Saturday Sparkle: Santa Cruz Sea Glass

Who Sparkled this Saturday?

Krista Hammond from Santa Cruz Sea Glass

Today on Saturday Sparkle, I decide to write about a jewelry designer who is a little closer to home. As many Californian's know, Santa Cruz County is something of a mecca for talented artisans. And being part of this magical beach town, I think today's featured artist is particularly unique because of how she transforms the natural beauty and awe of locally-found beach glass into stunning sea glass jewelry designs.

Today's featured Saturday Sparkle artist is the very talented Krista Hammond, who designs jewelry for her own company, Santa Cruz Sea Glass. I had an opportunity to interview Krista a few weeks ago, and here is what she shared with us.

Krista, how did you get your start in jewelry design?

Since I was young, I beaded jewelry on family vacations at the beach. My creativity was always trying to find ways of surfacing; I was an avid drawer and painter in high school. My “start” came when I decided to change careers and truly embrace making jewelry with sea glass a few years ago. I had this vision of how beautiful jewelry made with sea glass could be and worked to make that vision a reality with my creations.

Collecting sea glass is such a fun activity for beach-goers, which came first for you -- collecting sea glass or making jewelry? And, what drew you to incorporating your sea glass finds into your jewelry designs?

Definitely collecting sea glass came first. I have been a surfer, beach gal, ocean loving dog owner for most of my life, so I was picking up sea glass ever since I can remember. I started incorporating sea glass specifically into jewelry mainly because I no longer wanted to see such beautiful, colorful pieces sit in a jar on my kitchen windowsill. The concept also grew from my love for the environment and wanting to make jewelry that is “recycled” from nature. Sea glass is just that: man-made litter, transformed by the waves into something beautiful and rare. I call it guilt free jewelry! From the sea glass to how we run our business, we try to be 100% Green.

When sitting down to create a new piece, what are your top three sources of inspiration?

First, is my fascination with sea glass. From the hunt, to the find, to the creation of the piece. The raw organic beauty of sea glass and trying to lend a style that honors the simplicity while enhancing its beauty. It is about taking something found at the beach and making it into jewelry that you can wear and enjoy. Second, my inspiration comes from nature, the green of the trees, to the bright complexity of a sunflower. The ocean is always a constant source of inspiration; nature can create some amazing things! Third, I like to be different. I have never been a diamond girl, so I am inspired to take materials that are unusual and create one of a kind, bling-bling for people like me.

How do shoppers generally react when they first see your sea glass designs?

People have a real deep connection with sea glass. At my shows (I do 20 Art & Wine Festivals a year) I have a really interactive booth. I bring a small collection of sea glass for people to look at, along with all my creations. It is amazing all the different types of people that sea glass draws in. I have met 8 year old collectors and 80 year old collectors. Sea glass usually invokes a positive childhood memory of combing the beach. Always, people are amazed at my collection and creativity with sea glass!

Although sea glass is your primary design, I notice that you also design jewelry in other mediums. Tell us about that.

I love working with mediums that are different. Leather and sea glass was one of my first combinations. I think the simplicity and durability of leather is very complimentary to sea glass. I also like using materials besides silver. I am hoping to start working with more copper and adding new elements to my styles. I am on the lookout for new recycled materials!

In addition to your website, where else can we find your jewelry designs?

My jewelry is carried at handful of galleries and stores in my local area; they are listed on my website: www.santacruzseaglass.com.

One of my latest and most exciting partnerships has been with the National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation. It has been a dream of mine to give back to the ocean that has provided me with such immense sea glass treasures, as well as countless days enjoying the surf, sun and sand. My partnership gives 10% of the sale of my Charm Necklace back to the Foundation to help conserve and protect the Oceans.

I also have recently added my creations to the Seymour Discovery Center at Long Marine Lab and am in negotiations with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Being able to give back to charity, while creating beautiful jewelry that people enjoy wearing – really takes it full circle for me. A dream comes true.

Krista, thank you so much for sharing your story with us here on Saturday Sparkle! And readers... if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, Krista and her beautiful designs will be set up today and tomorrow in Pacifica, CA at The 23rd Annual Pacific Coast Fog Fest. This year's Fog Fest runs from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. both today and Sunday, so if you are planning to visit the Pacifica festival grounds, be sure to stop by to say hello to Krista at Santa Cruz Sea Glass.

Happy Saturday and Keep Sparkling!