Friday, October 17, 2008

The North American Sea Glass Festival

Sea glass festivalThe Perfect Storm
Photos courtesy of The Sea Glass Journal

The North American Sea Glass Association just held it's 3rd annual North American Sea Glass Festival last weekend ( October 11th & 12th ) in Lewes, Delaware and I am still very much living in the echo of that magical weekend.

The sea glass festival was incredible I mean I kinda had an experience!!!!! I never do shows they aren't for me but the sea glass festival from here on in is the exception. I never got to a lecture other than my own. I wanted to meet everyone and check out all the beautiful jewelry but I was caught in the giant swells of sea glass lovers who made the pilgrimage to Lewes, Delaware. Yep, I am feeling like I witnessed history and this years sea glass festival is now the stuff of legend.

I was only able to attend on Sunday as I had a previous engagement in Maryland the day before. When my husband and I arrived early Sunday morning we were greeted by fellow exhibitors who had been riding the giant waves caused by what seemed to have been a perfect storm. They were trying to prepare themselves and us for what would happen when the doors opened. The gorgeous weather, the East Coast location ( a hot bed of beachcombers ) and the increasing enthusiasm for sea glass brought just about every sea glass lover on the planet to Lewes, Delaware.

The instant the doors opened I became so busy at my booth that I barely got a chance to see any of the other vendors exhibits or visit with anyone. I was told that Saturday was even busier and I could not imagine what that was like. I gave a lecture on the sea glass of Puerto Rico and I really hope those that attended got as much out of it as I did. I had a wonderful audience of people who made my lecture into a very fun experience.

My booth was next to that of the The Sea Glass Journal and things were so busy all day that it was not until the close of the festival that I saw how beautiful their exhibit was. As I admired their display I experienced a sense of shock that I was just then registering it for the first time. The picture below is of their booth.

Sea glass festivalFrom what I was told the attendance far exceeded the organizers expectations as there were at least twice the amount of people this year than there were last year. The organizers did a fantastic job. The festival is still in it's infancy and everyone realizes that The North American Sea Glass Festival will demand a larger venue next year.

As a sea glass jeweler I felt proud to be in the company of so many talented and creative people. I already can't wait for next year.

The photo below is of sea glass that was entered into The Shard Of The Year Contest

Sea glass festival














To see a complete slide show of The North American Sea Glass Festival please visit the website of The Sea Glass Journal which is an online magazine about sea glass



6 comments:

  1. Lisl--
    Couldn't agree more--it was a fantastic event. I hope I get to next years's too. Sorry I never got to meet you--we were only there on Saturday. I wish I got to your lecture--we're heading to P.R. in January.

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  2. Hi Lisl--just for fun--Tag, you're it. Stop by my Blog for details.!
    Dianne

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  3. Hi Lisl,
    After reading that you had attended the festival here at the Virden Center and presented, I kept wondering if we had met. Now that I have read your blog post here about the sea glass festival, I know exactly who you are. You're the nice lady that I let in the back door short-cut to the Schooner Room to get to your booth!! Jay T (from Sea Glass Artists)

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  4. Amazing! Wish I could have gone to this...would have been fun "beachcombing" at the event... Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  5. Wow, a shard of the year contest - that is
    too cool!

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  6. I left something on my blog for you. Check it out!

    ReplyDelete