Limited Edition Seaglass Pendants

Introducing genuine seaglass pendants by Szal Design. These beautiful necklaces use pieces of genuine seaglass from the Penobscot Bay region of the coast of Maine. they are mated to a completely safe, lead-free solder, and are hung on the best Italian made Sterling Silver chains.

I decided to take the plunge into seaglass jewelry after constant prodding from various members of my family. We've also collected quite literally barrels of seaglass over the years, growing up on the coast of Maine. That being said, maybe my parents are just trying to unload said barrels on me. Hmm...

Anyway, you'll find a variety of different shapes, textures, colors, wear, and text on my pendants. That's because it's actually real seaglass. I am always skeptical of artists selling "seaglass" because their pieces are always too uniformly shaped, with the same amount and type of wear, and with an unnaturally large proportion of blue glass, with is rare. Anybody with a tumbling machine can make something like seaglass, but the real thing can be picked out by it's uneven wear, imperfections, and occasional textures. Of course there are always exceptions, but I'd take a closer look the next time you see someone selling seaglass jewelry.

The Szal Design pendants have just launched for the season, and will be up on Etsy in Mid-December. They will first be on sale at the Church of Redeemer Christmas Market, in Chestnut Hill, MA, November 30 - December 1, and the SOWA Holiday Market in Boston, December 8-9. 

Ahalife!

I'm excited to announce that my bullseyes are being featured on Ahalife today!

AHAlife is an online discovery destination that brings you the most unique, luxurious and hard-to-find products from every corner of the world – spanning fashion, accessories, beauty, food, home decor, travel and tech. Each item is selected by their global network of influential tastemakers.

Check out the feature here.

From their description:

Catch the sun with one of these mouth-blown glass bullseyes. Perfect for hanging in a window or on the wall, they add a subtle wash of color wherever you choose to place them. Though all are round, with a flat back and slightly convex front, no two are exactly alike, with slight variations in color and pattern.

Art Glass Miniatures - Bullseye

These mouth-blown glass bullseyes are another aspect of Szal Design's Art Glass Miniatures. Since the glass is made by hand, the diameter varies from between 3 and 3-1/4 inches. The edge of the glass is smooth, since the lip of the glass is folded over on the back by about 1/8 inch. The back is fairly flat, while the front gets thicker at the middle and has a glass "stump" of varied shape where the bullseye was broken off the blow pipe. Since each bullseye is made by hand, each is different, but the color and feel of the piece remains the same. There are 12 different colors, and each bullseye comes with a five and one-half inch hanging loop, through a drilled hole at the edge of the bullseye. When compared to the randomly designed miniatures, these are opposite in nature— simple and elegant.

Salvaged glass Miniatures

The pieces above are 6 of the hundreds of these art glass miniatures that I have made. Over the years as a glass artist, I have been saving thousands of pieces of glass, all scraps from my projects. Until I started making these, I had no idea what to do with them, and the thought of discarding (recycling) them did not appeal to me. I guess that's the frugal side of me coming out, but I never could bring myself to take these out of my workshop. I had many boxes full of scraps and no plan to use them.


That changed when my wife an I were planning our wedding. Being very budget conscious we were trying our best to allocate our monetary resources in the most efficient way for our wedding, which meant that we probably wouldn't be doing much of anything for favors for our guests. Then my wife planted the idea of making a favor by using my boxes of scrap glass. I could use my stock of solder and other materials to make them, making it an affordable option for our wedding. So that's exactly what we did, and all our guests loved them! They compared and traded them, and became a conversation piece and brought our guests together. My wife and I decided then that they should be shared, and they are now a permanent part of the Szal Design Miniatures.


Each of these leaded glass ornaments is unique. They are made from small scraps of different types, textures and colors of glass. Some pieces may have a color theme (such as mostly blue & purple, for instance), but they are not created with any type of color or design in mind. Each piece is small, with between 3 and 7 pieces each (5 pieces on average), and each varies in size but with maximum dimensions under 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches.Their design is dependent on the glass scraps I have on hand, and my state of mind when I'm making them. I have no preconceived notion of what they will look like. My goal is to create a stimulating composition of glass. Some items may suggest a certain design, such as a figure or animal, but in my experience different people see different things in these pieces, which is the exciting thing about them. 


I hope you're excited by these as much as I am. It feels great to be creating wonderful and interesting art by using every scrap of glass that could so easily be thrown away. I am happy to make just one piece for you or make 100+ pieces. Please visit my Etsy Store for current pricing, and please contact me with any and all questions. Bulk pricing is available.