Everyone is always wondering how to help the environment, and people who are interested in eco-living, and when we mention upcycling they ask me: “What’s upcycling?” Upcycling is taking waste and making it into something that has equal or greater use or value and maintains or improves the quality of the materials. It’s not the same as recycling. Recycling is turning something into another product, like newspapers into paper towels or turning plastic bottles into road barriers…it is still turning trash into something else, upcycling is keeping the same characteristics of the reused items and turning them into something altogether different!
Artisans and entrepreneurs have built successful businesses on upcycling. An more and more handmade items are being sold at festivals, shops, like ours, Ophiuroidea, and of course on the mega website focused on handmade items, Etsy.com . There are coin purses made from sweaters, clocks made from vinyl records and driftwood made into sailboats, jewelry made from sea glass and other treasures found, to name just a few.
What ways will you Upcycle your discarded items? The possibilities are endless and it’s fun to see what becomes of something…you never know, you might just start selling your items someday, too!
Be sure to visit your local festivals throughout the year to find new and unique items being made, and be sure to come to the 1st Annual Chesapeake Upcycled Art Festival www.chesapeakeupcycledartfestival.com held on May 12, 2012, held at Ophiuroidea in St Michaels, Maryland.
It’s often asked how the name of our shop is pronounced, then the next question is usually, what does it mean?
Well, the name came about after a thoughtful brainstorming, with both owners, Shella & Kim, trying to come up with a name that represented the shop that they envisioned. It started by bouncing ideas off each other through an array of emails back and forth for a few days, when one day they both decided to Google “scientific name for starfish” and lo and behold, Ophiuroidea was one of the Scientific Classes of Sea Stars, Brittle and Basket sea stars to be exact.
It went like this…
”We need to come up with something different, not your typical beachy shop name, like Sea Shell something or another or Beach Gallery blah blah blah….” , ”How about we name it Ophiuroidea?” , ” I just Googled that, too, and I thought it’d be a great name, too, funny we both Googled that! But I have no idea how to say it!” , ” Me, neither, but let’s see if we can find a way to find out how to say it, it would be a cool name and it looks so sexy looking, Greek like and mysteriously beautiful, ” , ”Oh I found how to say it online! Of Course, there is a website to pronounce words, it’s “How You Say ( howysay.com), only problem, the guy has a heavy English accent, which does not help, but let’s just keep saying it over and over til we get it!” , ”let’s go for it….” , ” Ophiuroidea it is!”
Click Our Logo below to go to find out how to say it! Have volume turned up!
The logo design came within a few days after the name, with some more brainstorming of what we wanted to logo to look like, and with the help of our wonderful friend Desiree Hopf of Conners Way Photography (www.Connerswayphotography.com) she came up with what ultimately became our logo. Now, the sea star we have for our logo is not an Ophiuroid but is a member of the Asteroidea Family of sea stars. In fact, Ophiuroids are not considered Sea Stars or Starfish at all, but are closely related to them and are serpent stars, brittle stars and basket stars. The class name “Ophiuroidea” refers to “Ophios” which refers to the arms as snake or serpent and “oidea” which means “resemble” or “like”…probably in reference to the arm shape and/or behavior of the animal when alive.
“Ophiodea” from Ernst Haeckel’s Kunstformen der Natur, 1904
So, you learned a little bit about the different types of classes of stars, and how our name came about.
And, if you still can’t say it, just say you’re going to “The O” or the awesome beach shop in St Michaels, Maryland! We look forward to seeing you!
Hunting Sea Glass Revisited!!
Finding the perfect sea glass shard is something that all beachcombers hope to someday find! If you’ve spent countless hours combing the bay and ocean for your bounty, then you know how wonderful it is to finally find a piece of cobalt blue or maybe even red, one of the rarest of all colors. Each color represents a place in time and purpose. Shella and Kim been collecting their own sea glass on the Chesapeake Bay and enjoy the solitude of the hunt. Where the only care in the world during those hunting trips and searching for the frosted treasures at our feet.
Winter is the best time for scooping up some fabulously weathered and old pieces from times past. The key to figuring out the best times to go is by checking the tide charts in your area.
Maryland DNR has a great website to check the tides and you can visit by clicking on this link
So, you haven’t bit by the sea glass bug yet? Sea glass will hook you once you start, and to start out right, getting some reading material will help! Ophiuroidea has the following books published by Down East Books (Maine is a sea glass Mecca) and Pure Sea Glass from world renowned local sea glass expert Richard LaMotte – if you’re interested in seaglass hunting these are great publications!
We also have two 2012 calendars with beautiful colored photos of, you guessed it, Sea glass!
Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Words to live by on so many levels!!
Some days these words help a dreary day pass just a little bit quicker. Some days these words excite us into hopping in a car and driving to the closest body of water we can come to. Some days these words calm us in the fast paced world we live in. To breathe in the fresh clean salty air, to feel the warmth of the sun and to dip your toes in the sea every day, ahhhh, now that’s the life! These words are a way of life, one that many wish they could lead. But Emerson’s words are merely metaphors for how life should be lived, to live life at it’s fullest, to live in the moment!
Sometimes living in the moment can lead to trouble, like the day you decided to hook school to go the beach and got sunburn! Hard to say you were in school all day with a bright red sunburned face!! Oh, work and responsibilities do get in the way of what we would like to do, but there are those times when it’s time to go for it and those are the moments that set you free!
What it means to be an artist. It’s really funny, when people ask us if we’re an “artist”, we are taken aback by it. We don’t consider ourselves “artists”, but we do like to create things. So that leads to when is it okay to call yourself an artist? Is it formal training and schooling? Is it something that comes naturally from raw talent? Is it inherited?
The definition of an artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating , practicing the art and/or demonstrating an art. From the definition, it is clear that “art” is in fact the art of creating. Creating anything would lend itself to be called art, be it heard, seen or felt. The definitions of art and artisans is quite broad in terms of what people think art is, respectfully. From the art deco styles to the minimalist styles, throughout the centuries art has evolved constantly, changing to reflect their muses or more recently to react to the trends of the people.
The Muses were the nine goddesses who inspired the creation of literature and the arts in Ancient Greece, however, those early poems, art, music and dance set the building blocks for the artisans of today. We love the idea of women evoking such beautiful works of art. Upon further research of the Muses, it seems Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance, may have been the mother of the Sirens or as later called by the French, the Mermaids. If you think reading modern day family trees is hard, try following the mythical Greek family trees! Either way, Mermaids have also played a role in ancient and modern art, literature and music.
Ulysses and the Sirens, Herbert James Draper, (1864-1920)
Ophiuroidea has a huge wall mural of two mermaids, painted by Kim Hannon. Each mermaid represents Shella Kirchner and Kim, each holding the arm of a sea star, to represent their joint en devour and dream, Ophiuroidea. It bodes well to also state that the T.S. Eliot quote, ”…whatever we lose (like a you or a me); it’s always ourselves we find in the sea”, represents Ophiuroidea as well, as the sea is a wonderful place to be!
When Ophiuroidea opened two years ago, the intention was to have a venue for local Maryland artisans to showcase their beach and Chesapeake Bay inspired creations. Ophiuroidea has done just that! What started out with Shella and Kim, at the helm and a few other showcased artisans, Ophiuroidea has grown to display & sell wares for over 20 artisans! We love the fact that we can represent such beautiful art, jewelry, pottery and more from local Maryland artisans!
In this day of mass produced foreign merchandise, it is hard to find items that are Made in the USA. So, it is refreshing to know that there are so many other wonderful opportunities for small retail shop owners to sell unique and hand crafted items.
Some new artisans have come our way the past few months, many focusing on recycling found treasures of the Chesapeake Bay and making gorgeous pieces of art and jewelry. One is Spirit of the Sea Glass featuring vintage fork jelly necklaces, hand wired sea glass seahorses, and vintage spoon bracelets with found pottery or sea glass…lovely!
We hope that with each year that passes, we will find more artisans from Maryland and beyond that represent the many different Muses, each depicting their own love of the sea. Visit our website for updates on Ophiuroidea’s new artisans and their works of art.
So, you’re thinking to yourself, what am I going to get everyone for Christmas this year? If you’re like many people this year, you’re most likely paring down your lists. Perhaps you’re doing a White Elephant gift giving? Or perhaps the great idea of picking names out of a hat! So only one gift will be on your list for your extended family. This tradition is becoming one many families have adopted and is vital to keeping your sanity and some money during the holidays!
The holidays have changed for many of us over the years, from the childhood excitement of opening presents Christmas morning and the shear joy of believing that Santa and Rudolph would stop by to visit us in the night. Then fast forward to the holidays of today, as an adult, which has all the added stress that the holidays bring along with all the chaos of Christmas merchandising on steroids, to what we call the “demise of Christmas”, or at least what we once knew it to be!
Christmas is at it’s best when it’s kept simple and most of all, the giving of uniquely thoughtful presents to the ones you love. This is easier said than done! But we have a simple and easy way to get started!!!
Why don’t you make this Christmas holiday a memorable one, while supporting your town’s small businesses & local artisans? It’s the Ultimate Hat trick of Christmas Shopping!!
It’s easy!!! Start by shopping in your local downtown areas, for those of us on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, we have plenty of wonderful places to choose from, including St Michaels, Cambridge, Rock Hall and many of the other small towns along the way…you’re bound to find some unique gifts for those you love!
Simply Plated and Quirk N Bach Pottery
Guitar Shell Art
Wood Surfboard Serving trays
You’ll not only be supporting the “shop small” movement, but you’ll be supporting local artisans and the Made in the USA movement!!! Your hometown is bustling with Cheer and Christmas Spirit, great gifts and wonderful service!
Now doesn’t that sound wonderful???
Merry Christmas to you!
Last Spring we introduced you to Kaimana, our Get Salty™ mermaid. Kaimana means “Power of the Ocean” in Hawaiian. We wanted our Get Salty™ mermaid to represent Ophiuroidea™ and choosing the name Kaimana seemed to fit perfectly! Starting our line with the first custom wine glass, we have expanded our Get Salty™ line to include another exclusive St Michaels Get Salty™ mermaid wine glasses, Get Salty™ t-shirts and car stickers!
We’ve also launched Ophiuroidea’s Get Salty™ Newsletter & Blog, which you are reading now! In addition to our exclusive Get Salty™ line, Ophiuroidea has fabulous mermaid art by various artists, including Pat Chapin, Kim McCoy and others. We carry iron mermaid bottle openers, mermaid mosaics, mermaid wall plaques, iron mermaid statues, mermaid vases, mermaid pottery, mermaid books, mermaid ornamants and more!! If you love mermaids, you’ll love Ophiuroidea!
Do you believe in mermaids?
The oldest form of the mermaid in mermaid mythology is the goddess Atargatis from Syria. A famous statue of Atargatis shows her as a woman from the waist up and a fish from there down. All sea goddesses inherit the sea’s qualities. Just as the sea could be gentle and nurturing or violent and deadly, so could they. These are the same contradictory qualities we see in mermaids to this day: beautiful, cruel, tender, loving, destroying, etc. In a larger sense this is man’s view of nature or perhaps women?? So many cultures from Africa to China have believed in mermaid stories for centuries, so why are they still so mysterious to us? Perhaps, the thought of mermaids being real is better left to the many poems, books and movies, as they will most likely describe them to be a kinder and gentler being, which we like to think them as, beautiful creatures and sirens of the deep, keepers of the ocean.
So, we ask again, do you believe in mermaids? We do!
With the holidays fast approaching, where will you plan on spending your hard earned money this year? Will you spend it in the big box stores? Shop online? Or perhaps shop at your locally owned small businesses? As small business owners ourselves, we try to frequent “mom and pop” type businesses, the life blood of the American Spirit and Entrepreneurship as much as we can!
In this day and age of Big Box stores opening up on Thanksgiving, catering to those that sleep in tents for hours so they can get that one BIG DEAL, or the masses who storm the doors when the stores open to get their hands on the latest Toy craze of the season, your local small shops will be a reminder of what our country has been built on, community, family and great service.
Sad thing is, that these stores are opening up BECAUSE people will come on Thanksgiving! Which means our National holiday, meant to be cherished with Family and Friends and our American heritage, will now be thought of as another day to shop for great “deals”. You can’t put that genie back in the bottle, unless the Consumer puts it back in and just NOT SHOP! Come on, it’s just one day…. take a break and enjoy your family and friends!
The message below was sent to all the business members of our St Michaels Business Association and we felt strongly about the words as we read them. The author is unknown, but the words ring true and should be taken for what it is, small businesses help communities thrive.
Christmas 2011 — Birth of a New Tradition
As the holidays approach, this year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!
It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box? Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber? A Gym membership – It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement. Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.
Perhaps a grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.
There are lots of owner-run restaurants — all offering gift certificates. Remember, this isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.
How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy? Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day. My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.
OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes. Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre. Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.
You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets, Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn’t imagine. THIS is the new American Christmas tradition. This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn’t that what Christmas is about? Pass it on!
Want to sign a petition started by a Target employee to save Thanksgiving? http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-target-to-save-thanksgiving
Support Local Business
We should all take these words to heart, and maybe, just maybe…. the Country can help heal itself….because it doesn’t take a Village, it takes America to get back on the right track.
Surf's Up at Ophiuroidea with some Aloha Spirit!
We’re so excited to have found these very talented artisans from Hawaii and to share them with our fellow East Coasties! AS mentioned, Mia Russi was recently featured in Coastal Living and we’re psyched that she wanted to venture into the East Coast market! Jim Russi’s recently published book combines his love for photography and surfing, with a unique prospective, and each photo is a perfect or in some cases, not so perfect moment, in time depicting mother nature’s awesome power and yet show’s the gracefulness of the surfer and the shear determination to capture the essence and power of Catching the Perfect Wave! You’ll love his book Flying through The Clouds and it makes a great coffee table book!
Kira Ferrer was found by accident while looking online and fell in love with a stacked sea glass ring, which I (Kim) ordered. When I saw the quality of the workmanship and saw the great silversmith she was, I knew we had to get some of her pieces in Ophiuroidea, too! So know Ophiuroidea has two Hawaiian sea glass jewelry artistans, one from North Shore on Oahu and the other on Maui. A big Mahalo to them for sharing their love of sea glass with us!
1st Annual Eastern Shore Sea Glass Festival
Be sure to visit our website or Facebook pages for frequent updates on the items we have for sale. Our 1st Annual Sea Glass festival is coming up November 5-6th, 2011 and will feature these, as well as Maryland artisans. We’re looking forward to having many sea glass lovers join us to celebrate the love of the frosted treasures, and make many friends at the same time! Please join us! Visit website for up-to-date information on the event schedule. It’s FREE admission, come as you are and bring your favorite shards! Aloha- Kim and Shella
Savannah Bee Honey comes to Ophiuroidea!
Wow, we really love this honey, the Savannah Bee Company Grill Honey is specially-selected 100% pure varietal honey, robust enough to stand up under fire. Add distinctive flavor to a marinade or crisply caramelize seafood, meat, and poultry on the grill. Smoky sweetness for basting and marinating, it pairs beautifully with vegetable kabobs or maple-planked wild salmon.
Cheese Honey is 100% pure honey hand-selected to best pair with a wide range of fine cheeses. Softly sweet honey flavors tame the tang of a creamy blue and brightly complement salty Manchego or an aged Gouda. Instantly upgrade any appetizer cheese tray, or try a slice of aged artisan cheddar with honey and sliced apple as an alternative to dessert. We Love This Honey!! Trying it for the first time was amazing! You’ll want to be sitting down when you try it, your knees will buckle under you it’s so good!
Tea Honey is 100% pure varietal honey carefully chosen to be the perfect sweetener in fine tea without overwhelming its delicate flavors and fragrance. Versatile enough for spicy Chai, aromatic Green Earl Grey, or a bold mug of Irish Breakfast, it’s also a surprising twist in lemonade or minty mojitos, YUM!
We also the the Cheese Lovers Dream gift box which includes honeycomb, Cheese Honey and a honey pump for easier dispensing… Bee Sure to stop by Ophiuroidea soon to get yours, and they make great gifts for all you honey and Foodies!
And to sweeten your ears, click on the video to hear Zee Avi- you’ll love her!
