Erosion jewelry



			1. Do you have a store? 2. What forms of payment do you accept? 3. What is your return policy? 4. How do you ship? 5. What is Erosion Jewelry? 6. Do you have any jewelry for Men? 7. What is sea glass? How is sea glass created? 8. Are all of your sea glass pieces real? 9. What are the most common colors of sea glass you find? 10. How do you price your sea glass jewelry? 11. Can you make a piece of jewelry from sea glass from my own collection? 12. How do you drill sea glass?? 13. Why does sterling silver jewelry tarnish? 14. How do I care for my sterling silver (matte & mirror finished) jewelry? 15. How do I care for my Sea Glass set in Sterling Silver jewelry? 16. How do I care for my drilled Sea Glass jewelry? 17. How do I figure out my ring size? 1. Do you have a store? No, we don't have a store. The address on our biz cards and under the "Contact US" button below is a Personal Mailbox at a UPS Store. We do accept custom orders over the phone, fax, and via email. We do lots of craft shows in Central and South Florida (where we live). For our schedule, check under the "Show Schedule" button above. 2. What forms of payment do you accept? We accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express online and at craft shows (the shopping cart on our website is secure by SSL, so no worries about entering your credit card info when checking out). For more detail on how we protect your privacy, please refer to the "privacy" button below. Forgot to mention the obvious: cash works too -but only at craft shows. 3. What is your return policy? We want you to love your jewelry. If for any reason you need return it, you may do so within 30 days of purchase for store credit. But, we're really nice, so If you ever need a new chain or cord, or have any other issues, just let us know and we'll take care of ya! 4. How do you ship? We use the United States Postal Service (USPS) Priority Mail for our shipping. It takes 2-3 business days, depending on your location (and the lovely postal worker who handles the package - just kidding - they're actually pretty fast). The cost is $4.05 for domestic shipping and will be added to your total at checkout. HOWEVER, if you need an order, rush rush, we can always ship USPS Express Mail which ships overnight to most areas. Just be sure to let us know in the comments section of checkout and plan on adding another $10.35 to your total (it's $14.40 for domestic Express Mail shipping). We ship all over the continental US, but you can always contact us if you want info on shipping outside of the US. 5. What is Erosion Jewelry? Believe it or not, we get this question a lot at our craft shows. No, the jewelry doesn't erode as you wear it! No, we don't use a special erosion process on our silver! The name was actually birthed from the concept of what our jewelry is about - uniqueness - irregularity. And because one of our favorite mediums to work with is Sea Glass (which is created through an erosion process), it seemed a perfect fit for us. 6. Do you have any jewelry for Men? We're so glad you asked!! YES WE DO!! Albeit a little limited at this time, we do have a few pieces that are great for guys. Here are descriptions & links to them (just click on the underlined text to get the details and prices): BONE NECKLACE: This necklace was originally designed for the guys but has been a hit with the ladies too. Don't worry - the matte finish on the silver gives it a great masculine feel, and the leather cord is nice and broken in so it's very casual. BONE CUFF BRACELET: Just like the necklace we couldn't keep the ladies from wanting this one too - our solution was to just make it in two different sizes. Guys will definately want the larger version (unless they have very small wrists) GROOVY BAND (it's a ring): This band can be given a matte finish so it's not so shiny - we reccommend that for the guys. Although it's not listed we currently have this band as big as a size 11 & 1/2 - just be sure to let us know in the check out section if you want the matte finish and what size you need (if it's not on the drop down). 7. What is sea glass? How is sea glass created? Sea glass is created when a piece of normal glass is discarded into the sea and is tumbled around by the surf, sand, and rocks over a long period of time. It ultimately washes up on the beach with a smooth surface, rounded edges, and a "no-longer-translucent" appearance. Some people call them Mermaid Tears. It is very rare to find 2 pieces that match in color, size, and shape. Add to that the exquisite colors you find, and that is why we love making jewelry with sea glass. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and shaped by nature. 8. Are all of your sea glass pieces real? YUP. They're real. We found each piece of sea glass ourselves - some in Palm Beach, some in Amalfi, Italy, lots in Greece, and a bunch in our top secret spot in California. We don't tumble, shape, or manipulate them in any way. We use these awesome sea treasures just as we found them. 9. What are the most common colors of sea glass you find? Budweiser brown, Heineken green, and clear glass are the most common colors we find. Next is what is a blue-green color that we call "seafoam." This glass most likely comes from the old coca cola bottles. Then you have the light blues (e.g. car windows & windshields), olives, dark greens (e.g. old wine bottles), and lime pieces (e.g. 7-up bottles) - which we find on occasion. And then there are the pretty rare guys - cobalt blue (e.g. old milk-of-magnesia, or cold cream bottles) moonstone (i.e. grey-don't know where these guys come from), and pink/lavender/purple (which actually comes from clear glass made in the World War II era. Back then clear glass was made with Manganese. Over decades of sun exposure, this chemical causes clear glass to turn light purple). Finally, the really really rare guys - orange, yellow, and red (all of which were made only up through the early 1900's, also old car tail lights). You do a happy dance when you find one of these gems. 10. How do you price your sea glass jewelry? Price depends on the rarity of the sea glass (color/shape/texture) and also the amount of sterling silver used (if applicable). And, of course, labor-in terms of how long it takes to make the finished piece-is factored in. 11. Can you make a piece of jewelry from sea glass from my own collection? Yes. We've made many pieces of jewelry from pieces of sea glass provided by customers. Not all pieces of glass though can be used. For setting purposes, we need the glass to be fairly flat and the rounder the edges, the better. But, we'd be happy to take a look at any piece of customer glass. For drilling purposes, we can't guarantee that we won't crack the piece of glass. Drilling glass is very difficult. Many factors determine success (e.g. thickness, density, etc.). That said, we have a pretty good success rate (We probably should say, Jean has a good success rate. Scott's success rate is not so good). 12. How do you drill sea glass?? A very frequently asked quesion. Our answer - VERY CAREFULLY. Really though, it is incredibly tricky -thus the reason you don't see everyone doing it. It involves special drill bits, a water drilling system, and a whole lot of finesse (not to mention luck). As we mentioned in the quesion above, Scott can't do it at all, Jean -luckily-has the touch. Even with all that, we still crack and shatter some. 13. Why does sterling silver jewelry tarnish? Although it's beautiful, and more importantly, economical, silver does have one major drawback-it tarnishes. The rate at which it tarnishes varies depending on a bunch of factors - mostly chemicals it comes in contact with - including laundry detergent from your clothes, perfume, hairspray, and strangely enough, eating a lot of shrimp (apparently when you do, your body release a chemical that causes silver to tarnish). Also exposure to the air just sitting in your jewelry box, unworn, will cause it to tarnish. 14. How do I care for my sterling silver jewelry? MIRROR FINISH: Lucky for you, we're so thoughtful! We include a tarnish removing polishing cloth with each purchase! Just use the inner cloth (and some elbow grease) to rub off any tarnish, and use the outter cloth to buff it to a high shine. And don't worry these polishing cloths last a long time - but if you ever need a new one, just let us know! MATTE FINISH: Surprisingly enough, we *don't* recommend using a polishing cloth with our matte finished pieces. This is because there are tiny scratches on the surface of the silver, which is what gives it its matte appearance. When you use the polishing cloth, the chemicals on the cloth rub into the scratches on the silver and actually make it look more dirty. To clean your matte piece you can rub the dirty area with either glass cleaner or soap, on a soft cloth or paper towel (I think glass cleaner works best). Then just rinse it clean with plain water. 15. How do I care for my Sea Glass set in Sterling Silver jewelry? Sea Glass has one very important rule: DON'T DROP IT on a hard surface - It's glass - it'll break. Now, as for cleaning your sea glass jewelry there are a couple of things you should and shouldn't do: DO: use your polishing cloth (don't worry we'll give you one with your purchase!) on the sterling silver part of your piece (e.g. the silver bezel and lip around the sea glass) to clean off dirt, fingerprints, tarnish, etc.. DON'T: use your polishing cloth on the sea glass itself!! This is important because there are chemicals on the (inside) cloth that will rub off on the glass that will make it look dirty - these are the chemicals that remove the tarnish on silver. DO: use a damp (not dripping) paper towel to wipe the surface of the glass if it appears dirty. Put a little soap on it, if it's really dirty. DON'T: get your bezel set sea glass really wet. Don't swim, shower, or soak your sea glass pendant in any liquids (including silver cleaner). If you do, water (or whatever liquid) may leak in behind the glass and cause shadows behind it. If this does happen to you, you can try drying it upside down (glass side down) on a paper towel for a day or two, and hopefully it will dry out. DO: rub your glass with your clean fingers! Some say it's theraputic, we don't know about that, but it definitely feels good. And it's beneficial for the glass too! Sometimes the glass will dry out and get a white-ish haze over it, when you rub it with your fingers, they oil the glass and restore its natural beauty. If your fingers don't have enough natural oils on them to finish the job, you could always use some plain 'ole mineral oil - just a tiny bit on a paper towel will do it. 16. How do I care for my drilled Sea Glass jewelry? Let's not forget the cardinal rule of Sea Glass: DON'T DROP IT on a hard surface - It's glass - it'll break. Ok, now for the details: Necklaces: Because these babies are on leather ,we encourgage swimming &/or showering with it on. This allows the leather to soften up for you. In terms of caring for the sea glass - just rub it with your fingers on occasion. Sometimes the glass will dry out and get a white-ish haze over it, when you rub it with your fingers, they oil the glass and restore its natural beauty. If your fingers don't have enough natural oils on them to finish the job, you could always use some plain 'ole mineral oil - just a tiny bit on a paper towel will do it. There is only have a small amount of sterling silver on these necklaces- all of the findlings (the clasp, jump rings, etc) are sterling silver - so if they start to tarnish, just bust out your trusty polishing cloth. Earrings & Anklets: Because there is a bit more silver on these, you may need to use your polishing cloth on the silver (if it tarnishes). As always, try not to hit the sea glass with the (inside) cloth - the chemicals which remove the tarnish from the silver will make the sea glass dirty. If you do, just clean the sea glass with some soapy water. Oh, you can shower and swim with these guys too. If the glass starts to dry out (gets that white-ish haze) just rub it with your fingers or a bit of mineral oil to restore its natural beauty. 17. How do I figure out my ring size? You can use this handy dandy to size a ring you own that fits your desired finger. Just click this link to access the Acrobat file. Print the page - make sure the 'Fit to Page' option on your print command screen is not checked. Follow the instructions on the printed chart. Or you can use this . Just click this link to access the Acrobat file. Print the page - make sure the 'Fit to Page' option on your print command screen is not checked. Follow the instructions on the printed chart.