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says. "Think about how much we spend on cellphones every year, on the latest upgrade — a new iPhone costs $1,000 — and how many people do you know with cracked screens. We're not afraid to use our phones every day, and yet we're afraid to use our good crystal. I want to change that." To reach a broader audience, Baccarat has focused attention on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The company's social media pages teem with a beautiful red-carpet crowd. Shreve, who collects designer sneakers and fi ne watches, packs his personal Instagram account, @ justjim13, with photos of Baccarat fans Kris Jenner, and daughters Kylie Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian, who love to entertain. In the world of social media, a crystal glass can be as important as a pair of shoes — but a picture of Kourtney Kardashian sipping from a Baccarat Harcourt whiskey tumbler only tells half the story. To truly appreciate the crystal's quality, he says, you have to touch and feel it. Shreve has devised a broad array of events and collaborations that create those tactile opportunities — and the company's online business is exploding because of it, Shreve says. "Once they feel and touch the product, people go online and buy it, We've been running double-digit growth for three years." In July, Baccarat unveiled a luxury cake truck in partnership with Lady M Cake Boutique, famous for cakes composed of 20 layers of handmade crêpes and pastry cream. The truck, which debuted at Baccarat's Manhattan boutique, traveled to the West Coast before setting up service in Northern California. It's a chance for a wide range of people to become acquainted with the luxury brand, Shreve says. Large Baccarat chandeliers and sconces are mounted on the outside of the truck, and people eat cake on Arabesque dessert plates and drink from Everyday Baccarat tumblers. Custom iPads give access to Baccarat's digital catalog, in case diners want to buy on the go. Baccarat announced a raft of design partnerships, including cult-revered Supreme, whose drops cause an Instagram sensation (13 million followers) and lines around the block at their stores in NYC, London, Paris and Japan. Availability of Supreme/Baccarat Dom Pérignon fl ute sets will be announced sometime this fall, with an unannounced drop, per usual. A limited-edition Red Polygon crystal for BE@RBRICK, will be sold via an online lottery between September 27 and October 10 (go to baccarat.com to register and check Baccarat's Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages for updates). In addition to new products such as Boris Tabacoff's edgy, asymmetrical Narcisse glassware, Baccarat has launched a collection of games in clear and black crystal with marble boards by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, including an $18,000 backgammon set and a domino set for $8,200. And hot off the presses: Baccarat just announced its Red Diamond Creators Award with YouTube, which is presented by YouTube to members with 100 million subscribers. "This is huge for Baccarat as the brand recognition reaches hundreds of millions of potential clients," Simmons says. In September, Baccarat's fi rst U.S. boutique with cafe and bar opened in Miami. A similar Baccarat boutique with a bar opened in May in Milan and is already getting rave reviews. Five more U.S. boutique locations are under exploration, but that's hush-hush for now. (Baccarat has seven boutiques in the U.S., including one in Houston.) Inspired by the Baccarat Hotel in New York, which opened in 2015, hospitality and cocktails are the wave of Baccarat's future. "Every new experience we open that is run by Baccarat will have a bar attached to it," Shreve says. "It will be a space you can chill and put your bags down after a long day of shopping and have a glass of champagne or light lunch. It's all run internally by Baccarat, so the quality's there. I'll even bartend, if you want." Baccarat Passion Collection, designed by vintner Jean-Charles Boisset The Boys of Baccarat, glassblowers at the factory in France, shot for a recent campaign A glassblower at the Baccarat factory Baccarat Passion Collection, designed by vintner Jean-Charles Boisset Baccarat Go set designed by Marcel Wanders ALEX RUBIN 79