Keep the beach close to your heart

In north west Norfolk we are blessed to be surrounded by a stunning coastline and areas of natural beauty; now, a local lady has found a way to capture the charm of the seaside in the form of unique and handcrafted jewellery with her business Beach Finds Designs.

Wendy Williams, a part-time PA, moved to Hunstanton from Oxford eight years ago and lives with her two children and her dog.

Wendy creates the jewellery using sea glass, milk glass and sea pottery, sourced predominantly from Seaham Beach in Durham and Cornwall. These are naturally tumbled by the sea, drilled by hand and made into unique, one-off pieces.

The necklaces are attached to a sterling silver chain with a choice of three lengths with silver plated wrapping.

On how she started the endeavour, Wendy said:

“I’ve always done arts and crafts but about a year ago I started making pieces for myself from bits of sea glass I collected over the years.

“I then made some for my friends and family and then I tried Etsy (an online shop which sells handmade items), a few craft fairs, which all went really well, and there I met a few local businesses who wanted to sell my pieces.”

Wendy crafts all of the jewellery from her house in Hunstanton

Wendy currently sells her jewellery on her online shop and at local businesses Up Jumped the Mackerel at Emma’s Court, Burnham Market and Studio-Line Designs in Wells-next-the-Sea.

Of course, she had to master the intricacies of jewellery making, so Wendy taught herself by watching YouTube videos and reading books on the practice, soon investing in a drill to create bespoke designs.

Wendy predominantly sells necklaces, earrings and bracelets and for craft fairs she creates wall-hangings, sea glass framed pictures and keyrings.

Her aim this year is to try and sell her pieces in more local shops, attend more craft fairs and to expand her website.

You can purchase Beach Finds Design jewellery from their website, at Up Jumped the Mackerel and Studio-Line Designs.

Wendy also creates keyrings with beach-inspired inscriptions