Irene Was A Boon To Beach Glass Collectors

The day after Hurricane Irene stormed through the North and South forks, the areas surrounding East End waterways were in chaos—marsh reeds were piled high, and it seemed that everywhere one looked there were pieces of broken docks, wooden stairs torn asunder and lots and lots of driftwood on beach. Along the sound, the beach was smooth and flat, even though the high water mark was up into the dunes.

But all wasn’t completely lost as Irene did leave a few prized gifts in her wake: plentiful stores of beach glass.

Along the shores at Long Beach, the picturesque strip of land between Noyac Bay and Sag Harbor Cove, found objects were plentiful. Beach glass, sometimes called sea glass, was much easier than usual to find. Handfuls of dark green glass, and the more rare glass in dark blue, were located along this popular stretch of sand.

Long Beach is a favorite spot for Sag Harbor residents Al and Sue Daniels. The couple collected a tumblerful of green and pale blue glass after Irene hit, they said. During a recent interview at their home, they said that the collected pieces are something that they, their daughter, Kaitlin, and grandson, Mark, are planning on using for their many projects.

Ms. Daniels and her daughter decorated their mailbox with shells and beach glass last February. Mr. Daniels, a clammer, said he believes that in the past, commercial and

pleasure fisherman dumped all their garbage into the sound, which contributed to the making of beach glass.

“Twenty-five years ago, you could see brown bottles floating on the surface,” he said. His daughter added, “People are more environmentally conscious now. They take the garbage home with them. In the future, there will be less glass to collect.”

Kaitlin works for Blooming Shells in Sag Harbor, a store that carries manufactured sea glass. The shop also sells fish earrings that her father makes out of surf clam shells.

Ms. Daniels, who owns the Rainbow Preschool in Bridgehampton, is currently making a large placard of sea glass in the shape of a fish with decoupage in the background. It will be a present for Al.

Gifts are commonly exchanged within the family. Sue often wears a necklace that her husband made using a perfect rectangular of sea glass.

“It may be the bottom of a medicine bottle,” Mr. Daniels said. “It’s my favorite piece. When I found it last February at the ocean, it was wet, and looked like an ice cube.”

He waxed poetic describing his beach glass collection, and what it takes for the pieces to be formed.

“Think of the time it takes for the ocean to make a piece of glass this smooth. Each piece is one of a kind.”

Mr. Daniels said that he doesn’t throw back glass that has sharp edges, the way some collectors do.

“Because of the safety factor. You don’t want someone to hurt themselves,” he explained.

The best time to look for glass is low tide and after a storm, he said, adding that Irene definitely did not disappoint.

Imke Littman, who lives on Accabonac Harbor in Springs, collects sea glass year-round.

“From Georgica west or from Amagansett to Montauk—my favorite walk—beach glass can be found at low tide, after a storm, or in the winter,” she reported.

The avid collector said she believes that it is among the pebbles, not the shells, that beach glass is most easily found.

“A storm churns the bottom, and brings glass up,” she says.

Large, clear glass pitchers, filled-to-overflowing with dark blue, green, white and brown sea glass, decorate her waterfront home.

In Springs, David Posnett runs Maidstone Gallery, where he fashions high-end jewelry out of precious stones and beach glass. “I decorate my booth with beach glass when I go to arts and crafts shows,” he said, describing how he fills the glass cases holding his precious gem bracelets, rings and necklaces with sand, shells and beach glass. A necklace of pale green sea glass and silver is one of his many intricate creations.

Mr. Posnett’s favorite places in search of glass are near where he lives on Maidstone Park Road and behind Hither Hills, on the Peconic side, he said.

“My wife says I never look at the landscape. I’m always looking at my feet for stones or glass,” Mr. Posnett said.

The idea for beach glass as jewelry came to him a few years ago, he said, when a young couple from the North Fork brought him a piece of beach glass they had found together.

“It had a meaning only they understood,” he said. “They wanted me to make an engagement ring.”