Sea Glass Swap

Sharlene Roberts dreams of collecting sea glass from all around the world. Her sea glass passion began as a very young girl, when her aunt and uncle had a bungalow "down the shore." For the price of being well behaved and helping her aunt with her dog, Sharlene was allowed to pick one piece of sea glass from a bottle on the windowsill of the bungalow.

“Needless to say, that dog of hers went for a lot of walks and was fed very well!” says Sharlene, who re-discovered sea glass as an adult when her boyfriend took her to the beach he’d frequented as a child.

To supplement her own collection, especially during the summer months when the beaches are crowded and picked-over, Sharlene began a Sea Glass Swap, trading glass with people from around the world. Aside from the great glass she’s shared and received, Sharlene says she’s met some genuinely caring and generous people from dozens of states in the US and from around the globe—Ireland; Scotland; South Australia; UK including Lancashire, Isle of Wight, Kent and Seaham; Canada including Toronto, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario.

Sharlene is still on the hunt for her first bottle stopper find and says her wish list also includes pinks and peaches and heart shapes.

Interested in swapping with Sharlene and her group? Find more info at the Facebook pages, Seaglasslovers, and International Seaglass Society, where she posts the swap dates and details.

This article appeared in the Glassing Magazine March/April 2018 issue.