behind the bench!

hello!! i’m emma and i’m the one who makes your pieces.

i’ve been all-time coast lover, so i made the move to a small coastal town after graduating from university. between work, i’d spend my mornings and evenings admiring this little slice of coast and told myself that i’d never ever leave. this is where i fell in love with seaglass. i’d collect it and store it in jars, telling myself that i’d get back to my love of working with precious metals and encase selected pieces of my overflowing collection in silver to be worn.

this wasn’t my first encounter with silversmithing. i’d actually been lucky enough to delve into metal technology in high school. i absolutely loved working with a range of metals and the versatility of them.

pairing this past love for metal work and my growing seaglass collection, i began dipping into old skills and teaching myself new ones through hours and HOURS of youtube videos, forums and messaging a range of jewellers on instagram. 

then came the trial and error. i started on hard-mode and taught myself how to solder bezel cups and set seaglass. the first ring i made was for a very patient friend, cassidy. since then, i see my jewellery almost everyday, worn lovingly by friends and people in my small town. im grateful that this lil creative hobby has turned into my absolute passion. i’ve never enjoyed anything more than working with sterling silver. 

i can’t wait to see what’s in store for saltydrifts!! (on a side note: i looovee a challenge. so if you’ve got a custom piece in mind, send me a message and let’s bring it to life). 

em <3

what is seaglass? 

seaglass is a type of weathered, frosted glass found on beaches along oceans, seas, and sometimes large lakes. it begins as broken pieces of glass from bottles, jars, windows, or other glass objects that have ended up in the water. over time, the action of waves, sand, and saltwater smooths and frosts the glass, giving it a unique, soft appearance and texture.

seaglass comes in various colours, with common colours being dark green, brown, and white (often from old beer, wine, or soda bottles), while rarer colours like yellow, blue, red, and purple are highly sought after!

some view seaglass as a symbol of transformation, as it represents the way discarded materials can be naturally refined into something beautiful. it also reflects an era of human history when waste disposal was less controlled, yet it highlights the resilience of nature to repurpose what we dispose of.