Summer getaways only last a few days, but Holly Daniels Christensen’s Custom Beach Necklaces can keep the memories close to your heart.
Handmade in Massachusetts, Holly fills each pendant with your choice of sand from more than 300 beaches. I asked Holly a few questions about the story behind these pendants.
Q: How do you get all the sand?
A: I started out collecting all of the sand with my best friend, who also has a beach-based business. But then people started sending their own sand from vacations, honeymoons, beach houses, basically anywhere they had a special memory on the beach.
Today Holly has a collection of sand from 300 beaches around the world from Ochheuteal Beach in Cambodia, to Iguana Island in Turks & Caicos, to Cape Cod.
Q: Why did you choose the circle and bar shapes for your pendants?
A: The island pendant which is the one that has a little island of silver in the midst of all the sand, that was inspired by a design I saw on my honeymoon in Italy. Although it’s simple, it is one of my favorites. The sand bar pendant was inspired by my best friend. She actually thought of the name and I loved the play on words.
Q: What’s your favorite beach?
A: Marconi Beach in Wellfleet on the Cape. I used to skip out of work when I was younger and drive down to Marconi to surf, or attempt to… I wasn’t very good. Cape Cod sand is fun to work with because it is all quartz; once it’s set into the jewelry it’s almost translucent.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do at the beach?
A: I’d love to say that I do lots of exciting things at the beach but my honest answer is that it’s the one place where I can really relax. I like to turn off my phone and just read or people watch. That’s not to say I won’t join in on a game of volleyball if the opportunity strikes! I’d be happy doing just about anything at the beach.
Holly, I feel the same way! And I notice you don’t have sand from my favorite beach, Emerald Isle on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. If anyone’s down that way soon, will you send Holly a vial of sand?
We’re in the middle of prime beach season. Here in Brooklyn, Coney Island is hopping. How about you? What’s your favorite beach and why?
Happy July 4th Weekend from all of us at UncommonGoods, and we hope you get to dig your toes into the sand this weekend!
Custom beach necklaces are $130, and custom beach cufflinks are $150 at UncommonGoods.com.
1 Comment
Holly,
Love your necklaces! Any chance of ever making the bar to hold sand from more than one beach? A two or three beach option? My aunt used to travel a lot and there would be more then one place I would like to have for her. Or even smaller square frames that you can pick a couple to have on one necklace. Thanks, Nicole