Virtual Beachcombing Festival Collectors

Welcome to the Virtual Beachcombing Festival Collectors Showcase!

Take a moment to view collections of beachcombers, artists, and more from around the world below. These videos were part of the Virtual Beachcombing Festival on June 20, 2020.

beachcombing festival exhibits

Beachcombing Finds from Hawaii from the Collection of Heather Ganis Maui HI, USA. Heather Ganis is a beachcomber from Lahaina, Hawaii. She spent a good portion of her childhood on the coast of southern California, walking on the beach with her grandmother, who collected beautiful shells while Heather collected sea glass. Heather says her grandmother’s love of the beach is what started her own passion for beachcombing. Heather is now a mother of three, and married to her best friend (who, surprisingly, does not like the beach). When she’s not at the beach, Heather works at a fun and beachy surf shop, and part-time in her church bookstore. She also practices hula! Heather creates stunning beach scenes with sea glass and shells. Instagram

Beach-Found Beads from the collection of Mary T. McCarthy Tilghman MD, USA. As a beachcomber and mudlarker for over 20 years, one of Mary McCarthy’s favorite things to collect are beads that can be found at the coastal landfills where she often hunts. The source of beach beads is often jewelry or fishing lines. Whether glass or plastic, it’s good to collect these from shorelines to keep them from being ingested by sea life and birds. Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Articles

Great Lakes Glowers  Kenosha WI, USA. Fluorescent Sodalite and Beach Glass from adventures around the Great Lakes. Facebook | Instagram | Great Lakes Beach Glass Collective

How to Decorate with Your Beach Finds Sendai, Japan Great ideas for using your beachcombing treasures in your home décor year round. Australian born, Philippine raised and now living in Japan, Christina Sawka has always loved the beach and all the gems it has to offer.  With her beachcombing love in Japan, she continues to learn about Japanese maritime antiques, glass and pottery design and history. She is the founder of Reverse.Gem, a coastal lifestyle brand with a passion for beachcombing solutions. Facebook | Instagram

Florida Seashells from the collection of Jaime Sawczyn Jacksonville FL, USA. Jaime is a sheller from Jacksonville, Florida. Her shelling adventures are about every three months, when she takes tours down in Southwest Florida to the 10,000 Islands to shell with Treasure Seekers Shelling. She has a huge collection now, and still tries to make it to the beach several times a week. Her soul sister calls her the Martha Stewart of Shelling. Jaime's collection is from all up and down the Coast of West Florida, the Florida Keys, and Southwest Florida. Email

Tasmanian Sea Glass Stoppers from the Collection of Fiona Dart  Tasmania, Australia. Fiona is a retired Lending and Insurance specialist who was born and has lived all her life in Tasmania, an isolated state off Australia’s south coast. She is lucky enough to spend her days beachcombing, gardening, traveling, and caravanning. Her mission for finding sea treasures is her daily obsession. Instagram | Articles

Tiny Seashell Museum on the Sea of Cortez Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico. Take a quick visit to Naomi Black's tiny seashell museum, which houses her privately owned seashell collection. She finds her seashells where the Sonoran Desert meets the sea, about an hour south of the Arizona border. She welcomes local youth groups and visitors from around the world, plus she has a traveling exhibit she can take on the road. Website | Instagram

Beachcombing on Lake Superior with Ann Primozich  Duluth MN, USA. Ann is a beachcomber from Duluth, Minnesota. A love of the water combined with the glitter of glass makes for a beautiful obsession! Come along to the beach with her and get a look at some of the beautiful treasures she has found along the shores of the largest freshwater lake in the world. Instagram

Florida Seashells and Art by Amanda Collett  Sebastian FL, USA. Amanda is a collector of seashells from around the world and author of the book, My Way of Shelling. She is a seashell artist and has many award-winning art pieces. Beachcombing is her favorite hobby. She strives to help people understand that shelling is fun and relaxing and that it doesn’t have to be complicated. Facebook | Instagram

Bottles and Bits from the collection of Danielle Perreault Kennebunk ME, USA. Danielle L. Perreault is Founder of The Sea Glass Center and is on the board of The Beachcombing Center. She is the owner of The Deep Blue in Kennebunk, Maine, and has been featured in Sea Glass Crafts and The Lure of Sea Glass. Facebook | Instagram

 

Colors of Asli | Asli Ersahin Istanbul, Turkey. Enjoy Asli’s beach-inspired art. Asli is a wife and mother, living in Istanbul. She studied History at Bosphorus University and for the past 10 years has worked as a Human Resources Manager. Her daughter, Alisa, is her pride and joy. She and her family love beachcombing and doing beach cleanups along the shores of the Sea of Marmara. She handcrafts jewelry with her beach finds and creates large-format paintings. Instagram

Shells of Japan from the collection of Tina Pacific Grove CA, USA. Tina moved to Okinawa, Japan in the summer of 2018 and quickly developed a bit of an obsession with beachcombing. Almost every weekend she would hit the road and explore new beaches around the island. What started out as beachcombing for seaglass turned into an appreciation and collection of various tropical shells that can be found in Okinawa as well as other parts of Japan. From cone shells, purple cowries, augers, colorful bivalves, and more, Japan is a sheller’s dream. Instagram

Macro and Micro views of the Beach by Kate Clover Dania Beach FL, USA. Get a look at Dr. Von D Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park from near and far with macro and micro views of this beach. Kate Clover is a sand collector, geo-science educator, writer, and life-long learner. She grew up on the white “sugar” sand beaches of Lake Michigan and has been collecting since. Seeing sands under the microscope opened her eyes to the beauty and diversity of sands. Seeing is the beginning to understanding. Website

Antique Caribbean Sea Glass from the collection of Mary Louise “Wiesy” Lauffer Lewes DE, USA. Wiesy is a lifelong beachcomber and artist living in coastal Delaware with her husband, Carl. A retired Virgin Islands art educator, she creates jewelry, sea glass/stained glass work, and crafts with her extensive collection of black and historical sea glass. Facebook | Website

Floats of the Pacific from the collection of Tina Pacific Grove CA, USA. Shortly after moving to Okinawa, Japan and on one of her first beach visits after a typhoon, Tina found a small Hokkaido roller float. That got her hooked on floats. Over the next year and a half she visited various places in Northern Japan and Taiwan in search of these little (and sometimes big) treasures. Her travel adventures has helped her acquire and develop a nice float collection. Tina has since moved to California, USA but she hopes to go back and visit Northern Japan again to continue her float-hunting adventures. Instagram

Beach-found Toys from the readers of Beachcombing What an incredible collection of beach-found toys and games! Our readers have found everything from marbles to dominos to ohajiki to Victorian soldier figurines and more. 

Beach Fossils from the readers of Beachcombing Beautiful photos of beach fossils submitted to Beachcombing Magazine by beachcombers around the world.

Beachcombing Display Ideas from the readers of Beachcombing Finding treasures on the beach is just half the fun of beachcombing. The other half is coming up with ways to organize, store, and show off your collection! From bowls to jars to bottles and more, there are plenty of stylish ways to serve up your bling. Beach finds look great organized in trays, shelves, frames, and more. To make your treasures really shine, just give them a spot in the sun!