Custom Spotlight: 2024 Roundup

Custom commissions have been a strong part of my work ever since the beginning, when clients would ask me to create simple, elegant settings for a special piece of sea glass they’d discovered on the beach. As my work has deepened and evolved, the requests have become more intricate and challenging - and rewarding!

Here are some of my favorite custom commissions from 2024; both the final piece as well as the story that inspired them. I hope they inspire you, too!

Starting things off with my absolute favorite commissions of the year… from my very own, wonderful parents! They were kind enough to stop in at the Kingman mine in Arizona on a road trip to check out some turquoise for me, and these cabochons caught my dad’s eye. I knew he wanted something special, and knowing my parents’ love for the Southwest, I created these incredible statement rings. Heavy, castellated bezels, hand-stamped accents, and meaningful lyrics hidden inside the bands… and two of the most special people to me, wearing something so special to them.

I met the sweetest couple at the Santa Barbara Sea Glass Festival, who came to me with a beautiful collection of operculums the husband had carefully collected on his beach walks. He wanted to commission a jewelry set for his wife, so we discussed design details and settled on elegant simplicity: clean silver bezels with understated details to let the natural beauty of the shells take center stage.

Another in-person meeting at the Sea Glass Festival introduced me to a mother-daughter duo. The daughter, an avid beachcomber, was thrilled to find an incredible piece of green sea pottery on the beach… and when she reached the far end, was shocked to find a coordinating shard! She knew in that moment they needed to be a set of cuff bracelets. She fell in love with the dainty seashell accents on my Low Tide cuffs, so we added some beachy accents, subtle texturing, and voila! Incredible beach finds transformed to wearable art.

This one might win the gold for “BEST IN SHOW”… an absolutely show-stopping red glass bead, beachcombed by my lovely client who wanted to make a big statement to celebrate her find. She loved my wraparound kelp design, so I custom-crafted a setting around her beautiful glass. I don’t know about you, but I was SMITTEN with how this one came out!

Some honorable mentions! From left to right, a blue whale with sea glass, to commemorate my client’s experience seeing blue whales in the wild on an ocean excursion. // A handful of kelp studies, which were born from a client’s dream to propose to his girlfriend with a custom kelp ring. // A humpback whale dancing with kelp; a variation of my previous gray whale necklaces.

All my custom and made to order work is crafted by hand with so much salt and heart. I love the honor of being entrusted with your vision, your treasures, and your memories, and the opportunity to make something beautiful for you to cherish for years to come.

Do you have a special beach find you want to transform into jewelry? Was there an amazing experience you want to immortalize as art for a constant reminder of that awe and wonder? Maybe there’s a special species that speaks to you, whether a grand whale or an unassuming urchin, that you’d love to keep close at hand? Check out my customs commissions page, or book a spot in my queue for your own Low Tide Landing treasure!