Take a look at these really lovely cups and saucers produced by Starbucks in 2005 for the Leadership Conference. I don’t have a lot to say about them since I don’t know the background story behind them. On the bottom of each saucer are the words, “Made exclusively for the Starbucks North America Stores 2005 Leadership Conference.” These six small cups (likely two or three ounce cups) and saucers are from the Ballard Goodwill in Seattle.
Each of the cups and saucers has drawings depicting the Green Apron Book “Five Ways of Being.” The ideas listed as the five ways of being are the cornerstone to really what the brand is all about. I absolutely think that any person who takes to heart all five of the “Five Ways of Beings” will learn and gain valuable lessons that are useful for any thing you do life: any job, any challenge can be responsibly approached by the “Five Ways of Being.”
These are the Five Ways of Being:
- Be Welcoming – Offer everyone a sense of belonging.
- Be Genuine – Connect, discover, respond.
- Be Knowledgeable – Love what you do. Share it with others.
- Be Considerate – Take care of yourself, each other and the environment.
- Be Involved – Connect with one another, with the company, with your community.
The sixth cup and plate in this set is “Why We’re Here.”
I found these on ebay recently, and it seems like originally these came with very nice cardboard box packaging, though unfortunately, I don’t have that.
As I read through the 5 Ways of Being, I remember that I love them. I already said above that I think these can be applied to any profession. There are cute little cards that partners can give each other that also have the 5 Ways of Being philosophies on them. One barista, who does read this blog, once gave me one of each of the little cards with a note written on each one. So sweet!
Does anyone know the story or the history behind these cups and saucers? This is an open thread. Feel free to talk about anything Starbucks-related. I have a couple more blog articles coming up that focus on stores again, but I didn’t want to do too many store reviews back to back. I need to post the coffee tasting winners too. However, I’ll be out of town over Memorial Day Weekend, so please don’t be surprised if this is the last blog post for one full week. I’m overwhelmed with things to do! The plan is that when I come back I’ll post the contest winners, another store article about a new store in Europe, and store articles from my trip.) Feel free to browse the “categories” tab or the “archive” tab to find interesting past articles. (I always particularly recommend the Starbucks History Lessons category.)
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Melody
Good question and photos, hope you find the story behind the plates. Enjoy seeing these bits of sbux history on display. Does sbux have a corporate historian? Now that would be a fun position imagine the archives in 40 short years.
Good question Bryan! I don’t think that Starbucks has a full-time corporate historian. That’s actually something that coca cola does. Their historian is in charge of http://www.coca-colaconversations.com/ – I sort of model the basic idea behind this blog to be akin to what Coco Cola does with Coca Cola conversations.
Melody these pics and the plates are just so beautiful. Really enjoy the five ways of being and so agree it can apply to any profession. As it applies to SB, I wish that partners practiced these five ways of being. Some do and some don’t. I only know there are some partners that just should not be behind the counter. Have a great trip!
Btw, this is really random but thank you to everyone who has helped support the blog by buying books or any other items by clicking through the amazon.com links on the side of this blog. You just click on the side to get to Amazon.com and I get a credit for what you buy. I’ll never actually make more than the blog costs me, but it was very cool to see a little deposit yesterday of $28 for three months worth of people buying books and whatnot with my amazon.com widget. Thank you!!!
Hi Melody, the phrases contained in 5 ways of being are connected to the cards that each partner can give each other within Starbucks. Each card has a size and a phrase;
Be Welcoming – Offer everyone a sense of belonging.
Be Genuine – Connect, discover, respond.
Be Knowledgeable – Love what you do. Share it with others.
Be Considerate – Take care of yourself, each other and the environment.
Be Involved – Connect with one another, with the company, with your community.
and also has a space where partners can comment on anothers accomplishments.
The cups and saucers idea was brought in, for the same reasons however due to costs of producing only limited supplies were created and therefore only HQ could designate to whom would recieve.
Hope this helps.
– Geography is a Flavour
Hi Melody,
These cups were given to all the store managers who travelled to Seattle for the 2005 conference. In all about 9000 managers from North America, one of which was me 🙂 At the end of the conference I returned to my hotel room to find that a package had been placed on the end of my bed. This was about 1 year after the introduction of the 5 ways of being. We received each in a little box that challenged us to contemplate the ways of being as we used the set in our home. We also got some coffee and pens etc.
@Rebecca – That’s a very sweet story. I love how you got them. Thanks for passing that along. It’s a little sad that they could ever end up in a Goodwill, don’t you think? 🙁
I know it’s sad that they don’t have them but I would assume that maybe someone fell out of love and moved on to something else that sparks their passion. I still have my plates but do not drink espresso or have a need for tiny cups so I split that one up and gave one to each of my shift supervisors as I wanted them to have a little piece of memorabilia from the conference too. The conferences really make me contemplative, fired up about what’s coming next and ignite my passion. I had so much fun in Seattle and New Orleans was so inspirational. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
I must admit I read the twitter post as something related to embodying the principles of cups and saucers… I caught on once I clicked through!
I LOVE THESE MUGS!!! Got to have a set. I’m looking on ebay right now! OH. WoW! I think you have to be a lawyer to afford a set of these. LOL Thanks for turning me on to something else “I’ve GOT to have” Melody! Great post. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Nice set! I just checked on eBay, too – pricey!
These are just totally beautiful! what an amazing find! Every one of them, just so sweet. lots has been lost…. more soon. am too rushed at the moment! Thanx for such a great share!
Wow – what a great find. These are truly from the “heyday” of Starbucks as they do not appear to be something that the company would spend money on in 2011. I like Rebecca’s story of how she shared them with her Shift Supervisors.
I received a “Be” card from a barista once – I thought it was a very nice gesture.
See you soon!
Would’ve loved something as a memento when we went to NOLA. Considering how expensive it was and how much H.S. took a chance sending all us managers, I’m grateful to have been a part of it.
Don’t get me wrong. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth but something like that I would’ve held in high regard as a symbol of an amazing time.
“One barista, who does read this blog, once gave me one of each of the little cards with a note written on each one. So sweet!” — Awww! 😀
@LatteRose: done!
@denise r. – Hey, thanks!
I have a set of these cups and saucers. MINT CONDITION. All in the original packaging. The are cute little cup, I will be putting them on e-bay. But I’m having trouble with a starting price for them. Is there any way you could help me with a starting price. Even the boxes are in mint condition. I was a partner for 4 years and have many different mugs, pins, and cards that are limited edition items. If you are interested in any of these items or can help with some of my pricing issues. I would appreciate an e-mail back. I plan to put these super rare items on e-bay, but would appreciate any help you could give me.
Thank you for your blog. I am a loyal SB Starbuck’s customer spending over $200 a month for coffee and the rare pastry or breakfast treat. I was looking for a place to add value to my money spent and my experience. Your blog does that for me. If I did not work for another great company
(I work in high tech) then I would work for Starbuck’s. I am hoping that when I retire early they will hire me as a Barista. Thank you for all you do to fill in the blanks I always wondered about.