Recently, I took part in a discussion about sea glass and it’s use in jewelry. As well as the immense difficulty it is to find real sea glass to use if you happen to not live anywhere near a coast.
I was honestly surprised at how many people said ‘Why not throw some glass in a tumbler with sand and water?’. That repeated response set my mind spinning. Not about how to make my own sea glass, but.. moral integrity.
The more I thought about this, the more it bothered me a bit. I know personally, I could not ‘toss glass in a tumbler’ and then market it as sea glass. I would be obligated to called it ‘man made sea glass’, and honestly I don’t see it faring too well sales wise. In my mind, a person wants sea glass because it has a history behind it. From beginning as a simple bottle, or piece of clear glass all thru it’s journey to become a precious milky colored piece of prettiness.
My mind then shifted gears to ‘To I have too high standards and expectations for my business?’. I decided after about 5 minutes on this thought train that.. no, I do not. I want to offer high quality, genuine materials and craftsmanship in my jewelry. I scrutinize every stone, pearl, piece of metal before I even consider using it in a piece I make. I realize that this ends up increasing the price of a finished piece of jewelry, but I want to offer something better than a big box store. And that’s the way I will keep on doing it!
