Mo Dixon, owner of Savannah, Georgia, boutique, Sea Oar Be Seen, says you won’t find an area restaurant without oyster cuisine on the menu or a local boutique without oyster shell embellishments among its offerings.
Dixon works with local artisans to offer home goods made out of oyster shells. There are decorative crosses, trinket boxes, wreaths, anchors, picture frames and votive candle holders constructed of the irregularly shaped shells. Some have delicate paintings of sea horses, sea turtles or fish on the shimmering interior. Others are left naturally off-white.
“They’re so popular we couldn’t keep them in stock,” Dixon says.
The store also sells oyster shell ornaments painted with nutcrackers, Santa, puppies and lighthouses.
Year-round, Sea Oar Be Seen carries various oyster shell jewelry by Spartina 449 of nearby Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. The Spartina crushed pearl white earrings, for instance, are compressed mother-of-pearl shaped by hand to catch the light in its facets. A Spartina triple-strand shell necklace links smooth oyster shell pieces to show shimmering shades of silver, brown and purple.
