a piece of driftwood
mixed inΒ
among the vases and mirrors and tchotchkes and other home decor items
and while i’m a fan of natural found materials
i was not really motivated to spend $39.99 on this
but i do now have an idea for my summer job –
beachcomber.
—
“i imagined your stick, washing in the waves for hundreds of years,
turning to driftwood
smooth and hard like stone.
i imagined a little girl finding it on a beach so many years later.
saving it on her shelf,
where she put the things that made her feel like the world was magical.”
– ava dellaira
I didn't have my glasses on.... 
Just goes to show, that no matter what it is, if you put a price tag on it, someone will think it is valuable. Great post, Beth! Good luck with your new summer job!
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So true and thanks!
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I’m an old beachcomber from way back, and old pieces of driftwood always intrigued me and would often prompt my poetic imagination
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Nice – and me, too
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Go for it! I have collected several pieces, so I have a place to mount some carved birds! It hasn’t happened yet! Maybe when I really retire! π
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Yes-
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Haha there’s quite a few things like this that you realise you could make a living from if you join in the racket xD. Some things you just have to put together in a simple way and you can justify a price tag much greater than its parts! Such as small animal toys.
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Right!
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Often, when finding a piece of driftwood whilst walking along the beach, I wonder how far and for how long it travelled. I’ve never thought of selling it though! EBay here I come!
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Right!)
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“Found objects” are sometimes very artistic and many artists dedicate their work to those objects they find, whether they be natural or parts of man-made items. Happy Friday Beth!
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Absolutely, I love them
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This reminds me of some online children’s games that my eight-year-old plays, Beth. You can sell anything your avatar comes across, and some of those random objects are actually required to complete quests! π
β€
David
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How fun!
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Yes, much better to find your own unique piece rather than buy one in a shop. π
Best wishes, Pete.
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A bit steep at $ 39.99.
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One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, they say. My gut tells me that a retail store doesn’t have one single piece of driftwood (maybe a thrift store?) and makes me doubt its authenticity. And that price is insane!
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Great side hustle for sure, Beth!
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right?
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Just yesterday someone challenged me to make a living out of something I feel passionate about. I wondered how to make a living walking the beach. You just gave me my answer! :). Now to find the suckers, I mean customers, who will pay for what I gather there! Haha!
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there you go!
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I highly recommend this type of summer job!
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I cannot see any downside to it, and the tax write-offs…)
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Living where I live, I am always on the lookout for driftwood or, as we sometimes call it, ‘yard art.’
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I’m a huge fan, just don’t want to buy a piece in a store for 39.99 )
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Sounds like this would be a lucrative summer job while also enjoying the beach.
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a win-win
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I love driftwood (not enough to buy it) but hey… if you need a Montreal chapter to your new business, I am in!
And how in the heck do you find the perfect quotes like that? Come ON! “Driftwood… saving it on her shelf” Perfection
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I love driftwood, maybe because I’ve never lived near a beach. I once had a lovely little piece I picked up somewhere, but it’s gone now, lost somewhere in one of my many moves.
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something about it is special and each piece is so unique
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This is great! I loved this post, it made me think of how when you pay for the drift wood, you are really -paying for time processing the wood, maybe that’s why its expensive? Or maybe you are paying for the burden of finding it… There are some areas where it is hard to find driftwood due to overzealous beach cleaners, or erosion.
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thanks and perhaps that’s it –
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I love driftwood. Found a piece years ago and it’s now a railing in my house. Also my Iguana liked it too. Sweet post.
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something very special about it
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I always thought there was something mysterious about driftwood. Hugs.
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I think so, too
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The perfect summer job!
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and imagine my business card ?)
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I have a friend who has a ball python who is very large and quite old. He has to buy wood for it to be sure it’s clean and free of splinters, and it’s expensive. I think being a beach comber would suit me, too. I’d love it today.
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I love natural found things and it seems such a pleasant way to spend a day
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Ha, so funny. I think the same way. Why spend unreasonably much money on something, nature gives me for free?
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ποΈ
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wonderful π this has inspired me, Beth, to ‘air’ my beachcomber poem again, a poem which I now see as fitting into the cancer sequence like a beacon of hope π
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Brilliant choice
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Simplest things can be the most valuable.
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Absolutely
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I love that sort of wood too, And you can make many things out of it. π
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I love driftwood…but the free kind, not the $39.99 kind…
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same
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when i lived in UK, i was a beachcomber too but sadly, ‘my’ place wasn’t great on driftwood or shells. Had however a great collection of special stones and small pieces of driftwood rather from our mountainous rivers – use them in floral arrangements where the smaller sizes are sufficient.
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how wonderful
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Iβm always on the hunt when Iβm at the beach. Usually I always find something novel.
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so much beauty on the beach
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I wouldn’t buy that stick either
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better to just find one -)
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