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Tears of a Mermaid

We’re always on the lookout for individuals who are doing something they love to do – especially if it involves something tropical. That’s why we were thrilled when William Torrillo – the amazing photographer who we interviewed for our “Through the Eyes of a Tropical Soul” article told us about Elizabeth. William suggested that we check out Elizabeth’s sea glass jewelry and we’re glad we did! Elizabeth had long enjoyed collecting sea glass during walks on the beach with her daughters and recently began making jewelry from the glass they have found. We asked if we could interview her and this is what we found out:

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself? I have lived in Maryland all my life and I’m 32 years old. I’ve lived in Calvert County for about 22 years. We are a water oriented area, known for crabbing and our ginormous Rock Fish! We are surrounded by water here on 3 sides. The Chesapeake Bay to our East and the Patuxent River to West, The Patuxent spills into the Bay at the southern tip of the county. We are a family of Beach Bums for sure and at home in Maryland we lived about 5 blocks from the Bay and our Beach House is in the Outer Bank of North Carolina where we spend most of our summers.

2. What made you decide to start making your own jewelry? I am a stay-at-home Mom of 3 Daughters 10, 7 and 4. I’ve been home about 5 years and my collection of sea glass was getting out of hand. So, my Hubby suggested we try to wire wrap a few pieces and see what happens. 3. Why sea glass? 3 years ago I found my first piece of Cobalt which is not easy to find. I found it on a girls weekend trip to our beach house and you’d have thought I had found a million dollars!! I immediately took it to a bead shop and had it made into a necklace. Everywhere I go to this day I’m complimented on how gorgeous my necklace is…  After years of finding tons of glass and a friend sharing her secret beach for amazing glass, we decided to give the jewelry making a try!

4. Where do you find your sea glass? The majority of my sea glass is from a place my girls and I call “Our Secret Beach”.  We find gorgeous colors there, aquas, lavenders, and cobalts, as well as the more common colors like greens, browns and whites.

5. What are the challenges of using sea glass? What are the benefits? My only challenge so far has been the earrings. Finding two pieces that are somewhat similar in shape is not an easy task! The benefit is that I have plenty of glass!! HA!

6. Where do you sell your jewelry? We showed the pieces my Hubby and I created to some friends and got an overwhelming response so I decided to open a shop on Etsy.com.  I chose the name Mermaids Jewelry Box because of the old folk lore that says that pieces of Sea Glass are Mermaid’s Tears. 7. Has this been a good career change, choice or path for you? I’m not really looking to make a career, my Hubby and I enjoy sitting together and wrapping the glass. It’s more of a passion that I wanted to share with others that may not have access to it like we do.

8. Is there anything else we should know about you or your business? I never use artificially made sea glass. I use pieces from my own collection. For some reason “Our Secret Beach” keeps us well stocked. I don’t have much luck finding glass in the Outer Banks, only random pieces here and there.

Oh, and I don’t know if I mentioned it or not but the little girl in the picture is my youngest daughter Haley. She’s a Sea Glass Mermaid also! She knows all about it… She’s my Sea Glass Buddy, we go hunt for glass when her older sisters are at school!
And yes, after checking out Elizabeth’s Etsy shop, I had to get a Mermaid Tear of my own (see pic above!) Be sure to check out the Mermaid’s Jewelry Box and see if there’s a piece calling your name too.

Other posts on Making Your Tropical Obsession Your Profession:

4242 Miles to St. Lucia – The Boiled Frog Guesthouse – Danielle and Steve Unruh

Searching for Pieces of Eight – Thomas Gidus

Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge, Kailua Kona, Hawaii – Brice Ginardi

Vessels of Freedom – Captain Darrel Hearne

Through the Eyes of a Tropical Soul – William Anthony Torrillo, Photographer

A Pirate Looks at 10 – Fletcher Morton, Trop Rock Musician

I’m Gonna Live My Life Like a Jimmy Buffet Song by Anthony Bjorklund (book review)

Railean Distillers – San Leon, Texas, Kelly Railean

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Railean Distillers – San Leon, Texas

We are always interested in finding out more about individuals who, like us, have hung up their suits and ties and are “making their obsession their profession” – especially a company that makes rum! That’s why we were very interested in finding out more about Railean Distillers in San Leon, Texas, when we were informed of them by Rum Therapy FB friend Paradise Cocktails.

Now, we haven’t been lucky enough to sample Railean Rum as it’s not available in our state yet, but are confident we will in the near future (maybe a road trip to tour the facility in San Leon for research purposes only, of course!) and I’m pretty sure we’re gonna love it!

photos courtesy of Railean Distillers

I contacted Kelly Railean, the founder of Railean Distillers and asked if I could interview her about the Railean Distillery and this is what we learned.

1. How did you come to start your own rum company?  I spent over 10 years in the wine business; I sold wine for a large distributing company here in Texas.  I have a Level 1 Certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers.  My husband & I learned to sail in the late 1990’s and we purchased a Hunter 29.5 in 2000.  When we caught the sailing bug we started collecting and drinking rum & learning all about pirates and the island lifestyle.  One day while hanging out at The Buccaneer Bar in San Leon, Texas; we had this great idea to make our own rum.  It made perfect sense, my husband (Matt) is a Chemical Engineer, and I had the industry experience and a great palate for wine & spirits.

2. Tell us about Railean Rum and how it differs from other rums? My products are handcrafted; we ferment a high grade sugarcane molasses & blue agave nectar, distill, age and bottle everything at our distillery – by hand.  I am one of the few woman Master Distillers in the world – and yes, I really do distill and make all the rum & blue agave!  We are family owned & operated, we use the best possible ingredients in our products, and we do not add any colors, flavors or other additives to any of our products.  Our El Perico Blue Agave Spirit is the first and only Blue Agave Spirit to be made in Texas, our aged rums (Reserve XO and Small Cask Reserve) were the first aged spirits made in Texas, and our Railean Texas White rum is double distilled for the smoothest possible flavor.

3. What is your vision for the future of Railean Rum? An expansion of the distillery and increased distribution within the United States.  Our products are fantastic, and I believe Railean could someday be the number one premium & domestic made rum and blue agave in the United States.

4. Where is Railean Rum rum available? We are available in Texas, California and Arkansas.  We are distributed through Republic National Beverage in Texas, Western States Beverages in California, and Central Distributors in Arkansas.  Depending on individual state laws, folks may be able to purchase our products online from www.specsonline.com.

5. Do you have rum factory tours? Tours & tastings are by appointment.  Tours are typically Monday – Saturday and usually between the hours of 9AM and 2PM.  During the hot summer months, tours are only offered in the AM since this is a working distillery and it is too hot in the afternoon to tour.

6. What else would you like us to know about Railean Rum? I make three different rums:  Railean Texas White (retail $17.99), Railean Reserve XO Dark (retail $18.99), Railean Small Cask Reserve Aged (retail $29.99).  I also just released the first & only 100% Blue Agave Spirit made in Texas for those of you who love your Tequila.  The El Perico Blue Agave Spirit retails for $29.99.  El Perico is Spanish for “the parakeet” which is the logo on all of the Railean labels.  The parakeet or Monk Parrot is our mascot; there are hundreds (possibly more) of the little green guys all around the distillery, along the gulf & our marinas, and even at our home!

7. We have in common a love for sailing and tropical islands. Do you have a favorite island or place to sail? I love to sail the British Virgin Islands and we have sailed there many times.  Most of my sailing though has been in Galveston Bay and around Galveston Island, TX.  I have also sailed the Bahamas, St. Martin, St. Barts, Jamaica, and Cozumel.  One of the most beautiful islands I have ever been to was Manihi, Tahiti; and that was the best scuba diving I have ever done in my life!

Kelly, thanks for the interview! Maybe we’ll run into you while sailing in the tropics sometime and share a little “Rum Therapy!” You bring the rum!

To find out more about Railean Distillers:
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