Beachcomber treasure wanted across Atlantic
Aug 24 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal
WASHED-UP glass rounded by the sea and found along the North East coast has provided a lucrative career for a collector who has now turned her hobby into a business that’s proved a hit in the US.
Penny Parker has been gathering the brightly coloured glass pebbles since moving to the North East 15 years ago and is now making jewellery from the pieces of glass in her collection.
Her business English Sea Glass exhibited jewellery at this year’s North Carolina Fashion Week in the southern US and a store in New York’s Long Island is now stocking the products, which are also being sold closer to home through Sunderland’s National Glass Centre.
She only realised the value of the sea glass last autumn when she attended the North American Sea Glass Festival in Delaware and is planning a return trip with her products when the event is staged in Pennsylvania in October.
Ms Parker said: “There are lots of American sea glass enthusiasts and collectors and they value English sea glass because it is among the oldest in the world.
“The sea glass that washes up on our shores has been in the sea so long it is smooth and deeply frosted, which makes it highly desirable.”
The glass is valued by colour, so a necklace made from 12 pieces of the more rare red glass can cost £450.
Ms Parker, who suffers from insomnia and may manage only one hour’s sleep in 24, received help from Be Enterprising, County Durham’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) to set up the business.
Be Enterprising business coach Noel Cowley said: “I’m really glad that I could help Penny to set up her own company. It’s fantastic when someone can turn a hobby into a viable business and Penny has done just that.
“Her passion for what she does is what is going to make her go very far indeed.”
The growth of English Sea Glass has created a part-time assistant’s job for Anne Ridley, who helps collect the sea glass and provides support at sales and exhibitions.
The business is also about to publish a book on English sea glass and why it is considered so precious.
