Pieces of glass buffered and softened by the sea
Last year, while on my way out of the Manx Wildlife Trust Shop, I spotted a new display of beautiful sea-glass jewellery made here on the Isle of Man. Most of the frosted pieces, both large and small, were crafted into pendants wrapped in silver designs.
The one that caught my eye was an unadorned shard of light blue glass set on a simple silver mount. I bought it then and there and this necklace has since become one of my favourite everyday pieces.
With it being such a small island, I met the designer, Eve Kelly, shortly after and was cheeky enough to ask her to take me beach combing sometime. To my delight, she got in touch last week and invited me along for a morning of hunting for sea glass along the rocky beaches near Castletown.
I’ve been on a few beaches on the island and to be honest haven’t had much luck in finding anything interesting. Maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough but after my day out with Eve I think I might have just been looking in the wrong places. Starting on a rocky beach near Pooil Vaaish we walked slowly, backs stooped, trying to spot glimmers of colour in the grey stones and sand. Every now and again Eve would let out a little cry of discovery and pull a piece of blue or green glass up from the beach.
I found a few pieces at the beginning but walked past many without seeing them at all. Eve would point those out to me from time to time but after awhile my eyes started getting a bit sharper. I quickly saw how this hobby could become addictive – the thrill of finding a pretty piece of glass really hits on those hunting and gathering instincts we all share!

After an initial sort, Eve laid out the best pieces on the table and then selected one from the bunch. Then out came her tools and silver plated wire and she began working her magic. She works quickly, wrapping wire around the glass in a way to both hold the piece securely and to also add visual interest.
A twist from one tool can create a spiral and another one gently crimps the wire into an elegant bend. Within a matter of minutes she created a pendant that would have looked lovely around anyone’s neck. It was incredible to think that that piece had only hours before been lying alone on the beach under the cold January sky.
Michelle Walton says
Thank you so much for your post! I am visiting Isle of Man this week from America and was wondering if you might share where you found the old pottery pieces? I once bought a piece of old pottery jewelry from a lady in Nova Scotia and have always wanted to find some ever since!
Josie Sewad says
Sea glass searching is EXCITING,a great way to enjoy the beach .
Each piece is a treasure.
Tanya Walton says
Such a wonderful way to spend a day Tanya, and some great discoveries at bits of history too.
Caro (UrbanVegPatch) says
My heart also leapt when I saw the sapphire blue glass – it's a rare colour to find, red is even rarer and only found on the Northumberland coast (or so I've been told) a spin-off from glassworks dumping the less than perfect creations. I've found black glass and lots of bottle tops, all kept in jars around my home to bring back beach combing memories of the Isle of Wight. Were you tempted to pick up the driftwood? It's another of my favourite finds! I love those pendants and can see why you treated yourself – very beautiful – another thing to look out for if I ever get to visit the Isle of Man!
[email protected] says
This post brought back memories from my childhood. I spent hours collecting sea glass when we went on family holidays to the seaside. I had quite the collection, including some red glass which is apparently quite rare. They were the best holiday souvenirs. I live in the US now and not many of the Rhode Island beaches are rocky enough to have good seas glass finds but I look every time we go!
endah murniyati says
Beautiful handycraft
CJ says
Beautiful, she is very talented to make something so lovely. There's a beach near us with lots of sea glass – we pick up a few pieces whenever we visit. I didn't know it could be so old – as usual a very interesting post Tanya. Glad you had such a good day.
kathyinozarks says
that would be so cool to hunt for those-enjoy creating
Dani says
Stunning – and what a feeling of accomplishment Eve must feel on completing a "make-over".
And one of the better recycling projects for glass that I've read :)
Lucky you!
Sunnybrook Farm says
How neat, I saw one piece of ceramic with the red that looks to be red feather edge china from the early 1800s that I have seen at cabin sites in Virginia, maybe from a ship wreck.