tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-389166992024-02-28T10:32:08.943-08:00North Beach TreasuresAuthentic Beach Collected Sea Glass, Pottery and Artifacts from the Pacific NorthwestPeter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-35448561957742942412015-10-28T14:59:00.000-07:002015-10-28T15:41:20.922-07:00Sea Glass Rarities: The Extraordinary Tale of Finding a Red Shooter MarbleFor me, beach combing and picking up sea glass and other relics has always been a pretty Zen experience. I get to be alone with my thoughts and just the sound of waves, wind and an occasional seagull.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKz6esiiwb5oJjCMQrL630iUQvjcH3ber5UDOXTXLjURxTsPOfxv8vpKW6Up-h48yIyGlpl026JoT0ki1P6Hpv0YZsj3LS5RxwsJfW2q9iP8tVNVrvk2DL4CUi4gARjSqtStk_Q/s1600/20151028-Beach-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKz6esiiwb5oJjCMQrL630iUQvjcH3ber5UDOXTXLjURxTsPOfxv8vpKW6Up-h48yIyGlpl026JoT0ki1P6Hpv0YZsj3LS5RxwsJfW2q9iP8tVNVrvk2DL4CUi4gARjSqtStk_Q/s400/20151028-Beach-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "Happy Place"</td></tr>
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On most trips to the beach, nothing extraordinary happens... whether in terms of my surroundings, or in terms of what I find. Sure, now and then I am delighted to find something unusual... and even after some almost 50 years of beach combing, the "thrill of the hunt" has never died.<br />
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I go out there because it's peaceful.<br />
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I go out there because it allows me to disconnect from the world and-- in some odd way-- reconnect with myself and the source of everything.<br />
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I have always been somewhat of a loner, so a beach where only a stalwart few dare to venture is my ideal venue to chill out.<br />
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I expect that pretty much all dedicated sea glass enthusiasts have dreams of finding "some great rarity" on one of their outings. Maybe it's finding a sea glass marble. Maybe it's finding that first piece of super rare orange sea glass after 20 years of looking. There's little doubt in my mind that we beach walkers have at least <i>some</i> element of the "collector gene" that strives for ever "better and rarer" things.<br />
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So anyway, here's an unusual story of finding an exceptional sea glass rarity.<br />
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Some years ago, I found myself doing the Happy Dance on the beach because I found a genuine <i>orange</i> sea glass marble. Orange is the rarest color... finding an orange <i>marble</i> is just that much rarer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXuwwt70vVYQRIvg83HfCYCOGgDqEx9HlH4Ihe03HoCYONVK5xuT2kLG0oOkFC-jhCXe8hfJYemce9h3oCqx02rS3DuMlHJksK3h3rAqjAfa-on9lUZJc6LnVYbJqyBAHa-9m9A/s1600/20151028-2Marbles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXuwwt70vVYQRIvg83HfCYCOGgDqEx9HlH4Ihe03HoCYONVK5xuT2kLG0oOkFC-jhCXe8hfJYemce9h3oCqx02rS3DuMlHJksK3h3rAqjAfa-on9lUZJc6LnVYbJqyBAHa-9m9A/s400/20151028-2Marbles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original orange marble... and then a red marble. But it is not<br />
"THAT" red marble.</td></tr>
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I celebrated the find with my wife Sarah... who then looked me in the eye and said "<i>Awesome! Now you need to find the red one!</i>"<br />
<br />
I usually take Sarah's statements in stride... but I pay attention, knowing from experience that there's always a deeper meaning behind her statements. <b><a href="http://www.nahmaste.com/blue-collar-goddess/" target="_blank">Sarah also happens to be one of the world's greatest psychics</a></b>-- far more accurate and insightful than those "TV psychics." It's a bit beyond belief, at times... but it's true.<br />
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"<i>The red one?</i>" I replied<br />
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She considered for a bit, and then stated "<i>I have been seeing a red marble out on that beach. It seems buried at the moment, but at some point the sea will shift the sands and it will come up, and you will find it.</i>"<br />
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In a sense, that started the "quest for the red marble," but we all know that we can't expect the beach to serve up particular sea glass "on demand." It doesn't happen that way... but I would always be looking <i>specifically</i> for a red marble, as I wandered the beach. I knew that if Sarah said it was there, <i>it was there</i>. But three miles of beach is a big place. Just because you've been told for sure that there's a needle in your haystack doesn't mean you can just go and lay your hands on it.<br />
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Some years went by, and no red marble. Then... on a rather windy winter day, I found a red marble!<br />
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Mightily impressed by Sarah's visionary powers, I was thrilled to show off my new rare treasure. I was a little surprised that Sarah didn't seem to share quite as much in my excitement.<br />
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"<i>It's beautiful, don't get me wrong,</i>" she said, "<i>but it's not the one I saw... it's still out there. It's much larger and has a faint orange sheen on one side.</i>"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJersfcqn7nKmk1tMYBt1kN66cmnTqxWgGgqQk4schHJ-aBy0G2R9VzPdklGzVld7opxh2LBkStMZFoYEQkjapvKXtlQOA3pXQMfAWeL2gW-g6f57ia1nA2U3iZON_oF3bmdDWlw/s1600/20151028-3Marbles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJersfcqn7nKmk1tMYBt1kN66cmnTqxWgGgqQk4schHJ-aBy0G2R9VzPdklGzVld7opxh2LBkStMZFoYEQkjapvKXtlQOA3pXQMfAWeL2gW-g6f57ia1nA2U3iZON_oF3bmdDWlw/s400/20151028-3Marbles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A really LARGE red marble, With a bit of orange on one side...</td></tr>
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Having collected sea glass for decades, I knew that orange and red marbles are extraordinarily rare. The fact that I had managed to find both an orange and a red marble in my lifetime seemed like a pretty amazing accomplishment. What Sarah was telling me about was clearly a "<i>shooter</i>" sized marble... and a red one, with some orange.<br />
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Large red marbles are not something you come across often. I have seen a few offered on eBay in the course of the past ten years, and they tend to sell for impressive amounts after heated bidding.<br />
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To find one would be... possibly the rarest piece of sea glass I've found. Ever. Period.<br />
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So, time passed... until we come to October 8th, 2015. Almost at the end of a tiring trip to the beach, I saw something that looked like a piece of brown in the sand. I'm not sure <i>why</i>, exactly (I don't typically pick up much brown sea glass), but I decided to poke at it... and realized there was "more there."<br />
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Imagine my surprise at what I pulled out! It was LARGE and it was RED and it had that bit of ORANGE on one side! I probably looked like a crazy big flapping bird, hopping around on the beach in my victory dance.<br />
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As you can see from the photo with my two previous treasures, it's a <i>very</i> impressive sea glass marble-- and possibly the most amazing find of my beach combing "career." And hats off to Sarah for "seeing it" out there, all those years ago. Seriously folks... what see intuits is <i>real</i>. As you can see,,,<br />
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I've already been asked several times if it's for sale.<br />
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Not entirely sure, yet... maybe if someone makes the proverbial "offer I can't refuse," I will share it with another collector. For the moment, I am just telling an amazing-- but TRUE-- story!<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">High Quality Sea Glass for Jewelers, Artists and Collectors: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Visit the <b><a href="http://stores.ebay.com/North-Beach-Treasures" target="_blank">North Beach Treasures sea glass shop on eBay</a></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We also offer collections with <b><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorthBeachTreasures" target="_blank">Jewelry Grade sea glass on Etsy</a></b></span></div>
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Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-4053586277423482812015-07-31T16:32:00.002-07:002015-07-31T16:32:49.692-07:00Those Pretty Round Nuggets!I have been beach combing since I was a little kid... and picking up sea glass for just about as long.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkHFS-fwRenukdlK_Q9NjFN8TsBcnt2z8rErHdJ0fsZNTQSdvuCRD86rf1o0Qvxv9FdFcOQgr9oMorLvSwfcKVxRQClqKnmxFKMZY8vUUMCZvWrz9mvGkQzD4smm0CkT4xLBH3w/s1600/ST15-0073d.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkHFS-fwRenukdlK_Q9NjFN8TsBcnt2z8rErHdJ0fsZNTQSdvuCRD86rf1o0Qvxv9FdFcOQgr9oMorLvSwfcKVxRQClqKnmxFKMZY8vUUMCZvWrz9mvGkQzD4smm0CkT4xLBH3w/s400/ST15-0073d.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Over the years, I have lived near beaches with almost no sea glass, as well as beaches with a fairly generous variety of it. Whereas my opinion of favorite colors has changed from time to time, one thing has remained consistent:<br />
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The most "treasured" pieces I find-- the ones most likely to elicit an "oooh" and "aaaah" response-- are those round fat gumdrop-like pieces that show up only once in a great while.<br />
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They are fairly rare because they-- by definition-- have to come from a pretty <i>thick</i> piece of glass. And most glass <i>isn't </i>particularly thick.<br />
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If you think about it, the vast majority of glass we see comes either from common bottles or jars, or from glass tableware. And this glass is seldom more than a quarter inch (about 6mm) thick... maybe a few bottoms and edges get up to 3/8" (9mm) thick.<br />
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A fat round piece like the one pictured above-- 1 1/4" (30mm) long by almost 3/4" (19mm) thick can come only from a very limited number of origins.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglldsNBcxt-3Bb2kXgac6VD4sm6cHH0s1UHnQkyXGIGT0D6MoGncM1csAnVx_cViMCeDh5tReEU_zVXXP8vTCk_lmAIieM9MxVIdw1ruMrvfkw2V0COIjgLodjeRR6yqXl8e2htw/s1600/ST15-0374c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglldsNBcxt-3Bb2kXgac6VD4sm6cHH0s1UHnQkyXGIGT0D6MoGncM1csAnVx_cViMCeDh5tReEU_zVXXP8vTCk_lmAIieM9MxVIdw1ruMrvfkw2V0COIjgLodjeRR6yqXl8e2htw/s400/ST15-0374c.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Then consider that it has to survive the <i>process</i> required to get from being merely broken glass to becoming sea glass. We all know that glass is brittle and breakable-- and that the surface of sea glass becomes the way it is as a result of being tumbled with sand and rocks for years and years, if not decades. Even if a piece of glass <i>starts out</i> being thick, who is to say it will survive the years of being beaten against pebbles and rocks without breaking? <br />
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Few pieces do, which is perhaps a large part of the appeal of these "round bubbles," at least to me.<br />
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So where does a piece of sea glass like the one in the top photo come from? My best guess is that this was part of an old glass insulator, probably the top part. I remember seeing them in many shades of blue and green, when I was a kid, and I have since seen them as "collectibles" at flea markets. Since they are no longer in functional use, the chances of more sea glass like this being created is near zero.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-18931653889124511742015-03-03T14:24:00.000-08:002015-03-03T15:07:40.134-08:00Winter Beach Combing, Glass Beach and Other Random ThoughtsThis year, "winter beach combing" has not even felt much like <i>winter</i> beach combing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0s_Q9DAfuIjJZWYgQuVWUPQd6jLCsm4KbOwvnvgb4yLmQcT9BY9ERusFBr-h6Gs8UwA6gHL_o5Epa7VEMTLjA6keVaiSbyxkPNZ2OSpOTw25eM1qaNPE1FbtZcBDtmVZrzM6Dg/s1600/ST15-0102a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0s_Q9DAfuIjJZWYgQuVWUPQd6jLCsm4KbOwvnvgb4yLmQcT9BY9ERusFBr-h6Gs8UwA6gHL_o5Epa7VEMTLjA6keVaiSbyxkPNZ2OSpOTw25eM1qaNPE1FbtZcBDtmVZrzM6Dg/s1600/ST15-0102a.JPG" height="302" width="400" /></a></div>
It has been remarkably mild here in the Pacific Northwest-- to such an extent that several ski resorts in the nearby Cascades have simply "thrown in the towel" because there was no snow-- only mud. The part of me that's a gardener is a little concerned because "zero snowpack" at a time of the year where there's normally 150+ inches of snow on the ground (in the mountains) holds scary prospects for the water supply during the summer ahead.<br />
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Of course, it has been raining quite a lot... but rainwater in a reservoir is a different type of resource than snow being "held" on a mountainside, to gradually trickle down during the late spring and early summer.<br />
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Of course, the milder weather has made beach combing a more pleasant experience than usual, this winter. I have had no outings with snow and icicles forming in my beard! That's a plus, for sure...<br />
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From time to time, I have written articles (elsewhere) about <b><a href="http://hspconnections.hubpages.com/_NBTblog/hub/sea-glass-beach-combing" target="_blank">sea glass being a dwindling resource</a></b>. Trips to the beach this winter bears that out-- there is just less and less to be found.<br />
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The other day, I found myself reading <b><a href="http://pajamasandcoffee.com/seaglass/the-mythical-sea-glass-beach-in-fort-bragg-callifornia/" target="_blank">someone else's blog post about Glass Beach in Fort Bragg</a></b>, California, Quite a heated debate followed, in the comments-- there seems to be two schools of thought on the matter of collecting sea glass:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiYAQR2i8g8XD8S8Qk7Zieu02n6h4QBhWwaUdipKnpz0FxP-6lFJ67z1Gh8VF6NSoHhLmdsnCAvQ17ffp3JapSb8zJq3_uxBmErSb3Rv7YsCx47WEOcmRnXMg81Q8L8NRK3qUDA/s1600/ST15-0204a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiYAQR2i8g8XD8S8Qk7Zieu02n6h4QBhWwaUdipKnpz0FxP-6lFJ67z1Gh8VF6NSoHhLmdsnCAvQ17ffp3JapSb8zJq3_uxBmErSb3Rv7YsCx47WEOcmRnXMg81Q8L8NRK3qUDA/s1600/ST15-0204a.JPG" height="320" width="400" /></a></div>
One thought is that sea glass is basically "garbage" and people should feel free to pick up as much as they want, when they walk on the beach.<br />
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The opposing view is that sea glass is a true "natural resource" and people should only LOOK, but not TAKE sea glass. Or maybe limit what they pick up to a handful of favorite items.<br />
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As a collector and sometime sea glass trader, I guess I fall somewhere in the middle. I feel that people should limit their taking to what they <i>need</i>, and what is "<i>ready</i>."<br />
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It does upset me when I see people on our local beaches-- and they are almost invariably "<i>visitors from elsewhere</i>"-- who treat beach combing like it's basically a "strip mining operation," going over every inch of beach with rakes, sifters and trowels, and taking ALL glass, regardless of whether it is broken or "fully cooked."<br />
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Of course, to me that's more an issue of not liking "human greed" than anything else. Greed tends to be the destroyer of many things we appreciate... and a simple fact of life seems to be that even if "a little" can be excellent, "a LOT" is not always better... and "a LOT" often is the cause of much unexpected "collateral damage."<br />
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The people in Fort Bragg are concerned that their famous "Glass Beach" will be picked over to such a degree there will no longer BE a "Glass Beach." And they'd be right to be concerned... there was once a "Glass Beach" of sorts around here... but there is about 1/10th of the glass on it today, compared to what was there just 10 years ago... almost all of which coincides with the growing popularity of sea glass, around the world.<br />
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I've also heard stories and read blog posts about people who have traveled to some place "known for sea glass," bringing with them two empty suitcases and then feeling all proud and pleased with themselves for "sending home 80lbs of sea glass." It leaves me scratching my head and wanting to ask the question "<i>Are you actually going to DO something with all that glass... or did you just cave in to an unhealthy addiction to pathological hoarding?</i>"<br />
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In spite of having been a sea glass collector and beach comber since childhood, and being a seller of <b><a href="http://stores.ebay.com/northbeachtreasures/" target="_blank">sea glass on eBay</a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorthBeachTreasures" target="_blank">Etsy</a></b>, I don't actually <i>have</i> that much sea glass... perhaps because I limit myself to picking up pieces I find <i>pretty</i>, or <i>interesting</i>, or "<i>worthwhile</i>..." whatever <i>that</i> means.<br />
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Of course, I don't claim to be "expert" on anything... I just know (from other areas of interest) from experience the damage that can be done as a result of a hobby or pastime being "overexposed."Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-45003881725331691002014-07-24T13:55:00.000-07:002014-07-25T09:54:24.868-07:00For Sale: High Quality Sea Glass for Jewelry, Art and CraftsSummer is here, and I have enjoyed quite a few nice trips to the beach since the days have gotten longer and the tides more "favorable" for being able to see what I am doing. Of course, that also means that there are many other people "out there" beachcoming... so there is less and less to be found.<br />
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I have recently added many new lots to the eBay shop... and plan to add beautiful new items to the Etsy shop over the coming weekend.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://stores.ebay.com/North-Beach-Treasures" target="_blank">North Beach Treasures sea glass shop on eBay</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorthBeachTreasures" target="_blank">North Beach Treasures sea glass shop on Etsy</a></span></b></div>
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One of my goals in creating and uploading "lots" of sea glass for jewelry making is to have "no waste." Hence, I am very particular about accurate grading and putting lots together by size and color, so you always know <i>exactly</i> when you are going to get, when you make a purchase.</div>
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Of course, the "popular colors" do tend to go rather quickly, but last I checked there were still almost 200 items listed on eBay and Etsy combined... so I encourage you to have a look while the selection remains good!<br />
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Of course, I am hoping to add more items later in the summer, after I finish sorting out what the tides have washed up over the next several weeks.</div>
Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-34316229706543636542014-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:002014-04-06T13:58:54.251-07:00Obsessive Sea Glass SortingIt is wintertime, and even though our climate here in the Pacific Northwest is generally pretty mild, going beach combing this time of the year is generally not such a pleasant experience. Driving rain, strong winds and 40-degrees is not such a good time, especially when the journey to the good "beach combing bits" on our beach involves climbing across fallen trees, mudslides and basketball sized rocks covered with slimy slippery sea weed that might offer up a twisted ankle if you're not paying attention. Besides, the days are short, and the good low tides tend to be in the middle of the night when you can't see anything, anyway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzgKSxaV0Iu3f1NahxJgNFD7Btb0t5iGdjQlUn3xtg9umh5mK7rnj3Idhq-v8J0uNcCIZ3PDCpyao9VJxO6GM_LRLIqxHqlvIX4Hm7XY4xhYPOLwr4ozLYuye8WiHis0IZagzxA/s1600/glass2013-03-102a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzgKSxaV0Iu3f1NahxJgNFD7Btb0t5iGdjQlUn3xtg9umh5mK7rnj3Idhq-v8J0uNcCIZ3PDCpyao9VJxO6GM_LRLIqxHqlvIX4Hm7XY4xhYPOLwr4ozLYuye8WiHis0IZagzxA/s1600/glass2013-03-102a.jpg" height="338" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea glass marble sections</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have been using part of this winter to "get organized." Which basically means I have been sorting "old pickings" from years gone by. I am slowly getting to a point, now, where I no longer have "random stashes" of unsorted sea glass from days gone by.<br />
<br />
Maybe I have gotten a bit obsessive about getting everything sorted... but I have felt the need to get organized because-- as a seller of sea glass for jewelry and art-- I get more than a few "special requests" for particular colors of sea glass, and in specific sizes... and half the time I "don't know what I have."<br />
<br />
Of course, I never really set out to "have a business" here, and being able to find enough glass to sell some is really more of a hobby... but still, I decided that since I do some "business like" things, maybe it would be appropriate to have a better sense of what I have available.<br />
<br />
I am pretty close to having it all done, now. On one level, it makes me happy to know what I have... on the other, it makes me a bit sad that I have no more "secret stashes" I can pull glass from, when I get a special request. But that's just how life works out, it seems... there are always two sides to every story.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-17994259972451176592014-02-28T09:55:00.000-08:002014-04-06T14:01:08.467-07:00Sea Glass and Beach Combing Book StoreAs a collector of many things, I have always enjoyed "understanding" my collections. That is, I like to learn about what I am collecting... the "knowing" is almost as important as the "having."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia3UHpb2KcAR9xZsZ3q8StFHlGbhyNokw5yNMOKgBni7cApnYKbPehZQphbBEMhO9dwAq7z8dsb-VLlWtP8VnELbMKB7yddakWrCf6chvOyBq6r2_abfXjZssfgFWv_jQdpy5Kg/s1600/ST14-0141b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia3UHpb2KcAR9xZsZ3q8StFHlGbhyNokw5yNMOKgBni7cApnYKbPehZQphbBEMhO9dwAq7z8dsb-VLlWtP8VnELbMKB7yddakWrCf6chvOyBq6r2_abfXjZssfgFWv_jQdpy5Kg/s1600/ST14-0141b.jpg" height="318" width="400" /></a></div>
Although sea glass is a pretty "informal" collectible for most people, its growing popularity in recent years means that more and more books have become available to us.<br />
<br />
Of course, I love beach combing and nature in a <i>broader</i> sense than <i>just</i> sea glass-- I also collect rocks, shells, pottery, driftwood, and much more. And I am fascinated not only by "where" things come from, but also by the ways they end up becoming part of something "artistic."<br />
<br />
I was thrilled when I first got my hands on a copy of Richard LaMotte's book "Pure Sea Glass," shortly after it came out... since then, there have been others. If you don't own a copy of that book, DO consider getting your hands on one!<br />
<br />
Anyway, as part of my interest in learning, I have created a small "<b><a href="http://northbeachtreasures.blogspot.com/p/sea-glass-bookstore.html">Beach Comber's Bookstore</a></b>" attached to this blog. These are just a selection of my own favorite books... and I felt they might be of interest to other sea glass enthusiasts, as well.<br />
<br />
I hope you'll take a look! The few cents I might get from referral fees should you choose to buy something simply go towards supporting web hosting for the <b><a href="http://www.northbeachtreasures.com/" target="_blank">North Beach Treasures web site</a></b>.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-90715683490119510572014-02-11T21:38:00.000-08:002014-04-06T14:03:06.023-07:00The myriad shades of green sea glassAfter all these years of looking at sea glass, it seems to me that there are more distinct shades of <i>green</i> sea glass than any other color.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Common" kelly or "Heineken" green</td></tr>
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Of course, it may be that I am simply extremely compulsive about sorting my sea glass into piles that seem (at least to <i>my</i> eye) to be the <i>exact</i> same color.<br />
<br />
Most of us hear about "green" sea glass, and we immediately think about the common kelly green (sometimes dubbed "Heineken green" because it's the color used for that brewery's bottles), but there is just SO much more to green sea glass.<br />
<br />
So far, I have identified about 30-odd distinct shades of green. I am sure there could be many more, but I am trying not to go completely overboard here.<br />
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It's not easy to sort a color down to such a detailed level, because (at least for me) you have to learn to distinguish between "distinct colors" and what simply amounts to small variations in the color density of the same color. Most of the time, though, you learn where colors are "distinct" and how there can be "gray-toned olive" and "yellow-toned olive" and the two really look nothing alike.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UQ_C3hyphenhyphen_sqdYCbNv3-A4sv0GIPStJk3qaZElx0XrEBLUQ7seHPQaTAUUW-8EfsAoJCsIPx1D9IWfSfBvPE1w9RSH2ORXBRO13_2Fc8659aYj9_FkAifyZCnQIDdZGwI-HmNJxA/s1600/glass2013-03-032b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UQ_C3hyphenhyphen_sqdYCbNv3-A4sv0GIPStJk3qaZElx0XrEBLUQ7seHPQaTAUUW-8EfsAoJCsIPx1D9IWfSfBvPE1w9RSH2ORXBRO13_2Fc8659aYj9_FkAifyZCnQIDdZGwI-HmNJxA/s1600/glass2013-03-032b.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This deep bluish teal green shade is actually quite rare</td></tr>
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I expect that some of my obsession with colors in sea glass is actually "inherited" from one of my other favorite hobbies, stamp collecting. For stamp collectors, being able to recognize slight differences in the color of a stamp (from different printings and ink batches) can mean the difference between owning a 50-cent stamp and a $50 stamp. As I have been a stamp collector since I was a kid-- and many of those years a pretty "serious" collector-- I learned at an early age to pay close attention to colors and nuances. And there is little doubt that some of this is now "rubbing off" when I sort sea glass.<br />
<br />
Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself if it is really "important" that I pay so much attention to sorting by color.<br />
<br />
I suppose it has become <i>more</i> important because I <i>sell</i> sea glass. If a jeweler I am working with is trying to make a pair of matching earrings... or a bracelet with multiple pieces of glass... it becomes pretty important that the colors he or she uses aren't going to be glaringly different.<br />
<br />
That's the "logical" explanation. Bottom line, though, is that I am just having fun doing this sorting!Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-80940564041563691732014-01-16T09:12:00.000-08:002014-04-06T14:04:42.097-07:00Orange Sea GlassAccording to most experts on sea glass, orange is<i> the</i> single rarest color we sea glass enthusiasts might find out there.<br />
<br />
Because I beach comb a <i>lot</i>, I have had the good fortune to find quite a few pieces of orange glass, over the years. For many collectors, though, a piece of orange will remain something they only <i>hope</i> to find, but it never actually shows up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYCADfMrkP9kmUWLFJL_UnESyY7b1_brzSEpCkvy8aENMqw-dxPMS1eF1GVb0CFcFvN1npLf_jkviMj4sbXQnrCVmjSsPjCANP4b40e3i9TXD2Wz89RX7X1fmAFTHjEh4a6yMpg/s1600/ST14-0063b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYCADfMrkP9kmUWLFJL_UnESyY7b1_brzSEpCkvy8aENMqw-dxPMS1eF1GVb0CFcFvN1npLf_jkviMj4sbXQnrCVmjSsPjCANP4b40e3i9TXD2Wz89RX7X1fmAFTHjEh4a6yMpg/s1600/ST14-0063b.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
There are good reasons why orange sea glass is so rare. If you think about it, where have you actually <i>seen</i> orange glass, to begin with? It's not a color that was ever used for any "production" or "large scale manufacturing" of glass. There are no orange bottles, that I know of. Orange glass dish ware? Not something I have seen.<br />
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I have found that you can always get a good idea of the sources for older sea glass by making a visit to your local antique mall and looking at the old glassware and bottles the vendors have for sale. You really are not likely to find much, in the way of orange glass.<br />
<br />
There are a few "known" sources of older "production" orange glass. A limited number of automotive turn signals on older cars from an era where such things were still made of glass, rather than plastic. Same with a small number of lens covers on "caution" lamps and lanterns used for road works barriers, for example.<br />
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Another source for orange sea glass is "Amberina" art glass, which was first made in the 1880's but still in pretty limited amounts. It was in production into the 1960's and is generally the source for "two toned" pieces of orange sea glass because it was a mixed red and orange.<br />
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<br />
But even when we can <i>identify</i> the source of a particular color of glass, we still have another factor to consider: What's the likelihood that glass will make it into the ocean?<br />
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Aside from the scarcity (or not) of the original glass, you have to consider the nature of it breaking and being discarded. Since colors like clear, brown and green tends to be "utility glass" it is also more likely to get broken and discarded as a natural part of use. And so, it will get thrown away... finding its way to dumps, some of them by the sea side. Or someone might enjoy a beer at a seaside picnic and toss the bottle in the ocean... and it becomes sea glass.<br />
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But people aren't going to <i>have</i> their orange Amberina glass AT the seaside. And if it breaks, out comes the superglue, rather than the trash can. And when an orange turn signal on a car, or a lamp at a road works barrier gets broken, it's going to be on a <i>road</i> somewhere, not on a <i>beach</i>. And that's where part of the rarity comes from. In order for that turn signal to <i>become</i> sea glass, it has to be swept up, put in the trash, that trash hauled to a seaside dump... and then pushed into the ocean, all of which has to have happened during a time before environmental protection laws made it completely illegal to push trash into the ocean.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlape_agT6apdH6AFKrpRdb80LE1XkMIwsfSBs1zSNRZRRGpiIDsWntzPN-2V95IzY0CELxGr3kbwJLm_nowmGGxs9TPb1iGUwWzK_AHs4Y8tINpQB3AcH9y99RYrw5f8hyqRQRQ/s1600/ST13-0085a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlape_agT6apdH6AFKrpRdb80LE1XkMIwsfSBs1zSNRZRRGpiIDsWntzPN-2V95IzY0CELxGr3kbwJLm_nowmGGxs9TPb1iGUwWzK_AHs4Y8tINpQB3AcH9y99RYrw5f8hyqRQRQ/s1600/ST13-0085a.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two-toned, from "Amberina"</td></tr>
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So we have two rarity factors at work, when it comes to orange sea glass: One, orange is simply uncommon, as glass. Two, it's unlikely to be broken somewhere where it will even <i>make</i> it to the beach.<br />
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Mixed in here are some of the pieces of orange sea glass I have found, over the years. As you can see, true orange is extremely <i>bright</i>, and quite different from various "golden amber" tones that often get mistaken as being orange.<br />
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Finding a piece of orange <i>is</i> a "true treasure" for any sea glass collector.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-76406778412505119922013-12-24T21:09:00.000-08:002013-12-24T21:09:12.743-08:00And Now for Something Completely Different: Alchemy StonesI am a life-long beach comber, picking up every manner of things on the beach from shells to sea glass to interesting rocks to driftwood.<br />
<br />
Sea glass has fascinated me since I was a little kid-- I expect originally because it seemed like the closest thing I could get to "<i>finding precious stones</i>" in nature. Maybe that's the experience of many sea glass lovers-- it certainly makes sense, and is supported by the way many turn to making jewelry and art with sea glass, as if the pieces of glass-- indeed-- <i>were</i> precious stones.<br />
<br />
Given that I beach comb more than 100 times per year, and that sea glass is my "love" and specialty, I have often been asked why I don't "<i>do</i>" something creative with the glass I find; why I just sell it or store it in jars on my windowsill. Truth be known, I haven't ever felt moved, in that particular direction. I greatly admire the creativity of others, but letting <i>them</i> create with the sea glass I find makes me feel perfectly content.<br />
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That is not to say that I don't feel "creatively inspired" by my beach combings. Photography-- particularly of sea glass, but also of nature and other beach combed objects-- is definitely part of how I find creative expression. However, for today's "something different," I wanted to share something I DO "create" from my love of beach combing: Alchemy Stones.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpmAchWTcfNUWJEcw-aU6OraxIZE3pYme-twRtBZ5_oi_rRflk1UK6xPOdvjm2PYNz5uEVnBfe4bCfdLYW1xABpTfIcinHA3MKjVqSLS7cxB7hby93HMQ8Aq1O0BUg-qOqKQyQg/s1600/20131224-Alchemy-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpmAchWTcfNUWJEcw-aU6OraxIZE3pYme-twRtBZ5_oi_rRflk1UK6xPOdvjm2PYNz5uEVnBfe4bCfdLYW1xABpTfIcinHA3MKjVqSLS7cxB7hby93HMQ8Aq1O0BUg-qOqKQyQg/s400/20131224-Alchemy-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my first "Alchemy Stones." Very simple, not much detail</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have been "<i>drawing patterns and snowflakes</i>" since I was a little kid. In the early days, I used to do so with pencil or a fine tipped black pen on paper-- my mother eventually ended up with 100's of bookmarks in her cookbooks!<br />
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Many years passed before it was suggested to me that I should try to draw-- or paint-- my geometric patterns onto something else, as "art."<br />
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Sarah (my wife) and I have been collecting rocks since we were little kids, and it just seemed like a natural progression to try to paint on stone. Specifically, on beach pebbles.<br />
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It was definitely a learning process! My first attempts (now several years ago) were rather crude and simple and involved using a black "sharpie" to draw the design. I didn't realize the importance of only picking stones with exceptionally smooth and even surfaces-- but the delicate lines of most of the patterns simply don't "hold," if there's even the slightest "sand-papery" (or other) texture to the rock surface.<br />
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Several years later, the stones are painted with ceramic paint in many different colors, and the patterns are sealed under a multi-layer, weatherproof, super-hard clear finish.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ddb-RlfjWqmQv4lr_sZJpJbHe7eSetTt-mKnypWnW8yDUSvw0odDoeE9Q9aLSk48n6-mre32StvVxvmW7qSrTpl9m0cLsMhiLDkNC-UsYBdYcDP1DaA1tTYRJmyPveuwH2kjTQ/s1600/20131224-Alchemy-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ddb-RlfjWqmQv4lr_sZJpJbHe7eSetTt-mKnypWnW8yDUSvw0odDoeE9Q9aLSk48n6-mre32StvVxvmW7qSrTpl9m0cLsMhiLDkNC-UsYBdYcDP1DaA1tTYRJmyPveuwH2kjTQ/s400/20131224-Alchemy-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A design from December 2013-- two-colored, and far more complex</td></tr>
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The name "<b><a href="http://www.alchemystone.com/" target="_blank">Alchemy Stones</a></b>" came about because both Sarah and I are involved in the Consciousness, Self-development and Metaphysics communities... and decorated stones have been used in transformation and healing-- and as talismans and power objects-- since the beginning of human history.<br />
<br />
Until the fall of 2013, I had never thought to "do" anything with these painted stones, except give them to family and friends... many of whom encouraged me to "<i>take them to art & craft shows,</i>" or "<i>sell them online.</i>"<br />
<br />
Seemed like a reasonable enough idea-- at least it couldn't hurt to <i>try</i>. As part of our considering this proposition, Sarah decided we should "add something special," at least to a few of the most appealing stones. So, she put her textile art skills to work and started creating a series of unique "Treasure Bags" for some of the stones.<br />
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The Treasure Bags-- like the stones-- are not some "mass produced" thing... rather, they are individually made for each stone, often using fine vintage fabrics from Sarah's collection. So each bag ends up completely unique... and for the moment, only about one-quarter of the stones gets a bag. After all, they are quite labor intensive to make!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj514otLpuJiY6ZXMTJPTu3mhvovsX-IXMShnP6YqfhNTDaGEQNguyPTIDsMjLrATAkFpLyfs4hSD5V1X0hBImjV2q7Dmv4T8gbQMOV_ZFeCFdzFoBc02DyqT_7f3CBUi1l8HtjEQ/s1600/20131224-Alchemy-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj514otLpuJiY6ZXMTJPTu3mhvovsX-IXMShnP6YqfhNTDaGEQNguyPTIDsMjLrATAkFpLyfs4hSD5V1X0hBImjV2q7Dmv4T8gbQMOV_ZFeCFdzFoBc02DyqT_7f3CBUi1l8HtjEQ/s400/20131224-Alchemy-03.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Alchemy Stone with a Treasure Bag, made from vintage fabric</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The thing about Alchemy Stones is that you have to "have them in your hand" to fully appreciate them. I'm a <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia" target="_blank">Synesthete</a></b>, and the "experience" of the stones start with the fact that they have to <i>feel right</i> in your hand, before all else. If a stone has the "wrong" shape or texture, it never makes it home to be painted.<br />
<br />
I find them in all different sizes and shapes, from tiny flat pebbles that might be turned into a necklace, to larger stones that could be used as a paperweight or simply to display as a piece of art.<br />
<br />
So far, we have <b><a href="http://www.alchemystone.com/" target="_blank">created a web site</a></b>, and we also have an <b><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlchemyStones" target="_blank">Alchemy Stone shop on Etsy</a></b>, where you can find the stones for sale, in a wide range of prices from under $10 to as much as $75 for a particularly complex design with a special bag. All the stones include a small brochure we created, to explain how they came into being, and what they "are." We decided it was important that we share this story... and it also helps make them a lovely gift item.<br />
<br />
But not to worry: Just because I now paint patterns on stones sometimes does <i>not</i> mean I am no longer going to be writing about-- and taking pictures of-- sea glass! However, I do hope you'll take a moment to have a look at "what I ALSO do."Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-32636636740829055662013-12-13T10:12:00.000-08:002013-12-13T10:12:15.194-08:00Genuine Beach Combed Sea Glass for Sale!Recently, I have been spending quite a bit of time sorting sea glass from this summer and fall. As well as some of the really "old" stuff I found before we moved to our current house in 2011. Fact is, my "day job" (as a writer and as a rare postage stamp dealer for collectors) has been keeping me very busy... and is one of the reasons I haven't been posting here as often as I'd like to. During these difficult economic times, it seems like you must work longer and smarter in order to make the same dollars as before.<br />
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But that's besides the point!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjZcvJv44vADV1_bZoImVSLnMBP7wL11o-31KD4I1X3fJvLaXONHJyampQcrSi7qWOO2c1F3o-jDdCwOhhkx3UwBaVBtQcs4ObAdhHzFUPZkwlBBP2krbcb6EVLsavp0JfqP7kg/s1600/ET13-0147b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjZcvJv44vADV1_bZoImVSLnMBP7wL11o-31KD4I1X3fJvLaXONHJyampQcrSi7qWOO2c1F3o-jDdCwOhhkx3UwBaVBtQcs4ObAdhHzFUPZkwlBBP2krbcb6EVLsavp0JfqP7kg/s1600/ET13-0147b.JPG" height="291" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">100 pieces of Cobalt blue sea glass-- a lot now on Etsy</td></tr>
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I finally got several of my bins sorted, and have finished the process of creating and uploading dozens of new lots to both the Etsy and eBay sea glass stores.<br />
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It felt rewarding to get this <i>done</i>, at last!<br />
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At the same time, I felt a bit of sadness at how much less glass I had available, compared to just five years ago. Sea glass truly is a "vanishing resource," as <b><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/sea-glass-beach-combing" target="_blank">I wrote in a recent article</a></b>.<br />
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A few days ago, I had a chance to get out for a four-hour walk, taking advantage of one of the few low tide afternoons we have, at this time of the year. In winter, most low tides here in the Pacific Northwest occur in the middle of the night when it it pitch black outside. Even though we have had several good fall storms, the pickings were pretty slim. It really drove home the point that we (collectors and artists) keep <i>picking up</i> sea glass, the abrasive action of surf and sand <i>wears away</i> sea glass... and "new" glass really <i>hasn't been going into</i> the ocean in any quantity since stricter environmental laws (and the advent of plastic containers-- yuk!) were enacted in the 1970's and 1980's.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeO8mWhbz1M_NbNMgZV0sFwORvwnXfhdjuRZjrgXdOO_Xx3lEJQ46AidQNKX1AAxQsjaMQzWkwLl1XIHCcbixfgpcnU-PMbukq1RjNUu1lLPi0XF_Z-wH3JguA3iv0IvbyBCqTQ/s1600/ST13-0203b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeO8mWhbz1M_NbNMgZV0sFwORvwnXfhdjuRZjrgXdOO_Xx3lEJQ46AidQNKX1AAxQsjaMQzWkwLl1XIHCcbixfgpcnU-PMbukq1RjNUu1lLPi0XF_Z-wH3JguA3iv0IvbyBCqTQ/s1600/ST13-0203b.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A recent lot in the eBay sea glass store</td></tr>
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It also made me stop and wonder about the future for those who <i>make a living</i> from making sea glass jewelry. What do you DO? Do you try to hoard <i>now</i>, so as to have supplies for your art at a <i>later</i> time? Or do you "cave in" and switch to so-called "man made" sea glass? Or do you <i>completely</i> change direction and start making jewelry with other kinds of material-- semi-precious stones and rocks, for example?<br />
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There seem to be no easy answers.<br />
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As I walked on the beach, a couple of days ago, I realized that my "gatherings" no longer come <i>anywhere near</i> being able to meet the requests of those who have used my sea glass, over the last decade or so. I feel a strange "guilt" about that-- people write to me and ask "<i>when will you next be listing x,y,z?</i>" A while back, I used to be able to say "<i>next week!</i>" Now? All I can say is "<i>I have NO idea.</i>"<br />
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Anyway, enough musings for today! This is also meant to serve as an announcement that there <i>are</i> new lots available in both the eBay and Etsy stores-- and hopefully you'll find something to your liking:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorthBeachTreasures" target="_blank">North Beach Treasures Etsy Shop</a></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://stores.ebay.com/North-Beach-Treasures" target="_blank">North Beach Treasures eBay Store</a></span></b><br />
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In the meantime, I'd like to wish everyone a beautiful Holiday Season!Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-5111429964864539952013-10-16T09:09:00.000-07:002013-10-16T09:09:24.276-07:00Orange Sea Glass: The Slow "Extinction" of a Rare ColorFall beach combing is always a bit of a mixed bag.<br />
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On the upside, fall means a couple of things, around here. One, "tourist season" is over, which means the pervasive "overpicking" of our local beaches slowly tapers off. Two, the season winds start picking up again after the doldrums of summer, and occasionally we get a good storm or two which will churn up something more than the top couple of inches on the beach. These are good things, for the sea glass hunter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXURdaiJChYaw5sOu43Q6IfLIUWdLcN_OTqNJZmfrf0TwIpcsNUdHNtg1r0xXsVNg2L2CPSORryrjM-hvnEaMyNsmdnIhf37qFD24G5bWx96r-jtMx7Fm1sL-Oj619mRftxaF07Q/s1600/20131016-Beach-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXURdaiJChYaw5sOu43Q6IfLIUWdLcN_OTqNJZmfrf0TwIpcsNUdHNtg1r0xXsVNg2L2CPSORryrjM-hvnEaMyNsmdnIhf37qFD24G5bWx96r-jtMx7Fm1sL-Oj619mRftxaF07Q/s400/20131016-Beach-01.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
On the downside, low tides now occur mostly at "awkward" times-- like 4 o'clock in the morning, when it's pitch black outside. The "windows of opportunity" for the sea glass hunter become smaller and shorter every day, and will continue to shrink until the beginning of the new year.<br />
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A couple of days ago, we had a brilliant sunny autumn day, so I decided to "get out there" (for the first time in a couple of months) and take advantage of a retreating tide towards sunset.<br />
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As I wandered and started spotting a few pieces of sea glass, I became quite aware of the "truth" of something sea glass enthusiasts often say and hear: That sea glass is a "vanishing treasure." I <b><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/sea-glass-beach-combing" target="_blank">wrote an article about this recently</a></b>, but this beach walk really underscored the <i>truth</i> of this statement, particularly as it applies to the rarer colors.<br />
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For some years now, I have been blessed to live in a place where there was a nice volume of variety of sea glass-- including rare colors. What I notice most-- as the years roll by-- is the relative absence of anything "rare," these days.<br />
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Of course, orange has never been anything <i>but</i> a rare color. It is generally regarded as<i> the</i> single rarest color in sea glass collecting-- although this depends <i>somewhat</i> on who you ask-- and many collectors will beach comb for a lifetime and never find a piece. I've been fortunate to live in a place where I <i>used to</i> be able to find maybe 6-8 pieces of genuine orange sea glass per year.<br />
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But that was "then" and this is "now." Orange sea glass-- as well as other "rare" colors-- seems to have become all but "extinct."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNLXAT52evOdznKYdsBX_V0QAyfRNHhyr0NMWpefR86j1rzAG3nUqhDpPMMXaWKcgilqGnn_CSAMnKVgCIZ1OnQpQZkBPMd9PZd1YYjV8s5EfG1-RvZBQmIjVvLtnGu24ueuzkA/s1600/20131016-Beach-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNLXAT52evOdznKYdsBX_V0QAyfRNHhyr0NMWpefR86j1rzAG3nUqhDpPMMXaWKcgilqGnn_CSAMnKVgCIZ1OnQpQZkBPMd9PZd1YYjV8s5EfG1-RvZBQmIjVvLtnGu24ueuzkA/s400/20131016-Beach-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
As I got towards the end of my beach walk-- after about four hours-- what I noticed was that my bag contained a fair amount of clear, brown and green glass, with a scattering of seafoam... and <i>very little</i> else.<br />
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When this little nugget (it's only about 3/8" or 10mm long) suddenly caught the late afternoon sun, it was a very exciting moment. But it also made me realize just how long it had been since I'd found a piece of orange sea glass. And where were the other rare colors? I found no red, no teal, no yellow, no pink, no purple.<br />
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Sea glass IS a "vanishing treasure" because we pick it up... and none of it-- especially in "odd" colors-- is being replaced. To the small degree we use commercially produced glass objects, they are rarely made "in colors." These days, we mostly use plastics for such things... glass is reserved for things we can make in "huge volumes." Aside from which, environmental regulations keep most glass <i>off</i> our beaches, so it never really has the opportunity to <i>become</i> sea glass, in the first place.<br />
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I feel grateful that I have had the opportunity to be a sea glass collector for so many years... years that happened <i>before</i> it became "too late."Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-53327989969372608382013-08-29T20:45:00.000-07:002013-08-29T20:45:51.029-07:00Article: Natural Beach Combed Sea Glass: A Vanishing TreasureIt's probably no surprise to anyone that sea glass is one of my favorite things... along with beach combing, in general.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSujSaPVDk6fiPKRsH1gy9fYoS9FCgxud0438cyraro7FIVNHibiK1woDy9Cfa7_iLYVPMrKnO4M_V0PvQe4iOi2Z45b0LWh1Et2UJzxCs5d7CDLdC8V1xIDYUA0DoRb7hw0RGg/s1600/20130829-Blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSujSaPVDk6fiPKRsH1gy9fYoS9FCgxud0438cyraro7FIVNHibiK1woDy9Cfa7_iLYVPMrKnO4M_V0PvQe4iOi2Z45b0LWh1Et2UJzxCs5d7CDLdC8V1xIDYUA0DoRb7hw0RGg/s400/20130829-Blue.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Sadly, I don't get to beach comb as often as I once did. For one, there's simply not as much glass out there as there was, a decade ago-- especially during the summer months when we have "tourist season" around here, and there are almost no winds to create waves that churn up the beach. Second, the "call of life" has been strong over the past few months, and beach combing has had to take somewhat of a back seat to the basic job of "making a living."<br />
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<i>Writing</i> is one of my callings in life. And even when I don't have time to beach comb-- often an all-day adventure-- I do often have time to site down and write a few words.<br />
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Most recently, I found a little time to sit down an create a bit of a "pictorial essay" about sea glass, using some of the photography I have accumulated over the years. In a sense, it's an "ode to sea glass," with lots of photos and some history and background tossed in for fun.<br />
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Entitled "<b><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/sea-glass-beach-combing" target="_blank">Natural Beach Combed Sea Glass: A Vanishing Treasure</a></b>" it's published on an independent web site with lots of other articles about all manners of other subjects. I hope you'll click the link and go have a look... I had a lot of fun writing it, and I've gotten some positive feedback, so far.<br />
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Don't worry! You won't be ask to "join" anything or "log in" to anything or pay for anything-- it's free for all.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-79498739721846335402013-06-01T09:01:00.002-07:002013-06-01T09:01:30.094-07:00HiatusIt has been a while, since I have posted here.<br />
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I have been "on hiatus" from doing much with sea glass and beach combing. April was pretty much "eaten up" by travel and doing "family things." In May, I spent a lot of my time focusing on my writing business (which is one of my "day jobs") which has been suffering somewhat from a "lack of attention," for several years. Subsequently, I spent several weeks restructuring my rare postage stamp business (my <i>other</i> "day job"), in large part due to some of the changes and new rules taking place at eBay.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstkH70kdo4kiBkEdMNfdmOdSqgvi9GvoQOCj9KSbq-cKJREdO_D-W_orGwUd41JFYkCyZ8Lj8eo6RkphcQ_Dmp1323Ospkdu_7zAc_6dkNH5rl_OANCOqPyqsl73d12VzqywV7Q/s1600/reds-20130601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="497" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstkH70kdo4kiBkEdMNfdmOdSqgvi9GvoQOCj9KSbq-cKJREdO_D-W_orGwUd41JFYkCyZ8Lj8eo6RkphcQ_Dmp1323Ospkdu_7zAc_6dkNH5rl_OANCOqPyqsl73d12VzqywV7Q/s640/reds-20130601.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pile of red seaglass-- bright, but all pieces are quite tiny </td></tr>
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Being able to work from home for a living is a blessing in the sense that I love not having to "go" to work, and I get to work with things that interest me, and I can do so on my terms. On the downside, if you don't "keep your eyes on the ball" at all times, it's easy to allow things to get neglected and fall behind... especially when you have-- as I do-- multiple "micro businesses." My point being that whereas I would <i>love</i> to just "play with sea glass" all the time, I really can't afford to. Finding "balance" in terms of the time I get to spend with each of my interests is an ongoing challenge-- and has been, since I took to full-time self-employment back in 1999.<br />
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Over the last couple of years, I have also become increasingly aware of just how <i>much</i> sea glass truly <i>is</i> a "shrinking resource." The fact that there is less and less to be found hasn't diminished my love of the beach, but it <i>has</i> decreased the volume I am able to offer the rest of the world as a <i>seller</i>. I have been collecting since I was a "wee pup" so these days I <i>do</i> sell <i>most</i> of what I find-- I only save maybe a <i>handful</i> of <i>exceptional</i> and unusual pieces for my personal collection, out of each 1,000 pieces I pick up.<br />
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This fall, I am hoping to do "something" with my photographic "library" of sea glass. Over the years, I've amassed some 50,000 high quality digital images of sea glass, and I am considering turning some of the best ones into frameable or framed prints, maybe greeting cards, possibly even a picture book of sorts. I'm a bit of a stickler for quality, so this is only going to happen if I can determine that I can come up with something "<i>truly special</i>" for the world's sea glass enthusiasts. This is just personal opinion, of course, but there is just too much mediocrity in our world...<br />
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In the meantime, I've been sorting some of my "old bins" of sea glass, and hope to get both the eBay and Etsy sea glass stores "re-stocked" in the course of this month.<br />
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Hope everyone had a great spring, and looking forward to a beautiful summer!Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-9831019752019866582013-04-04T23:45:00.000-07:002013-06-01T08:32:20.297-07:00Article: The Zen of Beach CombingI am a writer, by profession... and although most of my writing appears in publications in the spiritual, metaphysics and self-help fields, from time to time I also write about some of my passions in life such as beach combing and sea glass collecting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yGh2DL35XB0165xG58qVip0H2hY8bu9hYenhsyzjZqhl8ie6vQJGXfQEBvNnjjrk-lYXCsirlBWpllUKQMap8uC0vuyU2CqfvlUGEjHw-49COvljMLXeO9O9hYWsxGSuLplhOw/s1600/Soto-beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yGh2DL35XB0165xG58qVip0H2hY8bu9hYenhsyzjZqhl8ie6vQJGXfQEBvNnjjrk-lYXCsirlBWpllUKQMap8uC0vuyU2CqfvlUGEjHw-49COvljMLXeO9O9hYWsxGSuLplhOw/s400/Soto-beach.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Recently, I wrote an article on an independent web site-- basically exploring my life-long attraction to the ocean, being at the sea side and beach combing. It was basically a pictorial personal essay entitled "<b><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/zen-of-beach-combing-lifelong-passion" target="_blank">The Zen of Beach Combing-- A Lifelong Passion.</a></b>" </div>
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Somewhat to my surprise, the article won several awards from the (general interest) site where it's published-- including being featured on the front page for several days, where it got seen and read by thousands of people. I suppose it says something that the article was ranked among the 500 most read on a site hosting almost five <i>million</i> articles...<br />
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I invite you to go have a look-- I imagine quite a few beach combing fans will be able to relate to my experience. If nothing else, there are some pretty "beachy" photos to look at!<br />
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In the future, I plan to write additional articles about beach combing and sea glass. </div>
Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-22333952285638386742013-03-21T16:13:00.000-07:002013-03-21T16:13:37.669-07:00March 2013 Sea Glass Auctions now open!The March 2013 sea glass auctions are now open for bidding on eBay!<br />
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This month there is a particularly nice selection up for grabs. Why? Not only have the last couple of months been fairly kind to me on the beach, I managed to catch up with one of my old "<i>someday I really need to get around to this</i>" projects. I had a big bin of sea glass that had been sitting-- pretty much untouched-- since we moved, late in 2010. Because the house was a mess of packing boxes at that time, the "results" from my beach combing were just put in a bin "<i>to deal with later.</i>" Well, this month "later" finally arrived-- only took me 2 1/2 years to get there!<br />
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This week, 114 auctions went "live" on eBay. Of course, some are already gone, thanks to the buy-it-now option, but there are still well over 100 lots left.<br />
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The items for sale run the range from better individual rarities in colors like red, orange, yellow, pink and teal to really nice high quality "lots" made with jewelers and artists in mind.<br />
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There are always a lot of requests for aquamarine and blue sea glass, so I put a lot of effort into putting a large selection of these popular colors together.<br />
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UNfortunately, next month's offerings will be far more modest, as we will be traveling for part of the month, and recent beach combing trips simply haven't yielded a lot of really desirable material. Alas, that's how it goes with beach combing: You never know what you're going to get.<br />
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The link below takes you directly to the auction listings:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&_ssn=north-beach-treasures&rt=nc&LH_Auction=1" target="_blank">March Sea Glass Auctions: Bid until Sunday 3/24 at 7:30pm Pacific/10:30pm Eastern</a></span></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRxik2iSEFEUFEf0W1dAord7794X0H_UQIlxU95GJxH2XStx-BV2Bb1XdufIb8YMWL-Wv8e2imyY_5ICic3qZX7REOApTASKuCMY6oefVk3phrd-h8C59Jm1Ch-MJvc0eHqujZQ/s1600/Auction-Promo-2013-03-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRxik2iSEFEUFEf0W1dAord7794X0H_UQIlxU95GJxH2XStx-BV2Bb1XdufIb8YMWL-Wv8e2imyY_5ICic3qZX7REOApTASKuCMY6oefVk3phrd-h8C59Jm1Ch-MJvc0eHqujZQ/s640/Auction-Promo-2013-03-original.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small selection of items from the March 2013 auctions</td></tr>
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<br />Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-31309634006009475372013-03-04T08:15:00.000-08:002013-03-08T08:31:03.493-08:00Storms aren't always a good thing...I went beach combing, yesterday.<br />
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We've been having some pretty stormy weather during the past few days, so I was feeling very hopeful that it was going to be a good day on the beach. Storms bring big waves, and big waves tend to "turn over" the sand, pebbles and rocks, bringing new material to the surface.<br />
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Sadly, it was <i>not</i> such a good day-- which just just illustrates what I wrote a few weeks ago "<i>You never know what you're going to get,</i>" when it comes to beach combing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdXBN6CtErLstDZ5GcBDBUmewuv9aZkjEiXfGN-LeUAacY4saFS6pAWaVnV5mdAWepuorqg4dfB_pPkKr5zIRA3TfS4r4rMq_0STgSfzBldkB7-6oPcIZB_BhBtqwUUWhQkafpw/s1600/Beach20130303j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdXBN6CtErLstDZ5GcBDBUmewuv9aZkjEiXfGN-LeUAacY4saFS6pAWaVnV5mdAWepuorqg4dfB_pPkKr5zIRA3TfS4r4rMq_0STgSfzBldkB7-6oPcIZB_BhBtqwUUWhQkafpw/s640/Beach20130303j.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Evidently, quite a few other people had the same idea as I, about the winds potentially making for a good day. I normally walk the 3.5 miles to my favorite spot in quiet contemplation-- it's my meditation. On this day, I was shaken out of my reverie several times as groups of "very determined looking" people with bags and buckets almost seemed to "fly" by me.<br />
<br />
It made me feel some... <i>unrest</i>.<br />
<br />
Truth be known, I really don't mind sharing the beach with other enthusiasts. What I <i>mind</i> is a certain kind of "energy" that goes with people who clearly have an "intensely important mission" on the beach... and seem to turn the gentle pastime of beach combing into something that resembles a "competitive sport." To me, that defeats the entire purpose... and somehow takes away from the quiet beauty I enjoy so much. Sure, I can honor that we all have different objectives... but I just find the demeanor and mindset a little "disturbing."<br />
<br />
In spite of the above, I still completed my usual walk and even though my pockets were pretty empty of treasures, I did "pick up" some good for topics I want to write about, in the coming weeks.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-59646327145474980892013-02-18T10:37:00.000-08:002013-02-20T19:03:30.236-08:00February 2013 Sea Glass Auctions<br />
The February 2013 Sea Glass Auction is now running and accessible to be viewed on eBay.<br />
<br />
Once a month, I offer some of my recent beach combings for sale at auction. Because I often-- especially during the spring and summer-- am on the beach up to 15+ days a month, I do tend to end up with more nice quality sea glass than I need for my own collection and projects. It seems only reasonable to me to help it find "new homes" with fellow sea glass enthusiasts, jewelers, artists and crafts people. During some periods of the year, these offerings are fairly modest; at others they are fairly impressive.<br />
<br />
This month's offerings consist of 90 new auction listings with sea glass and beach pottery which went "live" on Sunday evening, February 17th. There's a broad mixture of "jewelry lots" as well as better individual pieces and rarities for collectors. There's a particularly nice selection of the popular blue shades, this month.<br />
<br />
Click on the link below to see the current selection!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://stores.ebay.com/North-Beach-Treasures/_i.html?rt=nc&LH_Auction=1" target="_blank">February Auctions: Bid until Sunday, February 24th at 7:00pm Pacific/10:00 Eastern</a></span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnpnN65CrnwmqN-uQ8tQfKjbIJcc_qZQ-IPvZ5CUte07MGV_SraE_uAhyhhb9bvEB7d9YijQkb45n9dWSje3nJwvB5Z_dV5RMgD2Hfx-KctL2amdRXV_mGQit2Zydat248GRdXA/s1600/Auction-Promo-2013-02-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnpnN65CrnwmqN-uQ8tQfKjbIJcc_qZQ-IPvZ5CUte07MGV_SraE_uAhyhhb9bvEB7d9YijQkb45n9dWSje3nJwvB5Z_dV5RMgD2Hfx-KctL2amdRXV_mGQit2Zydat248GRdXA/s640/Auction-Promo-2013-02-original.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sampling of lots that are part of the February 2013 auctions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
All auctions were listed more or less "together" so as to end at approximately the same time. I do this in order for the "<i>save on shipping when buying multiple items</i>" option to actually makes sense. I find few things more annoying than eBay sellers who offer "discounted shipping," but never have more than 7 (often unrelated!) items for sale.<br />
<br />
The "ending times" happen on Sunday, February 24th at 7:00pm Pacific/10:00pm Eastern time. Closing times for lots are spaced roughly one minute apart, to accommodate those who enjoy "live bidding" on sequential lots.<br />
<br />
There is a "<i>buy it now</i>" option with all lots, but please keep in mind that <i>this option does go away</i> the moment someone places a bid.<br />
<br />
As stated above, "combined shipping" is available. In spite of eBay's new rules for "trackable shipment," I still only charge $2.95 (in the US) for the first lot and $0.75 for each additional lot. That covers (barely!) the $2.07 for a first class parcel + $0.90 for delivery confirmation, which is now more or less a REQUIREMENT when you sell on eBay.<br />
Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-18114962199118299972013-02-15T18:44:00.000-08:002013-02-20T19:03:43.355-08:00Odd bits: Doorknobs, drawer pulls, knops and moreEven after 40+ years of beach combing and looking for sea glass, I continue to approach-- and appreciate-- each trip to the beach with child-like enthusiasm.<br />
<br />
I still feel happy every time I find even something relatively common... in an unusual shape, or perfect condition, or deeper-than-usual color.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE58P2cMCdOq73-Pkce4cEaXw-hWCGFI_cwSpy_OOZawvarnsHJg21HwWoKja_6reBvPw3lzpHATW1BSd2fKQliZl4qvsUdAAIUNnSPjOkghoSySlqT66mjGeIZQUS1yTczpLsXA/s1600/glass2013-02-012a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE58P2cMCdOq73-Pkce4cEaXw-hWCGFI_cwSpy_OOZawvarnsHJg21HwWoKja_6reBvPw3lzpHATW1BSd2fKQliZl4qvsUdAAIUNnSPjOkghoSySlqT66mjGeIZQUS1yTczpLsXA/s400/glass2013-02-012a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This used to be a drawer pull or cabinet knob</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of course, "odd bits" offer a particular thrill-- in part because of the rarity factor, in part because of the fun of going <i>"What IS that???"</i> and then figuring it out.<br />
<br />
I live in a small seaside city of some 10,000 people. What makes beach combing here interesting is that this was a thriving community in the mid- to late 1800s, and 100's of fine old homes were built here, on the expectation that this would become "The San Francisco of the North."<br />
<br />
Alas, that never happened-- for a couple of reasons; one being an adequate natural water supply to support the growing population, the other being a decision by the railroad companies <i>not</i> to extend the lines here... and without rail transport to hand shipping cargo, the dreams of a major seaport were dashed.<br />
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How does this relate to beach combing?<br />
<br />
Many of the old houses fell into disrepair. Some became so derelict they were torn down for safety reasons (in the 1930's to 1950's)... and the debris was bulldozed into the ocean; basically "thrown over the edge" of seaside escarpments to be taken away by the tides. Contained in that debris were the fixtures used in bygone eras in nice houses: glass and porcelain doorknobs, drawer pulls, chandeliers and more. And, in time, they became a very special form of sea glass.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr7EB0y1_ILjSWjYF_t9mJVazcSd_M_q0dM148PyHih9u6RJ6y4cW9ePn1aMfW8R6v2O2dQiGXAjY-NtOcDid0yLnhLE5ZJDsJoPArXik3Jkl2T0UxbLwET0SLRYTiEAHNiiamg/s1600/GL11-036a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr7EB0y1_ILjSWjYF_t9mJVazcSd_M_q0dM148PyHih9u6RJ6y4cW9ePn1aMfW8R6v2O2dQiGXAjY-NtOcDid0yLnhLE5ZJDsJoPArXik3Jkl2T0UxbLwET0SLRYTiEAHNiiamg/s400/GL11-036a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A conical drawer pull-- the "inside" is hollow, for the attachment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Over the years, I have found a wide range of unusual artifacts around here. I have beach combed in many different places around the US and the world... and whereas I may have found tens of thousands of pieces of glass there, this is the first time I have lived in a place where it was possibly to find the sea polished remains of old building debris.<br />
<br />
I find at least a couple of glass doorknobs, every year. They are not as interesting, visually, as they tend to have worn down to where they are just very large, very thick circular pieces of sea glass, sometimes with one side (the side that would have face inwards, towards the door) flat or slightly concave. The cabinet knobs and drawer pulls are more interesting-- a lot more variety of shape and size. Old crystals from chandeliers are relatively rare-- they were usually made of lead crystal, which is relatively soft... and tends to wear away <i>much</i> faster in the ocean. I can usually recognize them by the "teardrop" shape and the glass being uncommonly "white" in appearance.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-74944223204954209892013-02-05T18:02:00.000-08:002013-02-20T19:03:54.123-08:00"Show and Tell" for AdultsKeeping a beach combing and sea glass blog is an interesting proposition. After all... what do you write about, aside from going to the beach, and then sharing pictures of the things you find?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08M_KqUxbZk4V2oBSux40KQ-mBWNRFZ3wW00RqNzt_ZZMPGtt3lbeJ0Gwv5Ad7k2Kzws4bzV8-izGFpnASPMnE7AkzKPun30E11D-hh_5aMh-og_pJZsYA-40dsBNcZTE6wbRTg/s1600/Beach130201d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08M_KqUxbZk4V2oBSux40KQ-mBWNRFZ3wW00RqNzt_ZZMPGtt3lbeJ0Gwv5Ad7k2Kzws4bzV8-izGFpnASPMnE7AkzKPun30E11D-hh_5aMh-og_pJZsYA-40dsBNcZTE6wbRTg/s640/Beach130201d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
As I sat here contemplating "what to write about," I realized how much beach combing-- and particularly the process of sharing our experiences as sea glass enthusiasts-- basically amounts to "show and tell for adults." Which is not to disregard the fact that there are also kids and teens who beach comb.<br />
<br />
But think about it: We go treasure hunting, find stuff, take pictures of it... and then post it to our blogs, Internet groups and more.<br />
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Of course, I feel far more enthusiastic about this type of show and tell than I ever did about those projects back in grade school. I guess my dislike of those had to do largely with the fact that what I got to "show" was rarely anything of <i>my</i> choice, but instead some fixed assignment I had little to no interest in.<br />
<br />
I like the fact that so much sea glass has a "story." Take, for example, this large piece of green sea glass in the picture. It's so much more than just "green sea glass." This particular blue-green shade is quite uncommon-- it accounts for less than 1-in-100 pieces of "green" I find. Typically, it comes from very old wine bottles, many from the early 1900's. I sometimes call this color "deep grayish teal green." Finding pieces in perfect condition is difficult-- the manufacturing methods were often crude and the glass poorly annealed (the slow cooling process for glass), as a result of which most large pieces tend to "shear" if they bang into something like a rock... OR there are inclusions and bubbles in the glass, leading to an uneven surface.<br />
<br />
So, to the casual observer, that may look like "just another piece of glass." However, to someone who has collected for a lifetime? This 1 1/2" long piece with perfect frosting IS a minor rarity.<br />
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And so... worthy of "show and tell."Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-58787919727780203892013-01-31T17:47:00.000-08:002013-02-20T19:04:06.633-08:00Life Is Like a Box Of ChocolatesSometimes beach combing reminds me of that well known line from the movie "Forrest Gump:"<br />
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<i>Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR3GRAKR6tD_pIU50G51-wlXo_4YSFMErR4QZltrEmGlauWcbPQcGdk92XWpaTLmqJAvTr0tIZ1P39zP0p_nQldSsvo9L4rzAGQ3O-66kkrQFNSVvMRpgMFK3b26S2La_59N3taw/s1600/Beach130201a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR3GRAKR6tD_pIU50G51-wlXo_4YSFMErR4QZltrEmGlauWcbPQcGdk92XWpaTLmqJAvTr0tIZ1P39zP0p_nQldSsvo9L4rzAGQ3O-66kkrQFNSVvMRpgMFK3b26S2La_59N3taw/s400/Beach130201a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I have walked along the same stretches of beach 100s of times, and yet I never know what I'm going to get. The beach can look exactly the same as last time, the weather can be the same, the time of the year can be the same... and yet? On one day I return home with bulging pockets, on the the other I'm lucky to find a tiny handful of sea glass.<br />
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And then I wait three days, and it's different, yet again.<br />
<br />
I went out, yesterday, hoping to find a few more things before the end of the month. It seemed like it was going to be a really good day... and yet it turned out to be one of those "empty pockets" days.<br />
<br />
Perhaps not entirely empty, but nothing unusual to write home about. Perhaps the most unusual thing I cam back with was the clear and green "fusion" in the picture. Clearly, this was a piece of "bonfire glass," yet is was as smooth and perfect as any piece of single color seaglass-- no little dark inclusions, no popped bubbles, no striations from the fire. And so, that became my "treasure of the day."<br />
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In the end, though, I was grateful that I got to be out and about.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-68787857897274070322013-01-21T10:47:00.000-08:002013-01-24T09:49:50.881-08:00January 2013 Sea Glass Auctions<br />
The January 2013 Sea Glass Auction is now running and accessible to all on eBay.<br />
<br />
Once a month, I like to offer some of my beach combings for sale at auction. Because I often-- especially during the spring and summer-- am on the beach up to 15+ days a month, I do tend to end up with more nice quality sea glass than I need for my own collection and projects. It seems only reasonable to me to help it find "new homes" with fellow sea glass enthusiasts, jewelers, artists and crafts people. During some periods of the year, these offerings are fairly modest; at others they are fairly impressive. Click on the link below to see the current selection!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://stores.ebay.com/North-Beach-Treasures/_i.html?rt=nc&LH_Auction=1" target="_blank">January Auctions: Bid until Sunday January 27th, 7:00pm Pacific/10:00pm Eastern</a></span></b><br />
<br />
115 new auction listings with sea glass and beach pottery went "live" on Sunday evening, January 20th. There's a broad mixture of "jewelry lots" as well as better individual pieces and rarities for collectors. This selection is actually the <i>largest</i> I have had on eBay since 2009, and the quality is very nice! In addition, there are another 50+ new lots coming to the store later this week, for immediate purchase.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSQr1w3vK-gW8RpN4uijtmADMKTUc4RhS_S5K8zpZctp0GO3Sj1CTKFOKbF0bq3H-fjQMHbgglGIMtW1DPovM10mB8zhVcZgCay6T3XGA80USyGfAdd9VFuu_cCK5nQ53rlPOeA/s1600/Auction-Promo-2013-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSQr1w3vK-gW8RpN4uijtmADMKTUc4RhS_S5K8zpZctp0GO3Sj1CTKFOKbF0bq3H-fjQMHbgglGIMtW1DPovM10mB8zhVcZgCay6T3XGA80USyGfAdd9VFuu_cCK5nQ53rlPOeA/s640/Auction-Promo-2013-01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sampling of the sea glass available in the January auctions. Click on the image to see a larger version!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All auctions were listed more or less "together" so as to end at approximately the same time. I do this in order for the "save on shipping when buying multiple items" option actually makes sense. I find few things more annoying than eBay sellers who offer "discounted shipping," but never have more than 7 (often unrelated!) items for sale.<br />
<br />
The "end times" start on Sunday, January 27th at 7:00pm Pacific/10:00pm Eastern time. Closing times for lots are spaced roughly one minute apart, to accommodate those who enjoy "live bidding" on sequential lots.<br />
<br />
There is a "<i>buy it now</i>" option with all lots, but please keep in mind that <i>this option does go away</i> the moment someone places a bid.<br />
<br />
As stated above, "combined shipping" is available. In spite of eBay's new rules for "trackable shipment," I still only charge $2.95 (in the US) for the first lot and $0.75 for each additional lot. That covers (barely!) the $2.07 for a first class parcel + $0.90 for delivery confirmation, which is now more or less a REQUIREMENT when you sell on eBay.<br />
<br />
If you'd like to keep up with my monthly sea glass auctions, I recommend that you use one of the "subscribe" options, in the right hand column.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-21850354355032738232013-01-16T21:10:00.000-08:002013-01-24T09:50:03.206-08:00A Day at the Beach: January 16thWhen nice weather presents itself in January, you just have to seize the opportunity! Most January days around here mean rain and cold (and occasional snow) so we prize dry sunny days. Of course, there's no telling whether such days are going to fall on a day where the tide is decent... but sometimes you get lucky.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdln8DsVYEw1AAyVVtRd91in0_JHsV5pCdhWAybXwUXn6a7E47SCVioiO0MEB5CKfMxOTXyzYnGvFqB6ZEUtxHsW_h93dMOcW043Rcs9fTjogQz2eO8EO-Si3X9WjowZ-OtBATQ/s1600/20130116-Beach-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdln8DsVYEw1AAyVVtRd91in0_JHsV5pCdhWAybXwUXn6a7E47SCVioiO0MEB5CKfMxOTXyzYnGvFqB6ZEUtxHsW_h93dMOcW043Rcs9fTjogQz2eO8EO-Si3X9WjowZ-OtBATQ/s640/20130116-Beach-01.jpg" width="609" /></a></div>
We are slowly moving towards a time of the year when there are a few short periods with lower tides during daylight hours. This is also the time of the year when we have "King tides," which are <i>extremely</i> high... and when such tides are accompanied by strong onshore winds, we often see some pretty severe coastal erosion... and seaside parking lots getting swamped by waves.<br />
<br />
The ocean is very powerful, and in this part of the world, we do get a lot of loose floating logs. And when I say "logs," that can often mean a tree trunk some three feet in diameter and 50 feet long. Even though these can weigh in at tens of thousands of pounds, it's amazing how even something as relatively minor as 5-foot waves can toss them around and deposit them 50 foot inland, in the middle of a parking lot... like they were no more than match sticks. I have seen our parking lot after a good storm and wondered at how 200lb boulders had gotten moved as far as they had.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DxiojjvPQ3p_T_4RYF2CjHv3pqL_lwoVnmPlYMjJql-UCdNK3XdUUQTA29P4Y90r9JBccQXVl_4lfu_gn0g6VgvYZrenSvKdmeg3Mm0oYi7InWjXYR9qdxbivk37GlWoya3p4w/s1600/20130116-Beach-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DxiojjvPQ3p_T_4RYF2CjHv3pqL_lwoVnmPlYMjJql-UCdNK3XdUUQTA29P4Y90r9JBccQXVl_4lfu_gn0g6VgvYZrenSvKdmeg3Mm0oYi7InWjXYR9qdxbivk37GlWoya3p4w/s640/20130116-Beach-02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The beach can be fairly treacherous, at this time of the year. When you have to traverse fallen trees and boulders from the size of soccer balls to the size of your average kitchen stove (see photo, above), going is slow... most people are lucky to make about one mile in an hour; and when you have several miles to go, it quickly becomes a tedious and potentially ankle-twisting adventure. When the rocks are wet-- or covered with seaweed-- you have to be especially cautious. As many times as I have been across such rocky ground, I consider myself fortunate to have "escaped" with no more than a few wet feet.<br />
<br />
I often have to simply resign myself to going slowly... but that's OK, as it gives me plenty of time to enjoy my surroundings and say hello to the other creatures with whom I share space, such as this otter who quickly scurried across my path, jumped into the water, and then regarded me cautiously as it swam by. It dove a couple of times, then disappeared.<br />
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I beach comb in a place where there is pretty much "nothing to be found" for at least a couple of miles. And I never know what I am going to find. I could spend a couple of hours "getting there," only to discover a beach covered in six-inch boulders... or covered with a 6-inch layer of seaweed, making the glass impossible to spot. There's no way to "check in advance," so I just have to make a commitment and go... and whatever will be, will be.<br />
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It was about 45 minutes before I found even the first sign of sea glass. I don't normally pick up brown sea glass, but this was an impressively large and smooth piece, so I decided to keep it.<br />
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Perhaps a bit like baseball players, I'm a bit superstitious. I have this nagging belief that it's bad luck not to pick up the first piece of glass I see...<br />
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As the years have gone by, I have gotten more and more particular about what I pick up, and what I leave behind.<br />
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Other than particularly interesting-- or outstanding size/quality-- pieces, I almost never pick up clear or brown glass anymore. That said, I usually <i>do</i> come home with a fair amount of clear, simply because a lot of interesting "objects" were made with clear glass-- bottles and bottle stoppers, handles and feet from candy dishes, door knobs and drawer pulls-- and many of them are worthy of collecting.<br />
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However, I am <i>most</i> particular about the <i>quality</i> of the glass-- anything with fresh chips, breaks or other damage goes back into the ocean... and hopefully I will find it again, many years from now, when it has fully "cooked." I see no point in saving "broken" glass.<br />
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It always disappoints me when I see out-of-town visitors around here, who insist on picking up absolutely everything they can get their hands on. Because our surf can be rough-- and there are lots of larger rocks-- the vast majority of sea glass on our beaches has some form of damage. I probably pick up no more than 1-in-8 of the pieces of glass I see... the rest I leave behind for some day when they will be "ready." To me that's not only good "beach combing etiquette," it's common sense.<br />
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This turned out to be one of my best winter beach combing days in a very long time. I found three quite nice pieces of red glass, which was definitely cause for celebration. I also found a few other pieces in "better" colors: Yellow, pink, turquoise and some rarer shades of green.<br />
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Part way through the afternoon, it occurred to me that the nice glass on the beach was probably more a result of the recent very high tides, than the current lows... some of the "old" pebbles had finally been beaten around by the waves, revealing things that probably had been "hiding" since last January's "king tides."<br />
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One of my favorite things about this time of the year is that there are not many people on the beach-- and this day was no exception; I saw maybe five other people, the entire afternoon.<br />
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And when there are few people, there tends to be more wildlife. Much of the afternoon, I was watched over by a couple of eagles, looking at the world from the trees on the high bluffs behind me. Although the eagles around here are pretty used to humans, many of them stay hidden when the beach is crowded.<br />
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Besides, beach combing is really a "meditation" for me, so I prefer solitude.<br />
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Of course, not everything I pick up is sea glass. Along the way, there are always interesting rocks, sea shells and other objects of interest.<br />
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One of my very best finds of the day was actually not even sea glass but the large (at least for this part of the world) golden agate I found, late in the day-- shown in the picture below. I would not have spotted it, had it not been a sunny day and late in the day when the sun is very low... but it lit up like a bright orange-yellow golf ball in the late afternoon sun. I am not sure what to "do" with the agates I find, but they are very pretty, and remind me of the pieces of amber we'd sometimes find on the beaches in Denmark, when I was a kid. And much like some of those pieces of amber, this golf ball sized agate had a dark "moss like" inclusion.<br />
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By the end of the day, I had found quite "a lot" of sea glass, but it was noteworthy-- once again-- how the "rare colors" are getting ever rarer with each year that passes. Many of them start as fairly small pieces of glass, so it only makes sense that the small pieces will be the first to be completely worn away by waves and sand.<br />
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It will be a couple of weeks before I can go back to the beach, as we enter another period of only <i>high</i> tides during the day... the end of January and early February bring the next set of lower tides during daylight hours. In the meantime, there is lots of sorting to be done.<br />
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In a sense, the timing of the tides works out well for this month, as the rest of this week will mostly be spent with photography and prep work for the upcoming sea glass auction.<br />
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As much as I enjoy walking on the beach and <i>finding</i> glass and pottery... I also find it rewarding to "play with my glass" after I get home-- to see just exactly <i>what</i> my frozen fingers picked up. On the more unusual items, I enjoy the detective work of trying to guess what the piece originally might have been part of.<br />
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I also enjoy sending glass to other sea glass enthusiasts and artists all around the world. I like the idea that things I find on the beach become part of "objects of beauty" other people get to enjoy. In the course of the last couple of decades, I have sent sea glass as far away as Australia and New Zealand, Japan and Argentina, as well as numerous countries around Europe. I love how the Internet has helped bring the global sea glass enthusiast community together.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-9103456669289834492013-01-12T22:33:00.000-08:002013-01-12T22:33:28.828-08:00First Sea Glass Auction of 2013 set for January 20thAs some of you may know, I periodically run sea glass auctions on eBay.<br />
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What I like to do is assemble enough sea glass to make many individual "lots" and then put everything up for auction with the same start and finish date. I treat it a bit like a general public auction, where you have a list of things up for sale and everything is available for bids on the same day.<br />
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I started doing eBay auctions this way more than 15 years ago, as a trader in rare stamps for collectors. I mostly did so as a "reaction" to sellers who promised me "<i>reduced shipping when you buy multiple lots</i>"... but then would only have a handful of (generally UN-related) items up for sale at any one time.<br />
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Don't get me wrong, I do understand the logic behind "always having something for sale," but that's more of a benefit to the <i>seller</i> than to <i>buyers</i>. In general-- and I know this is true of me, as a buyer-- buyers benefit more from having lots to choose from at the same time... that way you can get "everything you need" taken care of in one sitting, rather than getting one or two items each from 17 different sellers.<br />
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Of course, everyone has their own philosophy.<br />
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Anyway, I have decided to start my first sea glass auction of 2013 on Sunday, January 20th, with an end date of Sunday, January 27th.<br />
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I am currently in the process of sorting, grading and assembling the glass to go up for auction... I'm expecting to end up with 100-120 lots, including better and rare individual pieces as well as many "lots" for jewelry and crafts projects. All will be well photographed and accurately graded and described. Expect some rare colors, as well as lots you seldom see "in quantity."<br />
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A further announcement will be posted next weekend, with more specific details about the glass up for auction.Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-58441530748523822722013-01-10T09:39:00.000-08:002013-01-12T22:33:44.977-08:00New Sea Glass in the Etsy ShopSince beach combing opportunities are few and far between this time of the year, I have instead been focusing my attention on "sorting and grading" some the finds from last fall's beach trips.<br />
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"Sorting and grading" is one of the important things I do, as a seller of sea glass. I want potential buyers to feel confident that they know exactly what they can expect to get-- ideally, if you're going to<i> buy</i> sea glass, you should be able to acquire individual pieces and lots in such a way that you end up with "no waste."<br />
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I treat selling sea glass much as I would treat selling gemstones. I can't imagine very many serious jewelers would buy "<i>a random handful of unsorted stones</i>" for their jewelry operation... and I really don't see why someone working with sea glass should expect anything less from a supplier than someone working with-- say-- semi-precious stones.<br />
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Anyway, after my recent sorting efforts, I was able to add 40 new lots with sea glass (and a few lots with glazed beach pottery) to the Etsy sea glass shop. These include some very nice groups in the popular blue and aquamarine shades. I hope you'll go have a look!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/NorthBeachTreasures" target="_blank">North Beach Treasures Sea Glass Shop</a></span></b><br />
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<b>.</b>Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38916699.post-88498552591190626432013-01-04T20:46:00.000-08:002013-01-12T22:34:01.962-08:00First Beach Day of 2013!Yesterday marked my first day to get out on the beach in the new year. Winter beach combing tends to be tricky as the days are short, the weather often horrible and the "good" low tides occur after dark.<br />
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Thursday marked the first day within a very short "window of opportunity" where I could get "out there" and back during daylight hours. Even so, it tends to be a mad dash (aka an almost 4-mile "racewalk") to get where I need to go, followed by brief beach combing, followed by another racewalk in the fading light, back to where I started.<br />
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Thankfully, it was a clear sunny day, which not only made the outing more pleasant... but added a good 20-30 minutes to the amount of available daylight. It was also on the cold side-- that white stuff in the photo is a thin layer of ice/snow from the previous day.<br />
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The beach where I generally beach comb is backed by a tall escarpment on the "land" side. Unlike many waterfront area, these sometimes 400-foot tall banks are not cliffs (aka "rock") but compacted clay and sand, deposited there by glaciers during the last ice age. It's odd to think that the beach where I now walk once upon a time had an estimated 3000 feet of ice on top of it.<br />
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These slopes are not exactly the most stable landscape on the planet, especially during the time of the year where it often rains, freezes and thaws... over and over. Slides are frequent, and can sometimes completely block the way for weeks, until a good storm spreads the debris. Since this is not a "maintained" beach, nature simply has to take its course.<br />
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Indeed, I encountered a fairly new slide; this one fairly "minor" (comparatively speaking) and partly washed away by winter storms. "Minor" is perhaps a relative term-- meaning only about 5,000 tons of clay and sand came down, as opposed to 100,000 tons for a major collapse. I've experienced one of these "erosion events" up close and personal (from a few hundred feet away) and it sounds like a freight train coming at you as the slope gives way and a blend of clay, sand and rocks throws around 75-foot trees like match sticks. The beach truly is "alive."<br />
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These slides are <i>not</i> a good thing for the sea glass hunter. Not so much because they are dangerous, but because the layer containing recent garbage (and sea glass) ends up being covered by a 3-foot thick layer of "virgin" sand from thousands of years ago... and it will take <i>years</i> of storms and waves before the sand is moved and mixed enough for the sea glass to surface, once again.<br />
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Resigned to finding little, I instead took time to enjoy my surroundings-- a superb view of Mt. Baker on a clear day, wearing a thick coat of fresh snow.<br />
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Although it seldom snows significantly here at sea level, we are surrounded by snow covered mountains, many of them with white caps all year long. It makes for spectacular surroundings-- and I often have to remind myself to look UP from the beach and take in the beauty that surrounds me. It's easy to get completely wrapped up in the business of looking for little pieces of glass!<br />
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Lots of ducks spend the winter here or pass through on their migratory path.<br />
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I don't know the names of them all, but sometimes the shallows are literally covered with thousands and thousands of birds. Although most are distinctly "northern" birds, I have also seen a few flocks of brown pelicans fly by.<br />
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Fortunately, not <i>all</i> the beach was covered with new sand, so my fears of returning empty-handed were unfounded. I managed to get in just under two hours in one of my favorite spots... and even though the pickings were somewhat slim, I did manage to come away with a few interesting and colorful treasures.<br />
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Unfortunately "overpicking" continues to be an issue around these parts-- however, there is not much one can do about that, given the increasing awareness and popularity of sea glass. I just wish people would develop some better "beach combing etiquette" and at least throw back the obviously damaged pieces so they can finish "cooking," and be enjoyed by future generations of beach combers.<br />
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All in all, though, I was grateful to be back on the beach-- for the first time since late October. I came home with a few nice pieces (the best pictured at left) and had a lovely walk on a gorgeous winter day. I am looking forward to the next opportunity to get out on a day with "decent" tides, which is going to come around later this month.<br />
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Till then, I hope your beach combing endeavors go well, wherever you may be. Happy New Year!Peter Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413240103371243243noreply@blogger.com0