A New Endeavor...

I am very excited to have been working on products for a new endeavor I will be taking part in.  It is the launch of a new "Green" artist website - Eco 1st Art - located in California.  They are planning a launch date of this June. 

The purpose of the site it to act as art brokers for artists that produce high end Eco friendly products - thus putting them in touch with customers looking for environmentally conscious products.  Lately I have been working on pictures of my products for submission and with the help of my good friend Jackie and lots of advice from other friends - this is what has been submitted thus far!

New Places... New Faces!

I am excited to announce that Sea Glass Things is now the sea glass artist for jewelry on the Outer Banks Trading Group web site!  Check out the Sea Glass Jewelry section and today is the last day to receive 15% off your order of $100 or more!

Stepping Out... Coastal Couture for Even the Most Discriminating Palate!

Who doesn't love going out? A night out... away from work... away from kids and to-do lists.... a night with friends or that "special" someone in your life!

You don't have to live by the ocean to dress the part... you can step out in "Coastal Couture" no matter where you are... the only requirement is... you must LOVE the beach!

Check out some fabulous designs from Boardwalk Artisans to get your complete coastal look!!

Visit The Boardwalk now!

~~@~~ SuPeR HOT SuMmEr SaLe! ~~@~~

JULY SUMMER SALE -- Why Not!

Enjoy a little stimulus from Sea Glass Things... treat yourself... stock up for the Holiday season... the time is now!

$20 off items $50-$100 (PRICES ALREADY REFLECT DISCOUNT)

$30 off items over $100 (PRICES ALREADY REFLECT DISCOUNT)

**Flip Flops and newly added Home Good items not included in sale.

Sale ends July 31st, 2009 and applies to only items purchased from my 1000 Markets store and my Etsy shop.

Sea Glass Things on 1000 Markets

Sea Glass Things on Etsy

Jump Into These Coastal Creatioins! ~ Meet The Boardwalk Artist Series ~ Featured Artist ~ Norma Gafford of Beachcombers Cove

Many thanks to Norma for such a great bio! Next week another Boardwalk artist will be featured - so don't forget to stop by!

"I am a retired hippie..... livin' the dream of being a creating artist and loving every minute of it. (Actually I am a retired art teacher.) Inspired by the ocean and sky, every day is an adventure on the Texas coast.

My philosophy is: Life's a Beach and we may as well jump in and make a splash!

I love to design in sterling silver wire. Most of my pieces are inspired by the natural beauty of the ocean and beach. All of the work is designed and hand-made by me.. I make my beads by the lampworking method. This is an ancient process where glass rods are heated until molten, then wrapped around a stainless steel mandrel, which forms the bead. Then the beads are kiln annealed for durability. Other materials such as Thai Silver, Gemstones, Shell, Bone, Leather, & Beach Glass sometimes add to the variety of design.

My 2-dimensional work is also inspired by the sea and air. I love to draw and paint fish, mermaids, turtles, dolphins, all kinds of sea and beach creatures. My favorite media are colored pencil, pastels, and watercolors.

Life is too short to wear boring jewelry. Jewelry should be FUN!"

See more of Norma's work here:

www.beachcomberscove.1000markets.com

www.beachcomberscove.blogspot.com

Rock Out to Some Heavy Metal with Heather Gill of Cherry Creek Designs ~ Meet The Boardwalk Artist Series

Many thanks to Heather for such a great bio! Next week another Boardwalk artist will be featured - so don't forget to stop by!

"I started out my career in 'the arts' in a very different artform. I went to culinary school and became a chef. That kind of life is not for a young family so when I gave birth to my daughter 4 1/2 years ago I 'retired' from the food business.

I needed to do something creative so I signed up to take a class in making jewelry. I found PMC (precious metal clay) and traditional metal shortly after. I love what I do everyday!

I've been featured in a couple books and magazines in the last year and I'm getting very busy. This is much more then I ever dreamed it would be and I'm looking forward to seeing what this year has to bring."

Shop Cherry Creek Designs on 1000 Markets Now!

Take a stroll down The Boardwalk next week for another featured Boardwalk artist... until then...

Fun Friday Find #3 - Taylor's Eclectic Shop

How cool are these finds for the day - wow... to think what you can make out of paper.... the mind wanders. I am in awe when I come across such art... love these vibrant colors!

The light seems to just illuminate like stained glass windows of a church.... little hues of mosaics to make your mouth water... could be on your end table for $175.

Mmmm.... here is another beautiful piece that could be yours for $125 - love these two colors together - it has a very modern island feel to it!

And to think you could have these tiny mosaics envelope your body... here is a little finger candy that would be fun to wear for only $25.

Well - I think you have seen... there is no going wrong with Taylor's Eclectic Shop and the many pieces of art they have to offer!

Taylor's Eclectic Shop on 1000 Markets - Shop Now!

Fun Friday Find #1 - Metal Taboo

Check back every Friday as I post a new fun find of the day. This fun find for today is a cool oxidized sterling stamped ring that reads "Rock Star" for only $38.

Hey didn't you every want to be one? I remember rockin' out in the basement to the Go Go's - playing my air guitar in the early 80's. Was I the only one that loved Shaun Cassiday??? Ahhh... those were the days....

What about Queen?? Well you could be their bitch.... wrap this on your wrist for $38!

The first time I saw Axl Rose open up for Aerosmith make me think I should have been wearing this little beauty - and it's only $42. Point is - don't think you can go wrong with the fun, hip metal designs of Metal Taboo
.

Check out Metal Taboo - give them some lovin'!

Metal Taboo on Etsy

Come Take a Stroll on The Boardwalk for Timeless Coastal Treasures!

Visit The Boardwalk at 1000 Markets to explore a plethora of timeless coastal treasures that could be yours! The Boardwalk is comprised of artists and craftspeople - all whom have a love for the coast. You can find anything from sea glass jewelry, clothing, footwear, coastal tableware, paintings, photography, soaps, kitchen hardware and so much more. Stop by, browse... or purchase something for your beach home!

Visit Sea Glass Things at SOWA October 12th!

Sea Glass Things will be at the South End Open Market (SOWA) this coming Sunday, October 12th ~ From 10am-4pm... along with more than 26 members of the Boston Handmade Team in which I am a member. Come check out fantastic talent from local crafters and artisans this Sunday!

Here is the interview I submitted to my group and was in our Boston Handmade Blog - enjoy!

BH: Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff)

SeaGlassThings: My name is Marla Kunselman and I live in Salem, MA. I have two girls - Taylor, who will be 14 July 4th, and Devan who is 3.5. I am a member of the Boston Handmade Team through Etsy. I am a Salem State College Alumni and studied Art and Advertising/Communications. I used to be in advertising years ago and most recently was a Quality Assurance Engineer for a educational software company - WebCT at the time and since they have been bought out by Blackboard. I was laid off when I was pregnant with my second daughter - since then I have focused on my business and my kids full time. I am very busy and always juggling a dozen things (activities, projects, you name it) at a time. I am so happy that summer is here and things can slow down a bit!

BH: Apart from creating things, what do you do?

SeaGlassThings: Hmmm, that is a good questions - well, I am a caregiver, chauffeur, entertainer, maid, advice guru.... HA! Seriously - Right now I am just focusing on my kids and spending as much time with them as possible. I also write - hope to get a children's book finished, I write poetry - love sports and being outside as much as possible. We try to get out and kayak as much as we can. I am starting the process in the fall of returning to a "day job" full time - so we shall see what happens.

BH: How long have you been doing your artwork/craft?

SeaGlassThings: I have been creating sea glass jewelry and minimal home goods for about 13 years now. Over the past year or two I have expanded into clothing, pens, stationary and more home goods.

BH: - What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

SeaGlassThings: A hook rug from a box that I got for Christmas when I was little - I remember I sat for hours making that darn thing.... don't recall what ever happened to it though!

BH: Please describe your creative process (how, when, materials, etc)

SeaGlassThings: My creative process is ongoing - I constantly think about what new and exciting things I can come up with - whether it be designs or a new product. I like to think "out of the box" and create what no one else it creating. Year round I spent countless hours on the beaches collecting the sea glass and shipwreck pottery I use in my work. I use sterling silver for my jewelry - no base metal.

BH: What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

SeaGlassThings: I get my inspiration from textures, colors - the outdoors - and then melding them into art. Most of the time I "create as I go" to see how a particular piece will take shape. I like to incorporate other elements in to my jewelry as well - beads, natural stones, precious stones, and pearls. I find it gives depth to my work... however, there is also beauty in simplicity.

BH: Describe your work.

SeaGlassThings: I "upcycled" found objects from the shore - sea glass and shipwreck pottery - into wearable and usable art.

BH: What is your biggest obstacle with it?

SeaGlassThings: My obstacle is two fold. Sea Glass is becoming more and more difficult to find due to environmental awareness, technology, and popularity. Also - because of increased popularity there are many more sea glass artists now - thus more competition.

BH: How do you promote your work?

SeaGlassThings: On Etsy I try to get into the forums and chat as much as I can. I featured Etsy artists in my blog (http://seaglassthings.blogspot.com/) and try to promote them as well in the forums. I also frequently renew my expiration dates on my items – to keep my self at the top of the barrel. I have taken part in the Handbook to Handmade by fellow Etsian Timothy Adam Designs and also the Artisan Impact Magazine (80,000 copies distributed in the US and Canada). You have to spend money to make money – especially when you are trying to get a biz off the ground. I am not a stranger to the Internet and have sold on it for many years – I also do a lot of link exchanges with my blog and purchase online advertising spots as well. I have had a professional banner/avatar made and a logo done as well as all my promotional items. I am getting involved in my community as much as I can – recently I have donated to large ticket items and in return I will be advertised. I participate in events as a vendor and do home parties and commissioned work. So – there is really a lot I do and most of my time is spent on marketing myself. And... when I am out - I wear my goods - no better advertising than that!

BH: What’s your most interesting fair/show experience?

SeaGlassThings: I would have to say last year - the First Annual Salem Jazz Soul Festival at the Salem Willows - It was mid August and so windy and cold you would have thought it was going to snow. My tent blew away - even though I had it secured down. Everything was blowing off the table I had to find rocks to hold it all down and couldn't put out most of my items. However, I made out ok and drummed up some decent sales that day!

BH: How long have you been involved with Etsy and what have your experiences been?

SeaGlassThings: I have been on Etsy since November 2007. Although I have been in my business for 13 years - I recently found Etsy were there were already sea glass designers that had been on "Etsy" longer than I - not necessarily in the business longer. That has been challenging to carve out my piece of the pie on Etsy. It took me about 3 months to make my first sale - and then has been steady by increasing at least one more sale a month. I realized that I had to relist items often as well. I really didn't know where to go for information about what I was supposed to be doing - so I just jumped in forums - made friends, asked questions and things took off!

BH: What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

SeaGlassThings: The following are guidelines that I have put together through my own trial and error on Etsy... follow them and the sales should start to roll in:

1. Photo quality: Brighten up your images if possible - always use neutral background and make sure you never display blurry pictures - the first picture should have a full image of your product.
2. Always use 5 pictures and all 14 tags when listing - in 1 of your 14 tags should be your Etsy shop name. When listing items that would be "used a certain way" ie: cards, suncatcher etc. make sure to have different angles (inside, back of cards... maybe the suncatcher hanging in a window) so customers know what they are buying and how the product looks/functions.
3. Shop announcement - have a catchy tag to draw people in - but keep it short as well. You can have all the dirty details in your profile.
4. Having a complete profile with all your terms and conditions: very, very important as it protects you as a seller and the buyer as well.
5. List as often as you can - and relist at least 1 item a day - best time is after 5:30PM.
6. Get involved in the forums and chat - forums first and foremost - take part and also start forum discussions and some of the Saturday games that take place.
7. Find communities outside of Etsy - start a blog, join myspace and indiepublic and so on...promote, promote, promote! When you are established enough - join an Etsy Street Team!
8. Shop banner and avatar - Make sure you have a shop banner that promotes what you do - and that your avatar is clickable!
9. Make sure to set up you sections and categorize your items so customers can easily navigate your store without having to go through the pages.

BH: Read any good books lately?
SeaGlassThings: The Secret and I have started the Law of Attraction. We can have anything we desire - we just have to believe it and in ourselves!

BH: What are your most and least two favorite films?
SeaGlassThings: Least favorite movies: Top Secret and Passage To India. Favorite Movies: The Lost Boys and Flatlinners... oh and many more!!!

BH: Is there anything about you that would surprise people to know?
SeaGlassThings: When I was in high school I played basketball – we had a fundraiser in which we invited members of the New England Patriots to play against the varsity team in which I was on. I was defending John Stevens as he was going in for a lay-up… I leveled him and he fell like a ton of bricks on the court… stopped him dead in his tracks from scoring… he was probably twice the size of me. Needless to say he was NOT very happy with me. HA!

BH: Where do you see yourself in 5 years with your art ?
SeaGlassThings: I hope to be doing exactly what I am doing - but on a much larger scale. I am hoping to apply for grant money in the near future to take things to the next level!

Sea Glass Pens....AH - Finally Something Beachy Keen To Write With!

OK - so I haven't posted in a while - longer than I like. I finally finished a custom order for a fantastic repeat customer for 7 more sea glass pens. They look beautiful and write like butter - great gift idea when you are stumped - can't go wrong with these!

Cultivating Sea Glass & Shipwreck Pottery: Collecting Pieces of History

As an avid sea glass & shipwreck pottery collector - my passion for these fragments leads me on numerous coastal journeys. I have traveled all up and down the East Coast - hunting as I go along. Collecting has also taken me beyond the US as well. I love to explore places that can't be accessed by foot. To do so, we often kayak to islands offshore to collect.



The best times to collect usually are in the fall and spring at low tide because of all the storms that churn up the oceans floor. Full moons also bring forth many unexpected jewels... and always high & low tide lines are full of goodies. Just as a cop never reveals an informant - a sea glass collector never shares their "secret" collecting spots. Rocky inlets or beaches around a harbor usually yield the best results. Depending upon the tide, how rough the surf and/or rocky the beach is will produce different glass. I find glass that is thicker, more porous and frosted on a beach that has a rough surf with a lot of rocks. With calmer surf and a sandier beach you can find more translucent glass - yet still frosted it is not as thick.






Since I started collecting sea glass - I always wondered where they have been, what they were and who might have once possessed the item from which the piece was a part of. I love recycling, or "upcycling", these found objects into wearable art and true heirloom pieces that can be passed on through generations.



Said to be the next "semi-precious" stone of this time, sea glass is becoming increasingly more difficult to find due to environmental awareness and rising popularity. Such awareness promotes beach clean-ups, proper trash disposal, decreased "ocean dumping" and lastly, people aren't burning their trash on the beaches like they did years ago. Technology is also a reason for the decrease in sea glass. As the years passed we became smarter, thus improving on technology. Such improvements in the shipping industry lead to safer travel on the seas. That meant a sizable decrease in shipwrecks that were carrying personal items as well as trade cargo. Over the years, those pieces of history have washed upon the shores, carrying with them memories of distant lands, and have been transformed into tiny jewels that are sought from beachcombers around the world.


These pictures were from out latest travels on the North Shore - June 14th. My older daughter, Taylor and my brother Eric set out to a nearby island to collect. The last picture on the right is what we collected on shore and on the island that day. Not even half of what is pictured will be "usable" for jewelry.

Incorporate Sea Glass into Your Wedding: Funky Gifts and More!

It's wedding season - so why not give a gift that is beautiful AND different - sea glass house wares! I have more coming soon to my Etsy store - but here is what is listed so far. As always - custom orders are welcome.







What about gifts for the bridal party....






How about something for the bride to wear as she goes down the isle....

Or... something to write the "Thank You" notes with....
Whatever you are looking for that is sea glass inspired you will be sure to find it at Sea Glass Things... and if by chance not - we do custom orders. Happy planning!

New Collection Listed on Etsy: "The Shores of Essex" Collection

I have just added a piece of my newest collection "The Shores of Essex" Collection to my Etsy store. This is a beautiful necklace with brown/bronze freshwater pearls, chocolate and aqua sea glass, bronze swavorski crystals, sterling findings, bali spacers and sterling silver .999 Karen Hill Tribe starfish that I purchased directly from the Hill Tribe in Thailand. I always try to cut out the "middle man" when purchasing my Hill Tribe - so 100% of the profit is returned to the community. I most likely will be making a bracelet and earrings to match as well.













Check out the collection at http://seaglassthings.etsy.com

2nd Annual Salem Jazz Soul Festival

The Annual Salem Jazz Soul Festival was founded to bring jazz back to Salem, MA and support music education in the city. Through the efforts of many community members, corporate sponsors and In A Pig's Eye Restaurant - last years event brought over 5,000 people to the festival. The festival will be held again this year at the Salem Willows on August 18th, 2008.

Please visit: http://salemjazzsoul.com/ for more information about the festival, events, and how you can be a sponsor or make a donation.

The 2nd Annual Spring Fundraising Gala will be held April 12, 2008 at The Knights of Columbus - 94 Washington Square - Salem, MA - 8PM to Midnight. The doors will open at 7PM and there will be live and silent auctions held, raffles, prize and lots of great music by Ken Clark Organ Trio, The Mystix, Boston Horns with special guest Barrence Whitefield. If you live in the area - don't miss this event as tickets are going quickly! You can also purchase tickets at In A Pig's Eye or online at http://salemjazzsoul.com/ - Tickets are $15.

I was asked to donate a sea glass jewelry set this year. Look below to view my finished pieces that will be at the fundraising event April 12th. This set is valued at $1800 and consists of 65 total pieces of cobalt blue, seafoam and white North Shore sea glass (hand cultivated by myself and drilled), swavorski crystals, deep blue freshwater potato pearls, and peridot freshwater pearls. The focal points for the set include Karen Hill Tribe Sterling Silver Starfish - purchased directly from the tribe located in Thailand. The necklace features a 53mm starfish that is stunning.

The "North Shore" Collection