The Drifstone Story
Driftstone begins with materials most people overlook — buoys, floats, and rope fragments that have spent years moving through saltwater, sunlight, and tide before washing ashore. Each piece carries its own history, shaped by the ocean long before it reaches my hands.
As an aquatic ecologist, I think constantly about the ways human materials move through water and how they affect the species that live there. Driftstone is a way to acknowledge that reality while offering something meaningful in return: a transformation of sea-worn debris into something lasting and beautiful.
Making a Drifstone.
Every Driftstone is created through a slow, hands-on process of selecting, combining, and refining ocean-weathered plastics. The technique is intentionally labor-intensive and difficult to reproduce — each piece requires patience and an understanding of how these materials behave after years of sun, salt, and abrasion.
Because these polymers react differently when heated and may release harmful chemicals, I work with them cautiously - It’s a reminder that these materials should never be in our oceans, where they can damage fragile ecosystems and persist for generations. Reclaimed and reshaped, though, they can be transformed into something both beautiful and meaningful—art that belongs on people, not in the sea.