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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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Searching for Pieces of Eight

I could think of worse things than being able to dive in the crystal blue waters off of the Florida coast everyday looking for sunken treasure, and we found someone who does just that – and makes a living at it!

Thomas Gidus, owner of Wreckovery Salvage and Gold Coast Explorations searches for and recovers the cargo and remains of historic shipwrecks to preserve our maritime past for future generations. Recovered items are used for research and education and many are on display in museums and libraries.

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We thought his story would make an excellent post for our “Making Your Tropical Obsession Your Profession” series and so we asked if we could interview him recently. This is what we found out about Thomas:

1. Tell us a little about yourself and why you do what you do.
I am a professional historic shipwreck salvor. Using remote sensing technology, such as magnetometers and side scan sonars, along with archival historical research, we locate long lost wooden sailing ships. Then we employ methods like propwash excavation, air lifts or simple hand fanning to uncover the cargo and remains of the ships, which could be scattered across many miles of ocean bottom.

2. How did you get started in shipwreck recovery?
I was metal detecting on a beach in Ft. Pierce, Florida and was approached by a guy who said he was a treasure diver and needed a partner for his operation. He asked if I dived and if I was interested. I immediately said yes. We were subcontracting to a treasure hunter you may have heard of, the world famous Mel Fisher, on the 1715 Spanish fleet shipwrecks. We recovered some incredible emerald and gold treasure that season. That was 1991. The very next year I started my own company, Wreckovery Salvage, a combination of the words ‘wreck’ and ‘recovery.’ Since then, I have searched for and discovered dozens of shipwrecks through out Florida and in North Carolina.

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3. Tell us about a typical day at the office.
I wake up late, put on swim trunks, a t-shirt and flip flops. Drive 15 minutes to get to the boat, docked behind Capt. Dom’s house. Another 15 minutes getting out through beautiful Jupiter Inlet, Florida. Then we anchor the boat, lower the blower and dig a hole. I grab a metal detector, jam a regulator in my mouth and dive down through 15 feet of warm, crystal clear water and recover the treasure, er, the archaeologically important artifacts.

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4. What are your plans for the future?
I want to help Capt. Dominic Addario solve the mystery of the historic shipwreck at Jupiter inlet. 16 thousand coins have come off that wreck, 1 large silver bar and 1 small gold bar. The main pile of the ship is still missing, and we want to find it. The value is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

5. What does Rum Therapy mean to you?
Rum Therapy is a lifestyle and it is an antidote to the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I moved away from the traffic and hectic lifestyle of central Florida to a beautiful, relatively quiet place in south Florida. My 1st day here, I landed at a wonderful tiki bar overlooking Jupiter inlet. That very same day, I met the love of my life, Monica. We are there at least twice a week, sipping rum & cokes and making plans for our future. She has joined me in my search for sunken treasures.

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6. What is your advice for someone who really wants to make their tropical obsession their profession?
Find a beautiful place in the tropics where you would love to live and work and put all of your thoughts and energy into earning a living doing what you love to do. It might not happen right away, but with optimism, persistence and hard work, your tropical dream will come true.

7. Anything else we should know?
John 15:12


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