Bonding over sea glass
Nova Scotia family’s hobby turns into Oceanside Gems business
For Felicia Schnare, Oceanside Gems has everything to do with her family. Originally, the Bible Hill, N.S. woman says she set out with the intention of starting a small hobby, but it has grown into so much more than that.
During Covid, Schnare went off work for a short time to help her son with school and to focus on her own mental health. This was when she and her family started hunting for sea glass, which Schnare then turned into a business in 2021 called Oceanside Gems.
Schnare came up with the business name, inspired by the Northumberland Shore where she grew up. Although the main focus of Oceanside Gems is sea glass jewelry, Schnare has expanded into druzy (which is a mass of small crystals) jewelry and resin earrings.
Recently, Schnare has expanded the business further and has started making bath products with her daughter Adelai, which she seems to really enjoy helping her with.
Adelai, says Schnare, was her inspiration for starting the bath product line because she wanted to make a product where she knew exactly what the ingredients were and that they were safe for most skin types.
Oceanside Gems is a family business, explains Schnare.
She, her husband and children all search for sea glass. Schnare then matches the glass to make earrings and drills it to create necklaces. Her daughter then glues the pieces and puts them on the earring cards.
“It's something we all enjoy doing together and gets us outside, bonding as a family,” says Schnare.
The majority of the sea glass they use is from Nova Scotian beaches, predominantly found along the north shore and south shore.
Schnare is originally from Pugwash on the north shore, and her husband is from Blandford on the south shore, so they visit these places frequently and collect beach glass as a family. Then, if she sees a rare colour of sea glass, like something multi-coloured, Schare will sometimes purchase it from another sea glass enthusiast.
To learn how to make the sea glass pendants, Schnare says it took some trial and error with drilling the glass. She watched Youtube videos, and at first, broke a lot of pieces.
“It took a little while to get the right speed, right angle and right pressure of the Dremel tool,” she says.
Schnare considers her business her creative outlet. She says it makes her happy to see others love something that she makes.
“It’s a surreal experience to see a customer wearing a piece of art that we create,” she says.
The most interesting piece Schnare has made thus far is a pirate glass necklace.
Pirate glass, she explains, appears black when you pick it up, often mistaken for a rock, but when you hold it up to a light it is a variety of colours. The ones that Schnare created are different shades of green.
“These were sourced from a small business in Europe that has as much love for sea glass as I do,” she says.
Their most popular items are the sea glass pieces. Sea glass earrings are the most challenging pieces she makes, as they need to be matched to their perfect pair based on size, shape and colour. It takes time, patience and a keen eye to make these.
“Each sea glass piece we make is truly unique and one of a kind,” says Schnare.
When Schnare has a really unique piece of sea glass, she says it tells her what to do. Large, thicker pieces she tries to wrap with wire, which she calls “Wrapped with Love.”
With wire making, you let the sea glass guide the way, she explains.
Sometimes, Schnare takes custom orders. Customers that have a special piece of sea glass that was given to them, or they found themselves, will ask her to create a piece unique for them.
Recently, Schnare collaborated with another small business, Lightsy, to incorporate her jewelry into handpoured soy candles.
“Together, they made the perfect two-in-one gift called mermaid jars,” she says.
In the future, she would like to be able to carve different shapes into sea glass and make them into a necklace. This will entail more Youtube videos and trial and error, which also likely means more broken pieces, she says.
When not collecting sea glass or creating with it, Schnare is a nurse and has a busy family with two children aged 10 and four. Jewelry making is reserved for when the kids are in bed or at school.
To view or purchase anything from Oceanside Gems, find them on Facebook or Instagram. They offer local pick-up and delivery, plus free shipping within Canada. They also are at local markets in the summer or can be found in Totally Local and Wandering Jasmine Gardens in Truro. A limited selection of sea glass jewelry is sold at The Crafty Shore in Tatamagouche as well as at Shallow Waters Wellness Clinic in Pugwash.