The Sea Shell Shop opened in Florida in the early 1950s when Patty Derrick’s mother, Ginny, started selling jewelry she made with seashells from the beach. Since then, the store has expanded to offer a variety of beach-themed products from more than 1,000 vendors.
Derrick still carries on the family tradition — and her mother’s creative talent. In fact, one of the largest, fastest growing and best-selling sections in the store features Derrick’s watercolor artwork on products, including puzzles, mugs, dish towels and more. Last year, the Sea Shell Shop sold 4,000 coasters featuring her watercolor artwork.
Derrick started painting about 15 years ago, and her collection features more than 30 different watercolors of local Rehoboth Beach scenes, like the boardwalk and its distinctive benches, the Bethany Beach totem pole and Cape Henlopen Lighthouse.
Like her mother, Derrick also made jewelry for many years, but now buys jewelry wholesale instead. She also used to collect driftwood from the beach to make decor like her father, Vince, once did. She still makes Christmas wreaths out of sea shells.
“We made a lot of homemade stuff for years and years,” she says, “but as time goes by, people want less of that and more sophisticated gifts instead.”
