Upcycling Ocean Plastics

 The beaches on our island are often littered with plastics. We feel obligated and inspired to do something about it - even if it is something small, which for us has become regular outings to the beach for cleanups. Sometimes they are short, other times long and daunting, but now each time we go to the beach - even if just for some fun & sun - we come out with plastics.

We also like to collect “mermaid treasure" - bits of sea glass, coral, shells, small rocks polished and weathered by the waves. Sometimes on our cleanups, we come across a fragment of ocean plastic that has a strange and similar beauty (ironically). We separate these treasures - and later sort them at our studio by size, shape, likeness, and color. Inspired by the raw beauty and texture of each unique ocean fragment, we ponder the distance each has travelled and the time it took for the natural elements to mold them. We carefully wash each piece by hand with soap and an old brush, finally laying them out to dry in the sun.

 
 Our jewelry is then made by hand in our home studio, combining ocean fragments with 24k gold vermeil and recycled sterling silver (supplied by an ethical metalsmith in Rajasthan). We create with love and hope that our jewelry will become a token for those who wear it - a reminder to mind our impact, to treasure our planet.