any of our own products. When I first started researching suppliers for Glasshouse, I was able to develop a handful of relationships with restaurant supply manufacturers and wholesale tableware companies. I do prefer to seek out and work with small businesses, so that I can support them, as well. It took a lot of ‘trial and error’ to find reliable companies that we could invest in that had competitive rates and decent shipping options. I think shipping is probably the most difficult or most underrated part of the inventory building process. It takes a long time to produce the items if they are not already ready to ship in the quantities that we need, and then you have to factor shipping time into the equation. I do try to keep vendors and couples up to date on new, incoming items, but we definitely have to build in a cushion for error when we are estimating a time in which they can expect those items to be available for rent.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

We are really still so new in the grand scheme of things. Glasshouse just celebrated it’s second anniversary back in November. The best source of new clients for us has always been referrals. Like I said, we are truly so fortunate to have formed some of the best relationships in this industry over the years. We have been surrounded by a lot of support and have grown so quickly for that very reason. I would say that the other major source of interest would be social media, specifically Instagram. Social media is really such a great thing for finding people that you resonate with and, essentially, having their portfolio at your fingertips. Both couples and local vendors are able to view our work and reach out to us through the website with exact photos or concepts that they have seen & loved & are excited about adapting to their own vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.glasshousesrentals.com
• Instagram: @GlasshouseRentals
• Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/GlasshouseTabletopRentals

Image Credits
Josie Brooks Photography Kim Go Photography Janira Photography