As the holiday season approaches, Glory Haus offers a unique approach to special events and gatherings, as well as memorable shopping experiences for Cobb customers, vendors, and community peers.
By Jennifer M. Todd
Molly Holm was on a mission. She would answer what she felt to be a true calling — creating meaningful art that would bring hope and truth to the lives of others through her wholesale business, Glory Haus, Inc.
Holm truly put her interior design degree from The University of Texas to work. A decade of designing with Home Depot’s EXPO design centers across the country encouraged and prepared her to realize her dream. In 2008, her curiosity, ambition, and hard work paid off as Glory Haus became a reality — a wholesale business that has allowed her to use her creativity for the common good.
From inspirationally messaged throw pillows and an expansive collegiate collection of coffee mugs and wooden wall art to handmade jewelry and trendy kitchen accessories, Glory Haus took off 16 years ago with, seemingly, no ceiling for growth and success. “My mission as a business owner is to make the world a little brighter and better for everyone I come into contact with,” Holm says. “Personally, I am always trying to figure out how to give glory to God and love people.”
Holm is particularly proud of the culture she has created at the Glory Haus warehouse, where workers can make extra money to make ends meet between jobs or during a transition in a time of need. And her generosity and kindness do not stop there.
Glory Haus is a founder of Daughters of Hope, a fair-trade factory in India. Daughters of Hope trains and employs women from the slums in south India who have no other options for employment. “Our employees are brought into a loving community where they are given a fair wage, free and healthy lunches, childcare, health insurance and, most important, an opportunity to rise above their circumstances,” Holm says. “Daughters of Hope currently employs more than 50 women who have been freed from the cycle of poverty.”
Building a business
Holm has built an amazing business in the Cobb community, including a partnership with MUST Ministries. “We have employed many folks that have been transitioning out of homelessness over the years,” she says. “We currently still have an employee who was homeless when she came to us and has been able to have her own place for over eight years now.”
Professionally, Holm’s path was not exactly traditional. She garnered experience beyond her years while working for Home Depot EXPO. The dynamic reach of that company presented a world of opportunity for Holm. She learned and adopted an important mantra: put the customer first. From there, she soared into the global businesswoman she is today.
“My first action was taking a trip to China with my father to source our very first products,” Holm says. “In this very first act, Glory Haus became a family business. The name came from our missional purpose, which is bringing the glory of the Lord from our house to your house.”
The German spelling of “house” is “Haus,” and the rest is history. Beyond that, Holm spent years visiting factories overseas and learning the business of manufacturing artistic and inspirational products that uplift customers. Quality has been key, and innovative design has kept Glory Haus products in demand.
Holm leads the creative charge in concert with a director of design. She takes Glory Haus’ merchandise to market twice a year in two, 1,500-square-foot showrooms located in Atlanta, Georgia and Dallas, Texas, for retailers to shop wholesale. Online sales are strong for the company as well.
Glory Haus employs several artists who work exclusively for the company and focus solely on what their customers want — or will want. Bearing in mind that no idea is a new idea, Holm and her team are constantly clipping pictures, researching, and cultivating the next best-selling merchandise.
Passion project
In addition to a thriving business, Holm’s also makes time for what she calls her “passion project,” GRACEPOINT School. The mission of the school is near and dear to Holm, who is one of three founders. “This is a school we started when I discovered my middle child had dyslexia,” she says. “The northwest corner of Atlanta did not have a school that served students with dyslexia, so a friend and I enlisted the leading expert in Georgia on dyslexia, Brenda Fitzgerald, and started our own school. Glory Haus was the financial funding force to get the school started, and we continue to highly invest in the school.”
Holm describes GRACEPOINT School as her passion project. “We’re the only Christian school in the country that strictly remediates dyslexia. We’re pretty proud about that.” GRACEPOINT School remediates through Orton Gillingham training, allowing children to enroll for two or three years. Once they learn how to read, says Holm, they move on. “My son learned how to read,” she says. “He has probably read more books than anybody I know, and he wrote a novel during his senior year in high school. So, for a kid who didn’t know how to read or write, it’s pretty amazing.”
To be sure, Glory Haus is doing good things in the Cobb community. “One of the things about Glory Haus is that we are an inspirational company,” Holm says. “In almost every piece we make, we ask who would buy it and why.”
Holiday extravaganza!
Glory Haus will soon open its doors for an upcoming Christmas extravaganza event that is not to be missed. “Warehaus” sales are set for the weekends of November and December, but that’s not all. Known by the painted water tower at the intersection of US-41 and Canton Road, Glory Haus will turn from a “little red barn” to a holiday wonderland, complete with extraordinary lights and spectacular décor that are sure to get everyone into the spirit of the season.
“Our building has a fantastic public space, especially our kitchen,” Holm says. “So that’s where we’re putting lights — on every inch of the walls and the ceilings. We will have Santa, gingerbread baking, wreath making, and more.”
Holm hopes to book 60 days of events, whether for corporate parties, a girls’ night of shopping, or a fun outing for families. Since Glory Haus does not typically open its warehouse doors to the public during the rest of the year, November and December will be ideal times to visit and take in the wonderfully extravagant decorations. Additional vendors will be brought in to expand the reach of this holiday shopping event — a must for an exciting and whimsical night out.
A change of pace and opulent environment are guaranteed. Glory Haus will even host a comedy night to round out the fun, featuring Kenn Kington, a comedian and inspirational speaker known nationwide.
At Glory Haus, you can host the ultimate corporate event or personal gathering, with the option to add activities sure to get your guests into the holiday spirit. From cookie decorating and wreath making to pictures with Santa and a candy bar, Glory Haus offers lots of options at a venue that rivals the North Pole itself!
Glory Haus Event Space
Need a space to host an event? Glory Haus Event Space is a new venue in the heart of Marietta. Holm says the aesthetic is a blend of old and new — an industrial warehouse feel combined with antique and rustic furnishings, old brickwork in the kitchen, and warm, cozy seating by the wood fireplace. Glory Haus can accommodate weddings, showers, private events, and more for up to 100 guests.
