SEA GLASS TREASURES & TWO ISLAND CHICKS…

It’s time to shine the Rolling Harbour spotlight on sea glass, a neglected (by me) topic recently . Everyone loves it (don’t they?), and there’s always a bit of excitement in finding a pretty piece of cloudy glass gleaming in the sand on the beach. Just look at that colour. Might it be rare? How old could it be? Should I pick it up or leave it for someone else to enjoy? 

Collecting sea glass is one of the pleasures of a walk on the beach. Or maybe it’s the motivation for the walk. For some, it is an opportunity to turn what the sea throws onto the beach into something decorative. Abaco is home to some excellent jewellery** makers who specialise in using locally found materials to make beautiful things. These sometimes incorporate a mix of sea glass, pebbles, and small shells.

In Hopetown on Elbow Cay, Hilary Thompson and Erika Feszt Russell do just that. Trading under the name ‘Two Island Chicks’, they use sea glass in many of their creations, some examples of which are displayed here. As you’ll see, they also apply their creativity to showing their jewellery attractively. 

The collected glass has to be sorted into the various colours. Most are quite common (white, green, brown), some are uncommon (eg cobalt blue), and just a few that are very rare – and possibly valuable (red, orange) – see charts below.

The charts below give a general overview of the comparative rarity of various sea glass colours, their sources, and the chances of making a rare find. Of course, these are mainstream colours; there are many other in-between hues and shades.

Can you spot the most unusual piece of sea glass here?

RELATED POSTS

BEACHCOMBING FOR SEA GLASS with Kasia

BOOKCOMBING: SEA GLASS BOOKS (4 books compared)

ABACO ARTS & CRAFTS (with drop-down menus)

** Yeah yeah, I hear you. Jewellery? How English is that? Please mentally substitute ‘jewelry’ throughout. Maybe the same for colour / color. This is a bi-lingual area.

THE TWO ISLAND CHICKS

Credits: Hilary and Erika for all the photos; as for the sea glass charts (1) West Coast Sea Glass 2006 (as found in a number of online sources); (2) Origin unknown (ditto re online sources)