There’s a simple joy to walking Western New York beaches, because you never know what you might find. Anyone who has spent time beachcombing here knows that Lake Erie is often kind enough to share its treasures.
Collecting beach glass, also known as washed glass, is a favorite activity for many residents. The original up-cycler, the lake can take a foreign entity and, with the help of rocks, sand and surf, tumble and polish it into something brilliant.
Searching for beach glass is one of those activities that just happens naturally. The thrill is in the hunt, which often turns into a competition with my family of six. I’ve seen this countless times with our kids as we’ve walked beaches from Hamburg to Westfield.
Lost in the lake for untold years, each little jewel that washes ashore has a mysterious origin. That’s intriguing, and not just to me.
Rosemary and Brandon of Teal Fish Studios search for beach glass on the shore of Lake Erie.
Consider Brandon and Rosemary of Teal Fish Studio, two Buffalo-based artists who appreciate searching for beauty. Whether on Woodlawn or Presque Isle, they spend countless hours scouring beaches for the best pieces of glass.
One of Rosemary's beach glass creations.
“You’re finding treasures that nature left for you,” Rosemary says. “They’re historic, these little trinkets you find. It’s constant discovery.”
In December 2023, they were invited to participate at the Village of Kenmore’s Stop Sip & Shop holiday event. While both are illustrators, the pair wanted to create something three-dimensional. So, they took the beach glass they had found and began designing holiday ornaments.
Rosemary started creating paintings with characters made from beach glass on mini canvases. Soon, people began asking for shadowboxes and jewelry. That’s when Brandon reached for a drill, transforming the glass into earrings and necklaces. Now, their art and jewelry is available via TealFishStudio.com and at seasonal markets.
Beach glass jewelry by Teal Fish Studios.
The most common colors to find tend to be green, brown and clear, since those are often used for bottles. According to Rosemary, more exotic colors like orange and dark blue come from lamps, decorative glass and marine lights.
The uncommon colors—such as light blue, pink, light purple and yellow—are like the highly rare “chase cards” that trading card collectors hope for in mystery packs. Every day, all these colors and more wash up on area beaches.
My family has learned that a lot of the best glass is found in dry sand, further away from the shore than you might think. The triplets have knocked each other over to find Lake Erie’s smooth, shiny little rubies: red sea glass, which is said to originate from buoy lights. For us, that’s the big prize. To find red takes a trained eye, just the right setting and luck.
But even more surprising colors are out there. “Probably the rarest kinds we’ve found are gray, black and multi-color,” says Brandon. He noted that it’s easy to miss gray and black beach glass since it resembles rocks.
And Rosemary told me something unexpected. “If you leave white glass in the sun, some pieces will turn pink or purple.”
Anyone working with beach glass requires a steady supply of materials. Rosemary and Brandon like to search in the morning or at night when beaches are quieter. Rosemary said one of the best times to look is after a storm, as heavy rain pushes glass to the surface of the shallowest Great Lake.
“It’s nice to escape the everyday and hear the waves crashing,” Brandon adds. “You have time to focus solely on what you’re doing.”
The fascinating thing about beach glass is that each piece came from somewhere—but where and when? It could be from a bottle that plunged into the lake generations ago.
“It’s exciting when you find a cool piece of beach glass,” Rosemary says. “It’s hard to know how old it is, but you can try to decipher the clues if the glass has words or markings.”
There’s certainly something magical about these pieces of glass from another place and time, which was proven again to me one night last August near Dunkirk. I managed to get us to the drive-in too early, so we found ourselves with a little time to kill in the evening. With the sun still shining, we decided to walk the beach.
The author’s son Elliott shows off his prize: a ruby red piece of beach glass.
Within minutes, we started finding pieces of beach glass. It was the usual colors you expect like green and brown and some small blue fragments.
We couldn’t have been on the beach for much more than ten minutes when Elliott’s jubilant exclamation announced his discovery. He found one of those brilliant pieces the triplets dive headfirst for: red.
Elliott was filled with joy over this treasure. Now, you could say that tiny piece of glass has little actual value. But as someone who saw the beaming smile on Elliott’s face as he proudly held that gem, I know better.
