Remembering Old Nag's Head

By Deb Weissler

My family has vacationed on North Carolina's Outer Banks for nearly four decades and much has changed over the years. More cottage visitors, and traffic, and several of our favorite stops—gift shops, shell museums, and art galleries -have closed over the years as owners retired or passed away. We've mourned each closing especially when those older buildings are bulldozed to make way for the new, A familiar refrain when we all get together at the beach now is, "Do you remember when...?"

To honor these places, I created a 1:12 scale oceanfront roombox designed and constructed by the team of Jon Fish and Larry Oeborn, a.k.a The Guys From Texas. Hie single space is divided by a large stone fireplace. A backdrop of sea oats overlooking the "beach is partially obscured by a salt-sprayed window.

So what do dollhouse miniatures have to do with beachcombing? Miniaturists are creators of tiny realms. For many, the desire to collect tiny things becomes an obsession and we often choose themes of places we've loved. This took two years to complete and is a family postcard of bygone days. Despite all the changes, the ocean's Jure remains the same.

Details: Reduced prints of watercolors with permission of full-size beach glass watercolors by Maine artist Mimi Carpenter. The blue dresser by Sir Thomas Thumb holds carved shorebirds by Dugar Brooks Decoys and ship models bought on-line. The table under the window displays whelk and murex shells; a sandcastle candle; a glass jar filled with real beach glass; a sea star and a fragile angel wing. On the lower shelf a wooden bread bowl holds a collection of hand blown glass floats by Ron Stetkewicz. A real shark jaw, the Cape Hatteras Light snipped from a business card and framed and two mini surfboards made by Jeff Mathis. Bottom right: The window sill displays glass bottles, sea stars and shark teeth found along the Rappahannock River. A small table holds real coral, sand dollars, an abalone shell, and sea urchin shells.

This article appeared in the Beachcombing Magazine May/June 2020 issue.

Check out these other fun ways to organize, store, and show off your beachcombing collection.