Watch all the festival videos:
The North American Sea Glass Association presented the First Virtual North American Sea Glass Festival on August 21–22, 2021, featuring live sales, videos, and more!
Watch video presentations above and visit exhibitor booths below for information about our members and links to online shops. Scroll to the end of the page for speaker bios and more information about their presentations, plus winners and entries in the Photo Contest.
2021 Virtual Festival
Saturday, August 21, 2021
10 am Welcome – Kim Hannon, NASGA President:
11 am Nightlarking in London – Jason Sandy:
11:30 am Live Q&A with Jason Sandy:
Sunday, August 22, 2021
10 am Welcome – Kim Hannon, NASGA President:
11 am A Sea Glass Story – Lisa Hall:
1 pm Sea Glass Lantern Workshop – Mary McCarthy:
3 pm Sea Glass Photo Contest Winners – Kim Hannon, NASGA President:
Sea Glass Photo Contest Entries:
4:45 pm Closing and announcement of the 2022 Festival – Kim Hannon, NASGA President:
Nightlarking in London
Jason Sandy
Saturday, August 21
11 am Eastern
Hailing from London is featured speaker and beachcomber, Jason Sandy, member of the Society of Thames Mudlarks and trustee of the Thames Museum Trust, a charity planning a new museum dedicated to the historically important archaeology of the River Thames.
Jason, an architect by day and mudlark by night, is a well-known speaker and writes feature articles for several magazines including Beachcombing, Treasure Hunting, and The Searcher. He is also co-author of the book Thames Mudlarking: Searching for London’s Lost Treasures.
Let’s travel with Jason as he takes us on a night excursion to the River Thames in the beautifully illuminated city of London.
Live Q&A with Jason Sandy
Excerpt from Jason’s Book Thames Mudlarking: Searching for London’s Lost Treasures
Founded in 43 AD by the Romans, London has been a bustling center of trade for nearly 2,000 years. Flowing through the heart of London is the River Thames, which was once the largest port in the world. When the tide recedes, the longest archeological site in Britain is revealed, and evidence of London’s illustrious history is revealed. Mudlarks who beachcomb along the exposed riverbed have made some incredible discoveries. Each object recovered from the mud reveals a unique story about the people who lived and word along the Thames. Many pieces are perfectly preserved, revealing fascinating backstories about London’s history.
A Sea Glass Story
Lisa Hall
Sunday, August 22
11 am Eastern
Hailing from the coast of northern Maine, former NASGA Board member Lisa Hall will take us on a trip to Maine’s beaches and coastal islands where sea glass, tossed by the sea, wind and waves, is abundant.
Until the late nineteenth century, people who lived on the water thought nothing of throwing garbage onto the beach, while fishermen tossed corked bottles into the water, using the bottles as buoys for lobster traps. Many of the regional pieces found today have historical significance.
As a talented artist who studied Italian Renaissance art history, advanced painting and sculpture, Lisa broadened her interest and studied classical jewelry-making techniques in Florence, Italy, then began designing and producing custom jewelry in 1989. Her simple yet elegant designs allow sea glass to be the focal point of her one-of-a-kind pieces set in softly polished silver and gold bracelets, pendants, earrings and rings. This well-respected artist became a hit almost overnight after Martha Stewart featured Lisa’s work in both her magazine and on her television show. And, as they say, the rest is history. Let’s join Lisa on an adventure of a lifetime.
The Beachcombing Center Tour & Sea Glass Lantern Workshop
Mary McCarthy
Tour and Workshop:
Sunday, August 22
1 pm Eastern
Join NASGA Vice President Mary McCarthy, Executive Director of The Beachcombing Center at the new Beach Bank building for a tour of the new museum and fun craft activity during NASGA’s virtual festival!
Mary will give you a sneak peek of the displays and activities at The Beachcombing Center museum, opening this fall.
Following the tour, join Mary on Sunday as she shows how to make an easy but fun Sea Glass Lantern that will make a great addition to your screened porch or patio area. This will be a fun, relaxing craft where you can chat with other beachcombers while you create a keepsake item that will enable you to light up your finds to enjoy for future evenings at your home! This workshop is free to participate, you’ll just need the supplies.
Photo credit: Jay Fleming
Lantern Project Supplies:
- Decorative Candle Lantern, Hanging or Stationary
(Available in craft supply, home goods stores or online- here is a sample. Tips: try to find one that does not have a lot of separate panels within the glass sections that will be hard to find smaller beach finds to fit).
- Miscellaneous flat beach glass finds (lay them out -without gluing- on one side of the lantern to approximate how many you will need, then multiply by four to get an idea of how many to collect for the project).
- Large tube E6000 clear glue
- toothpicks or wooden skewers/chopsticks
- votive candle
- BYOB!
Sea Glass Photo Contest
Beachcombers from around the world were part of the North American Sea Glass Association’s Virtual Festival — a new twist to keep everyone safe yet lots of fun for all!
Collectors showed off their favorite shards for the world to see, including marbles, pottery, sea and beach glass, whimsical pieces, buttons, and beads.
Winners of the Shard Contest were featured in Beachcombing Magazine!
Our judges placed finds in the North American Sea Glass Association’s traditional Shard Contest categories:
- Overall Beauty (Best of Show)
- Frosted Bottles
- Pottery/Ceramics
- Whimsical/Toys
- Bottle Stopper
- Most Unusual
- Historical
- Art Glass
- Marbles
- Buttons-Beads
- Figural
View the Photo Contest Winners and all the Photo Contest Entries.