Lindsay Furber - Sea Glass Jewelry: Create Beautiful and Unique Designs from Beach-Found Treasures

Text copyright 2014 Lindsay Furber and Mary Beth Beuke. Photographs copyright 2014 Mary Beth Beuke except as noted below. Design and concept copyright 2014 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the U.S. by

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978161243-342-4

Library of Congress Control Number 2013957411

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Acquisitions Editor: Kelly Reed

Managing Editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Kate St. Clair

Proofreader: Elyce Berrigan-Dunlop

Front cover design: Michelle Thompson

Cover photos: Mary Beth Beuke

Interior design and layout: what!design @ whatweb.com

Interior photos: see page 77

Index: Sayre Van Young

Distributed by Publishers Group West

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS: This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or other trademarked brands or products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The authors and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands and products mentioned in this book.

My soul is full of longing

For the secret of the sea,

And the heart of the great ocean

Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Contents

The Sea Glass

People have always been drawn to the oceans allure and the artifacts residing at waters edge. The worlds oceans harbor an array of wonders: tide pools with alien-like creatures, relics left by historic settlers, shipwreck finds, and more. No surprise, then, that the joy of beachcombing appeals to all ages.

As a child, I lived across the street from a 32-acre, densely forested park with play areas, baseball fields, tennis courts, pools, and a thousand different trails. Best of all, many trails led down to the beach. I spent countless hours spotting orca whales off the coast, building forts from driftwood, and exploring wonders found upon the Puget Sound waterways.

Over the years, my fascination with the seashore has become focused on the hunt for an increasingly rare discovery: sea glass. Whenever I plan a vacation, the beach is at the front of my mind. My poor husband was even forced to hunt for sea glass on our honeymoon in Italy! My business partner, Mary Beth, and I have traveled down the Pacific Ocean coast on seaglass hunting trips. We also traveled to Greece in search of rare sea glass. And, Im already dreaming of a trip to the Caribbean for the bright sea glass colors found there.

Coauthor Lindsay at the beach.

The Jewelry

Mary Beth Beuke also dabbled in jewelry design. On the rare occasions that we were not scouring the beach, she would let me rifle through her collection of beads and other jewelry-making materials so I could make a simple beaded bracelet. It was simply an amusing hobby.

Then, for Christmas one year, Mary Beth gave me a lovely sea glass anklet she had made. It was a simple design a drilled piece of cobalt blue sea glass hung from leather cord and I loved it! Not long afterward, I commenced my first attempt at a pair of wire-wrapped earrings. Soon friends began making special requests for my sea glass jewelry creations. I even found myself taking college courses to learn silversmith techniques.

Before long, our love of sea glass and the desire to create with our hands flourished, and Mary Beth and I launched West Coast Sea Glass. Once the company got on its feet, I was able to rent studio space from experts in jewelry design. I spent many full Saturdays at the workbench learning metalsmithing, soldering, cutting, and hammering techniques. This further experience and specialized training in metalwork gave me a knowledge base I could rely on for the next 10 years.

Ring made with sea glass plucked off Englands North shoreline.

Do-It-Yourself Era

Recently, walking through the Washington State Fair, I came across a blacksmith booth. They were selling some neat items such as house numbers, garden art, and swords. My husband really liked the weapons, of course. But what caught my fancy was watching the blacksmith work. Like a toddler near a paint set, I was itching to shove a piece of metal into the fire and start hammering away. (A lawsuit in the making, Im sure!)

Anytime I walk through a street fair, I find myself noticing the crafters booths and wondering if I could finesse my own skills for a similar project. How neat would it be to make a dinner table for my family to gather around? I have no desire to go into the carpentry business, but it would be fun to try. Once or twicein all that free time I have between chasing my toddler and black lab, managing a home, and making jewelry!

As someone who completely resonates with the desire to create with my own hands, this current do-it-yourself era is quite exciting to me. Therefore, for all those out there looking to enjoy a little creativity in between the chaos this book is for you.

As a stay-at-home mom, I have an online store (westcoastseaglass.com) and rarely sell my jewelry in person. However, when I do, I have occasionally heard people say, This is just garbage they found on the beach! Yes. Sea glass is garbage. Often, it is vintage glass that someone threw away as trash because the candy dish chipped or the bottle was no longer needed because it was emptied of its contents.

Beach Archaeology

Sea glass, for me, isnt just trash. I find myself joking about how sea glass hunting is really beach archaeology, but the phrase is not far from the truth. Just as an archaeologist searches for clues about our ancestors in the dirt, I discover clues about our predecessors while scouring the beach for sea glass. Shipwrecks and old dumping grounds tend to be the main sources of sea glass. Consequently, knowing the history of the area where you are hunting can reveal secrets to the avid beach collector.

Even though Ive had the opportunity to travel to many faraway shores for sea glass, the truth is, I live in the Pacific Northwest, which tends to be where I most commonly collect. The stretch of water from the Northern Oregon Coast to Vancouver Island in Canada is often referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific because of the thousands of shipwrecks that have occurred in these perilous and unpredictable waters. Likewise, the Puget Sound has had a fair share of shipwrecks due to its narrow inlets, rocky shores, and sometimes-fast-moving tides. This, factored in with the human practice of major refuse dumping along coasts and shorelines, has given me a bountiful supply of sea glass over the years.