well loved children

I was so inspired at the market by a young man who was enthusiastic about my soaps but didn't have much to spend. He later came back with his bother and made two more visits to my table with both his brother and sister, smelling every product and evaluating which their mom would like best and what the scents reminded them of her. She retired and moved to the South Carolina with their dad..., she was a nurse and loved to garden (so the lavender would be good because she loved growing flowers, but then again the soap with the fall leaves will remind her of fall in new England; oh, hey, smell this one... on and on it went)... They spent so much time delighting about how pleased she would be with their gift, and they ended up putting together a small basket of 3 soaps, one chosen by each. I'd love to meet this woman who I don't know, but I do know this... she raised her children with love and in turn is very well loved and appreciated. And even if they're not her perfectly favorite products, she's really going to enjoy her soaps just knowing that her kids were thinking of her and wanted to make her happy. Wow, some customers really make a lasting impression.

 

Sea Glass Soap

After making this sea glass soap for a customer to use to make wedding favors, I started thinking about other ways to incorporate sea glass into my sea-inspired product line. I made sea-glass soap bars and they were very popular at a craft fair on Cape Cod this past weekend.

It's been many years since I was a student at Mass College of Art where I learned so much about glassmaking, and the idea of sea glass brought about a whole host of ideas as well as bringing back childhood memories. I loved glass from the time I was a teenager, and would had covered the inside of my bedroom window with bits of sea glass, pieces of stained glass, and nautical glass balls.

The idea of collecting sea glass is so nostalgic, add to that our attraction of the sea and it's no wonder so many couples have beach-themed weddings. Sea glass soaps are the perfect favor or welcome bag gift for those who share a love for the ocean.

What makes us feel so connected to the ocean?

On a beautiful summer day on the 4th of July, the people that are a part of the landscape at the beach are so diverse, yet it seemed like every person belonged there, as if coming to the beach was an integral part of their lives. Everyone there was so very different, and there for different reasons, yet everyone of them would feel they were missing out on something if they weren't there for the day.

 

I had come to the beach to go windsurfing and had been invited to a 4th of July cookout by someone I hadn't met, so I unpacked my car, rigged up and tried out my new board. There was no tension at all, kids in the water, people out in kayaks, swimmers, and no one intruding on anyone else's pure enjoyment of this perfect day. I was made to feel most welcome by a family that had brought a trailer full of fun, including grills and a feast of middle-eastern food, and kids in tow that were well loved and carefully looked after. Just a beautiful day!

 

For me, I had a wealth of troubles to leave behind when I went to the beach that day, but feeling the sand surround my feet kept me in the moment and by the time my body was surrounded by the warm water, I had nothing to fell except relaxed and refreshed. I think this is what we all have in common, the need to refresh and feel like we belong here, and to completely forget about what time it is until the sun starts to get low in the sky. I had taken my product along to take some pics for my website, and my new friends even loved my soap and I made a few sales and I collected seashells for my craft.

 

The day had its excitement with a rescue of a boy who had gotten too far downwind and wasn't able to get back to the beach in the light wind. His mother pointed him out to me and I quickly realized he was in serious trouble. I directed her to seek the help of the family that had invited me, and indeed, they were extremely skilled at the sport and were able to tow the boy to the shore before he was swept out to sea. The ocean gives as easily as it takes away. I'm certain, though that the experience didn't take away the boy's love of the ocean or the sport of windsurfing. I had a similar experience exactly on the 4th of July in South Boston, and yet, I was there to help on this day two years later.

 

~Jeynaba