It’s actually not as easy as I thought it would be to talk about my style because it’s not something I’ve ever really thought about. I just make what I make, how I make it! So this is less about conscious decisions I made when I started out and more about what I’ve come to realise is just how I like to do things 😄
My first main principle when it comes to style is that the sea glass I use in my creations is left exactly as I found it. Obviously (!) I wash the sea glass when I bring it home from the beach, and I rub a small amount of oil into it to help it shine, but apart form that, other than drilling for jewellery or sun-catchers, I don’t alter the sea glass in any way from how I originally found it.
For me, part of the beauty of sea glass is that it is in essence rubbish which has been entirely fashioned by the sea. It was once discarded and broken - it’s weathered the storms and survived them, and now it’s beautiful and to me, it’s treasure. I do my best to keep my designs as simple as possible so as not to take away from the sea glass itself.
I style my jewellery as clean and classic, fun and functional. I use sterling silver as I find it most versatile for day-to-day life and I also feel it showcases the sea glass with a beautiful simplicity which, after all, is the main focal point of my creations! I’m not a silversmith by any means, and everything I do has been self taught (with a little help from YouTube!).
When it comes to my art, I like to combine sea glass with clean black-ink lines and touch of watercolour. Some of my art is bold and full, some is more minimalistic but either way, on the whole, I let the sea glass do all the talking whilst keeping it clean and classic with simple wooden box frames.
In the Old Bottle Bay range, I make use of the more chunky and rugged sea glass find such as sun-catchers, candles and wooden heart mosaics. I love to use the pieces of sea glass which bear the distinct hallmarks of their origins; bottle necks and bottoms, snippets of writing or other patterns still visible after years of being tumbled by the sea. I feel that these textured features add a fascinating dimension as well as catching the light in different ways.
My bookmarks, wine-glass charms and key-rings have all evolved since I first began to make them. Now, they are styled with a Tibetan-silver charm which not only compliments the sea glass, it also makes the creation as a whole more distinctive and striking.
Finally, part of my style (if you can call it that) is that each creation I make has a name as unique as itself.
“Due to the unique nature of sea glass, not even a pair of earrings can be perfectly matched - that is not to say though, that they can’t still be perfect! What it does mean however is that when you choose a Seaberry Moon piece, you can be certain that nobody else - anywhere - has a creation exactly like yours! Even a piece of artwork, or a pendant, that has been inspired by another will be truly individual to you.
In order to reflect this individuality and distinctive quality, each piece I create has its own name.”
(Taken from my homepage)
People have asked me how I come up with all these names… in all honestly I sometimes wish I hadn’t had this bright idea 🙈🤣
I have a list which I add to whenever I think of a name that would work well for my creations, and I choose carefully from the list to ensure that the name is the best fit for the piece. I sometimes use song titles, or snippets of lyrics, or I just allow myself to be inspired by the creation itself.
As much as I do have to constantly wrack my brains for new names, I don’t ultimately regret choosing to distinguish my pieces in this way.
It adds an extra touch of special and personal which, at the end of the day, is my second main principle 🤩
Hey Poppet,
I love how easy to read your posts are! They're so clear too! Thanks for sharing how it's been for you. It's all very interesting. 😀