She began making jewelry as a hobby when she quit work to stay home with her kids. On a whim five years ago, she put a piece on eBay. It sold. So did additional pieces she offered on-line. She developed her own Web site, www.westcoastseaglass.net, and now sells on-line to high-end artists and collectors around the world, both in bulk and individual pieces. She sells her own jewelry in galleries, museums and shops around the country. You will also find her selling at festivals in her “beach in a booth,” and talking to curious shoppers about the origin and history of seaglass.
Novices are fascinated by “Vaseline glass,” glass not made since the 1930’s when uranium was added to glass to create a yellowish color. There are many surprising glass additives, including arsenic and gold, but Vaseline glass has the distinction of being the one that glows green in black light.
“The business has exploded in the past few months,” Beuke says. “If it continues at this rate, my husband may want to quit his job and join me in the business.” The work has become fulltime, and she already needs occasional paid help. She has glass hunters who scour beaches in California and Alaska, selling their finds exclusively to her. She personally prowls beaches almost daily for glass, and sometimes a long day at the right location can result in 60 pounds of marketable glass shards. The “right” location means one of her top-secret beaches, maybe blessed by the right currents, or near an old dumpsite. “A good seaglass beach,” she says, “is protected by collectors like a good fishing hole is guarded by a fisherman.” One of her special places requires a four-hour one-way trip on foot and by kayak. It takes at least three decades for a broken piece of garbage glass to become a beautiful wave-polished jewel.
As a former church youth minister, Beuke is quick to note the spiritual metaphor in seaglass, “A piece, once broken, discarded, and unwanted can become smooth again, renewed as a colorful treasure...” Visit www.westcoastseaglass.net for a visual treat. You can also find her beautiful jewelry at the Made in WA Stores.
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