ISGA is a non-profit organiz is a non-profit organization positively supporting sea and beach glass collectors and the beachcombing community through festivals, information, educational opportunities, membership, and more.
Every year the North American Sea Glass Association holds it’s annual North American Sea Glass Festival, and every year, the festival donates to a few local charitable organizations that focus on environmental concerns, shoreline protection and clean-ups, all which are also part of the NASGA mission.
This year, the NASGA Sea Glass Festival will be held September 27 and 28th at the Cape May Convention Hall in Cape May, New Jersey. So, in keeping with past traditions, the NASGA Board of Directors wanted to make sure the donations would stay in New Jersey, to help local environmental efforts. The Board of Directors voted on two organizations, this blog entry will introduce one of those charitable organizations, New Jersey based, Clean Ocean Action. Clean Ocean Action is a leading national and regional voice working to protect waterways using science, law, research, education, and citizen action. According to the Clean Ocean Action mission statement, they will identify the sources of pollution and mount an attack on each source by using research, public education, and citizen action to convince our public officials to enact, and enforce laws, which will clean up and protect our ocean.
Below is information that can be found on their website, which includes their successful campaigns.
· Improve programs and laws that protect public health at swimming beaches.
· Reduce plastics and litter that pollute waterways, spoil beautiful beaches, and harm or kill marine life including turtles, whales, seals, birds, and fish.
· Protect coasts from oil and gas drilling in the ocean, including Maine to Florida.
· Establish the nation’s first Clean Ocean Zone to start a national chain reaction for all coasts.
· Reduce toxins in waterways to ensure fish and shellfish are free of pollution and safe to eat.
Clean Ocean Action’s Beach Sweep campaign, focusing on volunteerism and cleaning our shorelines
Clean Ocean Action (COA) is a broad-based coalition of 125 active boating, business, community, conservation, diving, environmental, fishing, religious, service, student, surfing, and women’s groups. The ongoing campaigns, Waves of Action and Beach Sweeps, promote volunteerism focusing on beach clean-ups and eco-conservation projects.
To find out about their current campaigns, including signing a petition to stop underwater ocean blasting off New Jersey shorelines, or to help with their Beach Sweeps and Waves of Action campaigns, please visit their website. Clean Ocean Action is a 501(c)3 tax exempt nonprofit organization.
Last week during the monthly NASGA Executive Board meeting, we discussed the news about NASGA founding board member and past President, Mary Beth Beuke, and her recent cancer recurrence. It was brought up in hopes that the NASGA community could help in some way.
Mary Beth was instrumental in the formation of NASGA and worked hard to expand the organization and festivals to what they are today! Mary Beth and a few others, including Richard LaMotte, NASGA’s current President, began contributing to the content and creation of the NASGA website, with a commitment to the collecting public, to sea glass education, and to helping differentiate artificial from genuine sea glass. A NASGA mission statement was written, a code of ethics established, and the beginnings of getting the first annual national sea glass festival off the ground began. The NASGA organization became structured, and it was Mary Beth, whom became the first NASGA President. The organization continued to expanded rapidly to help raise awareness about the value of sea glass.
The current NASGA Board heard of Mary Beth’s recurrence, and wanted to help in some way, and it was unanimously determined that an email would be sent to all NASGA NING members, information posted on the NASGA Facebook page, and also a blog would be written about Mary Beth, in hopes that support would follow.
Many of you may or may not know Mary Beth personally, but all of us can share in her cancer fight! We are certain that everyone who receives this email knows someone that has been effected by cancer, and can appreciate the need for extra support, love and encouragement.
If you would like to find out more information on Mary Beth and her cancer fight, please visit her GoFundMe page and also her updates through the CareBridge website.
A recent article in the Peninsula Daily News was published about Mary Beth’s fight, to find out more, please visit the website link, Peninsula Daily News article on Mary Beth.
“Last week the doctors found a recurrence of Mary Beth’s colon cancer; another tumor. They’ve told her that the cancer is aggressive and the tumor’s locale involves other key organs (bladder, pelvis etc.) Her case has been moved to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The next five months will involve 6-8 weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy in Seattle (w/weekends off). The doctors are hoping to shrink the tumor. Then she’ll have surgery in Seattle and about an 8 week recovery after that. Please check her CaringBridge site for updates. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marybethbeuke
If you have just accidentally bumped into this site, here’s a little info to help you know who Mary Beth is.
Mary Beth Beuke is a dedicated single mother to her three children; Elise and twins, Blaise and Emma. Even during the midst of last year’s chemo, she attended as many of her children’s athletic, musical and scholastic events as possible. She’s an accomplished photographer, sea glass expert, artisan and owner of West Coast Sea Glass http://westcoastseaglass.com/ . In fact, she just recently published a beautiful book full of information and breathtaking photograghs of sea glass. I have no idea how she finds the time to do all this because Mary Beth, a devoted Christian and retired Youth Minister also currently volunteers as the Director of Women’s Ministries at Sequim Community Church. That, my friends, is a whole lotta hats to wear.
Mary Beth is a woman with many talents and many friends. Let’s help her by removing the looming burden of medical bills from her mind so she can focus on her family and future health.”
Let’s show Mary Beth some NASGA support, and “Love Us Some Mary Beth”…
Thank you!
Red heart sea glass specimen found by Lynn Vigue of Connecticut
Every sea glass collector seeks their “Holy Grail” of sea glass. For many it’s finding a multi-colored frosted marble, to others it’s finding a perfectly shaped heart, of any color, but to find a red shaped heart? Amazing!
Lynn Vigue of Connecticut did just that!
We saw this photo of Lynn’s special red heart sea glass treasure and wanted to know more about her special find, and in her own words she answered some of our questions.
1. When did you start collecting sea glass and where did you get the “bug”?
I started collecting sea glass in autumn, 2008. I had retired in 2006, so it was the perfect time to discover sea glass! The ironic thing is that, a year or so earlier, I had decided to visit a Maine island, and was told that Monhegan was the best, if you could only visit one. There were two little girls selling sea glass on the island for 10 cents a shard that day, and I took a picture of them. I looked at the glass and couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to buy it! Anyway… My mom (who lives in Maine) had a friend whose daughter was born the same day and year as I, and so the friend wanted me to meet her. We took a trip to the Maine coast, where the friend lived, and I discovered she was an avid sea glass collector. She had several containers on display in her home, and they all looked so attractive! She offered to take me to her beach, where I found about five small pieces. I was hooked! I live in Connecticut, so I decided to get to the CT coast as soon as I returned home. I went to perhaps CT’s most popular beach, and I spent about three hours combing the beach there. I found about three very rough pieces, but I wasn’t about to give up! I decided that the best place to find glass would probably be near large coastal cities, so that’s where I looked next. It was a bonanza! Lots of sea glass. I have learned over the years NOT to pick up every piece that isn’t sharp. I still find lots of glass on my favorite beaches, though it seems to have diminished in the five years I’ve been hunting it.
2. Where did you find the red heart piece? What do you think it was in it’s first life?
I found the red heart on a beach near Bridgeport, CT. I have found four or five gems of different types on this beach (blue, emerald, and round red), and a friend found another when we were hunting together. When I found the emerald, I wondered if it was real…but I was told by another collector that precious gems don’t frost like glass does, so I figure that all the little gems I’ve found there are glass rather than precious stones. So, my guess is that this was a faux gem of some type. I don’t know if it would have been used for jewelry or perhaps on a jeweled piece of clothing. I keep thinking “sweater,” because I remember that jeweled sweaters were popular when I was young. The pic actually shows what I believe is the backside…the side that would have been glued to the bezel. The other side is more faceted, like a gem. It sits better this way for a photo, though!
3. What did you do when you found it?
I remember the day I found it…I was on my way to Maine to visit my mom, but low tide was early that day, so I went to the beach first (even though it was 30 miles in the OPPOSITE direction from Maine!). I, of course, was delighted when I found the heart, and couldn’t believe my good fortune, as I had ALMOST quit a few minutes before. But I decided to go a little further up the beach, in an area where I usually didn’t find much sea glass. The first thing I did when I arrived in Maine was pull the little heart out to show my mom and her friend, who was visiting. To be honest, they didn’t seem that impressed! It is quite tiny, of course, and they probably didn’t appreciate what a truly rare find it was!
4. What do you plan on doing with it?
I keep this little heart in a seashell on display with other tiny treasures. I love beachcombing in any season…it never fails to lift my spirits! A treasure hunt in a beautiful setting that is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than inland…what could be better?! And, it’s an inexpensive way to decorate your home in a unique way! I now have a room filled with my favorite sea glass finds, plus several suncatchers and other things I’ve made with my glass.
So, now we ask you, What has been your favorite sea glass find?
The Sea Glass Center, a traveling sea glass museum
The Sea Glass Center, a traveling sea glass museum, is taking the love of sea glass on the road, and they need your help! The Sea Glass Center has started a KickStarter campaign to jump start their fundraising to make their idea become a reality. This will be the first of its kind and NASGA is behind the idea of a traveling sea glass museum. We decided to ask the creators of The Sea Glass Center a few questions to learn a bit more about their idea, fundraising and future.
The Sea Glass Center, NASGA Blog interview via email danielle@theseaglasscenter.org and katherineshine@gmail.com
1.Can you tell us about your ideal reader for this blog article?
It is our hope that this blog would be read by everyone who has an interest in sea glass, from the occasional beachcomber to the professional who makes a living doing something related to sea glass.
Red bottle Before and After, Photo credit Michael Wilson
Danielle Perreault and Aimee Thorman, sisters and co-founders of The Sea Glass Center have been picking up glass since they were little girls. As adults, they both make livings running businesses they own related to sea glass. Over the years they have observed that not only is there a growing number sea glassers out there combing the beaches, but there is less old and rare sea glass to be found. Even so, there isn’t a day that goes by in Danielle’s shop that a customer doesn’t come in and asks what sea glass is. Being so very curious themselves, Danielle and Aimee are always researching their own finds to uncover the mystery and the history of each piece. After many trips to the NASGA sea glass festivals over the years and seeing all the treasured pieces, they had this idea to create a permanent collection, owned by the public, and put on display for the whole world to enjoy in their home town.
Antique gun handle piece, Photo credit Michael Wilson
3.What do you want your potential donors for The Sea Glass Center KickStarter campaign to know?
We started this venture as a nonprofit because it is our hope and dream to leave a legacy behind for future generations; a legacy of education and preservation – documenting the history of our favorite pastime. It is not our goal to travel the world at the expense of the public and amass this collection ourselves. Rather, we want this to be a community of kindred spirits each giving a small piece of their treasure to this public collection for everyone to see, learn about, and explore. By making this a nonprofit, the sea glass donated will forever remain in the hands of a nonprofit and not part of a private collection.
Bottle and sea glass pieces, Photo credit Michael Wilson
4. What are three implications if your KickStarter campaign does not reach its goal? What would be the next step for The Sea Glass Center?
We have a pretty lofty goal of $60,000. The average museum exhibit costs $250 a square foot to build so that it will withstand all the rigors of traveling from place to place. We are talking about needing close to $750,000 to complete this project and do it on the grand scale that we have imagined. We are not waiting to see how we do on Kickstarter to trigger next steps. We are taking those steps now. Aimee has a very successful background as a professional grant writer and she is seeking out grants from private foundations and federal agencies now and applying for the funds that are out there. Senator Collins, from Maine, where The Sea Glass Center is based, works hard to help nonprofits in Maine to find and successfully apply for grants, and we are taking advantage of this. We are working hard to partner with museums and corporate sponsors. We will have a presence at many events here in the United States that are focused on sea glass so that we can get the word out and garner support. Whether or not Kickstarter is successful will not hinder our business plan. We are here to stay and will see our dream come to life.
Green bottle Before and After, Photo credit by Michael Wilson
5. Can you describe The Sea Glass Center as if I knew nothing about it or the market?
The Sea Glass Center is a nonprofit organization that exists to preserve and present the historical, artistic and cultural significance of sea glass through education. Our mission is to educate the world about all aspects of sea glass and to preserve a world-class collection for the public to explore and enjoy. We are embarking on a journey of collecting, cataloging and preserving some of the most beautiful and unexpected treasures that have washed up on shores of oceans, lakes and rivers, all over the world! We will create a world class traveling exhibit that explores and presents the world of sea glass and all its beauty, history and wonder! This exhibit will be available to all museums, science centers, aquariums and other educational outlets so everyone can learn about this wonderful part of history!
Pipe, Photo credit Michael Wilson
6.What do you feel is the single most important takeaway from this interview?
We are humbled by the love and support that this community has shown us. We are so very thankful for the opportunity to share our mission with you and your readers. This project will create demand in the marketplace by raising awareness on a national level, which will grow the consumer base of people who want to know more about sea glass and its historical significance.
Sea Glass Museum- Kickstarter
7.What action do you want the reader to take?
We ask that your readers will take the time to check out our project on Kickstarter and make a pledge. If everyone who loves sea glass gives one dollar and one special piece, it would surpass our wildest dreams. We are going to give this everything we have! Help us make this dream a reality!
UPDATE: March 3, 2014. There are 8 days left of the the KickStarter Campaign. They have plans to continue forward on starting The Sea Glass Center. With the help of you, the sea glass collector, they will succeed. Check out this very special letter received from the former First Lady Barbara Bush.
You know the quote from Casablanca, “Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”? Well, it seems a fitting statement for the start of the first North American Sea Glass Association (NASGA) blog. We do hope it’s the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship with you, the sea glass enthusiast. The blog will follow the direction of the NASGA mission (see below), and be an extension of the NASGA website and NING, the NASGA social media site. The mission for this blog is to teach, engage and excite.
The NASGA blog will be a place to learn about sea glass history, sea glass collecting all around the world, and, of course, beautiful sea glass stories and photos. Periodically, there will be guest bloggers, whom are commercial members of NASGA, telling their unique stories of collecting.
This blog is here for you, so if you want to know more about something, let us know, you might just give us a wonderful new blog idea! Send us an email nasgaseaglassblog@gmail.com
The NASGA Mission:
Educate the collector, consumer and retailer as to the properties and benefits of genuine, pure, natural beach sea glass.
Maintain the value of genuine beach sea glass, through education.
Provide a forum and knowledge base for sea glass enthusiasts to communicate with other individuals who share their passion for genuine beach sea glass.
Publish a biannual newsletter for our retail, and artisan members as well as the community of sea glass enthusiasts.
Sponsor sea glass festivals that will benefit both sea glass collectors, retailers, and artisans.
Establish a standard by which to grade and appraise sea glass.
Assist the work of protecting and restoring waterways and coastlines around the world, by mobilizing members, making donations and educating the public.
Commercial Members agree that they will leave sea glass in its natural state and not create imitation sea glass; meaning that their pieces are not altered by acid etching, sand blasting or tumbling.
