Mara Glainne Designs – The Inspiration

Hello… I’m Esther.

I was born and live in Scotland……Mara Glainne (pronounced Mahra Glann-yi) is Scottish Gaelic for ‘Sea Glass’.

Mara Glainne Designs has evolved from my love of God, nature and art, and the desire to express this and inspire others through the creation of unique, bespoke jewellery made from the unusual pieces of sea glass I have collected over the years.

Living a couple of miles from the beautiful coastline of Fife on the East side of Scotland, I am grateful that my visits to the beaches can be often and in all weather. Reuben (our daft Labrador) is my usual companion.

If you’ve ever been walking along the beach and spotted a colourful, unusual-looking stone, it might’ve been sea glass. Sea glass is formed when glass makes its way into the water—it can be from old discarded bottles or items lost during natural disasters and even shipwrecks—and has been tumbled and shaped by the waves, salt, and sand. This is not a quick process; it can take many years for a piece of glass to become sea glass.

The highest quality sea glass is completely smooth and frosted over. It is this unique frosting that can tell apart genuine mature sea glass and that of glass that has been tumbled in an effort to look like sea glass.

Sea glass comes in all sorts of colours. Brown, white, and green are the most common colours. Other colours such as blue, red, sea foam and orange are much rarer.

In general sea glass, is getting harder to find. The reason is that there is less glass going into the ocean because of our use of plastic. Also with the concerted efforts to minimise the amount of discard going into the sea, it results in less sea glass to be found.

Not every beach has sea glass. It depends on the direction it faces and its tides.

I have often picked up pieces on my local beaches that incredibly have come originally from the old glass works in Edinburgh which was a major industry in the 1700’s. From the 14th century onwards, Leith in Edinburgh boasted trading links with Europe and the world, importing and exporting a wide range of shipments.

Alcohol was among the most sought after produce being brought in and the harbour was regularly flooded with casks and barrels of fine French wine, sweet Spanish sherry and Portuguese port. Leith’s growing whisky industry and Edinburgh being a burgeoning centre for medicine meant an increasing demand for glass products, further underlining the need for a dedicated glassware and bottling works. From a historic point of view it is incredible that some of the glass used and discarded at that time is still in the River Forth being tumbled and shaped by the elements.

The sea glass I use to make jewellery is handpicked. I only work with high quality, genuine and well matured sea glass that the waves and elements have tumbled in the North Sea from upwards of 50 years. Age can be determined by its wear, thickness and colour.

Every piece of jewellery I make is bespoke… no two pieces of sea glass are the same: they have a history and each piece is unique and my aim is to compliment and showcase that uniqueness in a way that brings out its true beauty.

I feel blessed to share this with others.

I absolutely love the Mara Glainne pieces I purchased! Each is unique & perfect for the loved one I purchased it for. And I’m keeping one for myself; the instant I saw it, I knew it belonged around my neck next to my heart. Thank you, Esther, for sharing your beautiful art with the world.

I had purchased three pieces as presents for christmas. When I received them I couldn’t stop staring and admiring each piece! Absolutely beautiful and stunning. All three friends absolutely adore them (one is a guy and that piece was specially selected by Mara Glainne Designs upon request, and it’s also cherished deeply). I will definitely purchase soon again and I can recommend it to every body. What great treasures! Much love

Upon receiving my beloved necklace I was so grateful, and when I opened the package the love that came pouring out was visceral! 

So much more beautiful than the photos show. The wrapping work is exquisite. So thrilled with my new sea glass pendant! Very affordable shipping to the states and nicely packaged too.

Very easy to shop, pay, online. But more important, each piece I purchased is unique, delicately beautiful, sturdy, and precious. Not only are they up-cycled treasures, but I love the poetry that this broken glass was tumbled through rough seas, it’s sharp edges softened, then discovered by an artist who brought its natural beauty into the light. What a gift.

As well as the roles I have as a wife, mother, daughter and friend, I am first and foremost a born again Christian. Art, music and being out in nature have always been huge aspects of my life. I love to take photographs of the sea, the trees, the sky, the sun and I share some of those photographs in the galleries here on this site. Being out in nature insprires me greatly and I love to share with others what brings me joy.

I want to encourage you to look up at the sky, to look beyond the ordinary and see the beauty of nature that exists all around. It is part of God’s gift to us.