Sea Glass Festival supports Delmarva artisans

ST. MICHAELS, Md. – People from all walks of life made their way out to the Eastern Shore Sea Glass and Coastal Arts Festival this weekend to support local artisans like Lori Yarbrough who collects sea glass and then turns it into functional art.

Lori said sharing her creations with the public at this festival helps give her a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

“The hunt is what makes it worth while just going on out on the water,” said Yarbrough, the owner of Chicken Point Studio.

“It brings me my peace and it just makes you feel so whole,” said Yarbrough.

Many of the sea glass artisans at this festival said they feel the same way.

“It’s just the naturalness of it and looking for the different colors and being able to tell a story of where that piece came from and what it might have been in its previous life was it a beer bottle, a wine bottle, was it a tail light,” said Jackie Gallagher, the owner of Kurbaga Artisans Owner.

As Jackie said each piece of sea glass comes from things like old beer bottles and wine bottles that rolled around under water for years upon years. No matter the origin, each piece carries a unique story.

“It’s something that was made and thrown into the water and then tumbled and tumbled and tumbled so that it becomes what we consider a gem,” said Yarbrough.

These local artisans said there is a huge community of beachcombers who share their findings online and events like this festival allow them and other local businesses to meet new people while at the same time boosting sales.

“Going to sea glass festivals it’s increasing in popularity and we need more of them because there’s so many people interested in them,” said Denise Troy, owner of Surf Side Sea Glass Jewelry.

“It gets an enormous turn out this show in particular every year,” said Troy.

“The hotels, everybody is busy, the restaurants and the other stores are busy too so it’s great for the whole town and really the whole area,” said Kim Hannon, the founder of the festival.

“Easton is also busy because of the festival,” said Hannon.

Hannon said the Eastern Shore Sea Glass and Coastal Arts Festival received over 6,000 visitors on Saturday alone.