Let us introduce ourselves
We are Mike and Patti Gallivan and we both own and operate the beach glass store.
Our main goal at the beach glass store is to supply unique, genuine, authentic beach glass artworks, one of a kind gifts for anyone. Each piece of beach glass art and jewelry; whether it is jewelry, a picture within a frame, our beach glass wedding gifts or our vases, jars and bottle section is made up of only 100% genuine beach glass. Each piece of beach glass is handpicked from a variety of beaches. There isn't any machine tumbling before or after. There isn't any reshaping, molding or cutting of any kind. There also isn't any coloring, shading or glazing added to any of the pieces. Even our jewelry (coming soon to the website) is not drilled. Each piece of genuine beach glass is presented the way it is actually found on a beach.
Authentic beach glass, or what we like to call 'rare finds' is a hobby for Mike and an obsession for me. There is hardly a day goes by that we are not doing something associated with our rare finds. People always ask what goes into making the beach glass artwork and jewelrywe sell. The process is simple. We collect the beach glass, this we fondly call 'harvesting', rinse it clean with plain water, sort each piece of beach glass by size shape and color and then pick through to find pieces needed for various creations. Collecting the beach glass is my favorite part. We both spend hours a day combing and scouring the local shorelines. We also seem to end up taking day trips and vacations that usually involve water and are able to collect beach glass while away. We have beach glass from Maine and Florida besides our local Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in New York.
Anyway back to the collecting, Mike usually spends about 10-12 hours a week harvesting and me well about 40. We both use beach glass collecting as a relaxation technique. There isn't anything too difficult about the harvesting process really, you just need to keep your eyes peeled for those beautiful beach glass gems. After collecting it for sometime, it's like the beach glass pieces call out to you. The ones that are too sharp, not quite ready, we call 'unharvestable' and they get sorted out of the harvest during the sorting process. We eventually throw these unharvestable beach glass pieces back into the lake but at a depth, where no one is walking or able to touch bottom. Although harvesting is easy it is not for all. (I'm seriously considering investing in a hot tub to relax from relaxing' lol ). And the weather, well again, I did say it was an obsession. I am out collecting beach glass in early spring, even when they're maybe only a couple of feet of beach to search and out in fall till the beach is covered completely with snow. But to me there is nothing like collecting beach glass. Our harvested bounty is never the same. Sometimes we come home with a couple of pounds, and other times, we can barely cover the bottom of our bucket. There are a lot more of us out there looking for that same rare find.
After harvesting, the sorting process must begin. I'm always trying to enlist helpers in this area. There are so many shapes and sizes of beach glass and then so many colors and then shades of colors. It's quite a site. It takes an enormous amount of beach glass stockpile to start making multiple creations. Because we use only genuine, authentic beach glass, we find ourselves running out of dragon fly body parts or shamrock leaves and stems, etc. We spend a lot of time on sorting; this can be just as enjoyable as the harvesting. Easch piece of beach glass can make you wonder at the different aspects and from where and when it came and how it got there. I think this is Mike's favorite part!
Moving on would be the next step. Which I think is my next favorite part actually finding and designing. LOVE IT!! Not much better than transferring thoughts in your head or heart using your hands onto or into something for anyone and everyone to see! The securing of these pieces can be painstakingly tedious, but the finished product is well worth it. At least we think it is. I see the beach glass as my medium in the artwork and jewelry we sell, like paint is to a painter or pottery to a potter.
Anyway, I have been collecting beach glass on and off since I was a child. It was one of my favorite past times then and is again today. I have my husband to thank for it. Mike is the one who got me back into it one day after a really bad day at work. And now, he is almost as big of a beach glass junkie as I am. We hope you all love the site and our creations within it.
Thank you for visiting, Mike and Patti
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