Remember the thrill when you found a piece of seaglass on the beach, where it has been tumbled smooth by the rolling waves. The years of wind, waves and sand turned that broken shard into a frosted touchable gem. Our hand-crafted Seaglass jewelry blends ordinary recycling bin and vintage antique glass and mimics nature's process to create a unique environmental aesthetic. Each piece uses the extraordinary qualities inherent in the glass source to enhance the design, creating styles that are individual and distinctive. These creations satisfy today's consumers desire for beauty and the urge to help the environment.
White Light Productions is both a company and a way of life. We are a husband and wife team, married for 34 years and making Seaglass jewelry for 33. We each bring different artistic backgrounds and skills to the process. This combination sparks tremendous creativity. Our work has already passed its toughest audience by the time it's presented to you.
Originally Carol and Mark worked in New York . Carol traded in her fine arts degree for her other love video editing and graphics. After a short entry level position at Pana Video, Carol moved over to National Video Industries. NVI became the largest post production house in New York and as that happened Carol rose to the position of Vice President and board member.
Mark took his degree in lighting design and started White Light Productions. As a lighting designer he interned at Fiorentino associates the premier television design group and at Lincoln center. His love was bringing live theater to television, dance being his favorite. In addition to theatrical productions he became an expert at all manor of production later branching out to corporate industrials. He often said, "I got the best business education from the leaders of all the fortune 500 companies while working on their events."
In between lighting jobs he squeezed an apprenticeship in making furniture with an old theater co-worker. In that sense Mark took after his grandfather who was a master cabinet maker, making pieces that furnished the Kennedy White House. In addition to his training with furniture he also learned his remodeling skills in Princeton , NJ .
All of their success had a price; they no longer had time for each other. To compensate they took 5 or 6 vacations a year. While wondering through the eastern shore of Maryland they stumbled on a craft fair. Indulging Carol's obsession of jewelry they spent careful hours pouring over the beautiful hand made creations. Carol fell in love with a pair of copper earrings beautifully burned in violets and reds.
Mark interrupted the purchase by casually commenting they could make the same at home, in fact he had a sheet of copper left over from a bathroom remodel. For once Mark managed to shock Carol. She simply couldn't believe he could make jewelry. So excited, they cut their vacation short and rushed home to happily create.
By the end of the vacation they had turned out dozens of delicately hued copper earrings. After snagging the best for herself Carol brought the remaining dozen to work. She gave a client a pair as gift. The client had a brother with a gallery in Baltimore who was very impressed with the workmanship and knew they were the season's hot item. He placed an order for 50, if they could be delivered in time for the Christmas buying season.
After accepting the order Carol and Mark found out that production was a serious business, making 50 of anything was far different than a few over a weekend. A couple of all nighters later, the first run complete, with the mistakes littering the floor, but providing a good education. The jewelry was a hit and they settled down to supplying a steady stream of earrings. Christmas came and Carol's co-workers who vacationed in the Bahamas returned with jars of Seaglass for her to turn into Seaglass earrings with her new found skills.
By spring the hectic pace of Carol's job caused her to resign. Carefully figuring their finances they decided that they could give the Seaglass jewelry business a year. In that time it had to be making money or Carol would be forced to return to a regular job. In support of Carols' decision Mark dropped all but his largest clients, and from the beginning it was a partnership. Can you imagine working with your spouse, let alone starting a new business with money tight?
A prime reason for stating a new career was to have more time, so it was decided that they wouldn't sell at retail shows. The new life wouldn't have them working during the week to produce the jewelry and working weekends to sell the jewelry. Wholesale was the clear path to follow.
Carol was in charge of sales, Mark in honing the production technique. When it came to the design they quickly realized that they had vastly different opinions. Carol as an artist was wildly creative, Mark as a designer believed form followed function. Interestingly enough this artistic tension created the perfect proving ground for the new designs.
Hard work, a little luck and good timing and White Light Productions was a success. Today 30 years later they sell nationally, have had their Seaglass jewelry featured in numerous catalogs and the subject of a television interview.
In our mind our success is based on a few simple things that we are really proud of, one, our repair rate is less than 1/10 of 1% and not even measurable. Two, we have a great customer service policy. And finally, we have made friends for a lifetime.