Our Canada, Magazine
(April/May 2008)

CRAFTY CANADIANS
(p.40-41)
Jewels of the Surf and Sand
Polished by the sea and lovingly crafted by hand, beach-glass jewelry has a unique beauty.

Mark and Audrey Hudson of Richibucto-Village, N.B. own and operate Hudson Oddities, where Audrey creates one-of-a-kind jewelry from sea-worn glass found on the beaches of the Nothumberland Strait. Audrey’s been collecting beach glass since the age of five. Now married to Mark and the mother of two wonderful boys, Nicholas and Blake, Audrey’s collection is still growing. About ten years ago, when it topped a million pieces, Mark gave her an ultimatum, saying. “Either get rid of it or do something with it.”

Audrey took up the challenge. She began to research her pieces and became fascinated with the information she gathered, beginning with a piece of glass clearly marked “Javex.” In addition to finding out the company made glass bottles from 1930 to 1960 before switching to plastic jugs, Audrey learned it takes about 40 years for a piece of glass to be thoroughly polished by the workings of the sea and sand. Her appreciation of the mystery each piece had to offer grew.

“Beach glass is a product of both nature and man,” she says, explaining her fascination with those unique ocean gems. “Carelessly discarded bottles and glass are tumbled by the ocean, forming colourful gems that roll in to shore, just waiting to be discovered.”

In 1998, Audrey began a small business painting ceramic pieces, but she soon became dissatisfied working with someone else’s designs. One day, she decided to paint on her pieces of beach-glass—the ocean created the jewel, and she would create the design.

“What a transformation! Something ordinary is able through nature, to capture one’s imagination and then this treasure, in turn, is made into an exquisite piece of jewelry,” she explains.

The first summer the Hudsons tried selling Audrey’s jewelry from their home, they did very well—even without marketing and signage. In 1999, they began the wholesale of their jewelry and it was distributed to stores across Canada.

To compliment the uniqueness of Audrey’s pieces, the pair came up with the idea of using a lighthouse design for display purposes. They originally sent out 75 display lighthouses showcasing Audery’s products and by the end of the second season they had 200 orders. Then the thought occurred to them, If we’re known by a lighthouse, why not build one? In 2002 they started financing, and in spring 2003 they began construction on a custom-built, four-storey Maritime lighthouse on the family property that’s been in the family for five generations. By June they were open to the public and by 2005 were hosting 17,000 to 20,000 visitors a season.

“It’s a family and friends affair,” Audrey says. “My friend Rachel, who I have known since I was 11, works with me, too.”

Hudson Oddities offers workshops, too, and there’s a plan for a coffee shop in the works. The lighthouse also houses a small museum, which the Hudsons intend to expand so Audrey can display her unique history of beach glass. Her oldest piece is 175 years old, and Audrey estimates her collection numbers around four million pieces, with 90 percent coming from the same seven-kilometre stretch of the Northumberland Strait near her home.

Audrey still does all of her own hand painting from her studio on the lighthouse’s second floor, sometimes creating 200 pieces a day. She combines the genuine beach plass—which is not altered in any way—with leather, beads and sterling silver. Each piece is unique and crafted in its original state. Because the more expensive jewelry is rare and precious to Audrey, she’ll only sell to someone she senses has an appreciation of the piece’s true value—and that has little to do with dollars and cents.

Darlene Lawson,
Main River, N.B.