Beachcombing beauty
If you spot a girl wandering the pebbles of Brighton with her eyes glued firmly ground-ward, it’s probably Hannah Marshall (aka the Beach Shack Project) scouring the shoreline for new material. From fishing nylon to sea glass, driftwood and shells, she transforms things that most of us would overlook into the cutest trinkets, fit for any mermaid.
I’m always intrigued by people creating something out of nothing. Turns out there’s more to this beachcombing lark than meets the eye. I’ll let Hannah explain…
“I grew up in Cornwall and have always collected little bits of sea glass and pottery from my local beaches, Charleston and Crinnis. When I moved to Brighton about eight years ago I had this huge hoard of flotsam and jetsam, and I realised one day that it would make wonderful jewellery. I was inspired to create pieces out of fishing line by all the junk that washes up on Brighton’s beach, but my favourite finds are sea pottery – I love it when you turn a piece over and there’s an old willow pattern on it.
“Because I work with found objects, each piece I make differs slightly, and most of the time pieces design themselves – different elements lend themselves to a certain purpose. I might find a piece of curved glass that may be perfect for a bracelet because it sits flush against the wrist, for example.
“We beachcombers prefer to keep our best beaches secret – sea glass and pottery are highly prized, and certain colours and patterns are considered rarer than others. Some of my best finds include red, turquoise and fuchsia sea glass, unusual Victorian pottery shards, marbles, bottlestoppers, amethyst, and ceramic figurines. Most of my favourite pieces are very personal – bits that I have found on holiday or that have been given to me by someone special. My boyfriend has found me pieces in South Africa and a friend gave me some pottery he found on Dunkirk beach. To me, these pieces are priceless.”
And as if you needed further reason to brighten up your day, buy any item of recycled nylon jewellery and the Beach Shack Project will donate 15% of the price to SAS. Go on, take a look…
Really nice jewellery, good inspiration for my girlfriends birthday. I’d never heard the term ‘mermaids tears’ before until I read it in a Damien Hurst book, but whenever I find a bit of sea glass now it seems even more special.
1Cheers Rich
PS. I lost a fiver on Brighton beach once, if you come across one its probably mine.