Beach Shack Project is the creation of Hannah Elspeth Marshall, an artist based in Brighton who uses the beach both as inspirational mood-board and a platform to gather her materials. Hannah grew up in Cornwall where she would spend her childhood fossicking for treasure along the shoreline. It was many years later that her hoard of sea glass, shells, pottery and driftwood would form the basis of a jewellery collection, and start a journey of coastal inspired creations…

Beach found objects are reworked into rudimentary tools and artwork, giving new purpose to the more dark side of beach combing, plastic, nylon and monofilament thread.

An old Victorian pastime was seaweed pressing, using this same technique Hannah gathers specimens of seaweed which are carefully pressed and turned into beautiful prints for the home.

Pieces of sea smoothed driftwood found on the shore are adorned with hand painted sharks, whales, seals, sea birds and fish, and other marine folk like coral, shells & seaweed.

Hannah’s jewellery stems around a central idea of taking objectionable elements and altering them so they then become objects of desire. The concept of imperfections being beautiful and items of little worth being transformed into contemporary designs revolves around the found objects used within the work. Delicate weaved wire bezels encase beans of sea glass, or hunks of sea worn pottery shards hang from hand knitted organic hemp ropes.

Although Hannah’s work is heavily focused on using found objects, often detrimental to the coastal ecosystem, her work didn’t begin as a recycling project. Hannah never sees what she find as rubbish, but just an unfinished part of something else.

Hannah now works in Brighton where she lives with her boyfriend Steve and jack russell Mr Bean.