In 2010 Rebecca Long, founder and owner of Rubbish Revival, took an interest to crafting mobiles out of sea glass. She later expanded her hobby into a career making homemade jewelry, accessories and home goods crafted with sustainable materials. With a wide range of options to choose from, her work can be found and purchased on popular craft website Etsy, and numerous stores across the United States.
While living in California, this Martha Stewart inspired mother of one wanted to look for an avenue to satisfy her artistic abilities when needing time to herself. As Long began crafting the mobiles, time passed and a friend mentioned the idea of selling the mobiles in local boutiques in Santa Barbara, as well as on Etsy.
“At first the owner of where I wanted my mobiles sold told me to change the style and bring it back. That pushed me to work harder to make a better product and showed that I really wanted it,” said Long.
After Long began selling the mobiles at Plum Goods Boutique in Santa Barbara, she was immediately contacted by storeowners and boutiques across the country to have her crafts sold in their shops in locations such as: Sarasota, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boulder, Colorado. With over 11 boutiques nationwide carrying her sustainable jewelry, accessories, as well as her famed mobile, Long has gained several loyal customers across the globe.
“After my first sale to my friend… my first big sale was to a women in Australia, who bought five mobiles and has ordered from me several times after,” said Long.
Being a stay at home mom, Long works out of her own home studio that is filled with sea glass and crafting equipment. With all the work that goes into one piece, she isn’t working alone. Long has three other employees crafting with her for Rubbish Revival. Each employee works remotely and are a huge help in the crafting process.
When looking for business partners Long advertises her business on Craig’s List. After she finds potential workers, she likes to meet them at Starbucks to grab coffee and gives them a mock mobile to make in front of her. This allows Long to see how well they can construct a mobile, along with the quality and skills they add to the crafting process. Long picks the mobile as a test craft for possible new hires because it is Rubbish Revival’s most popular item.
What sets Rubbish Revival apart from other small businesses is that all the materials used in each project are sustainable. For example, all sea glass is real sea glass. Even the smallest treasures, such as silver earrings, are crafted from recyclable materials. The tins the jewelry and accessories are packaged in are reusable as well, and can be used for the safekeeping of an array of small items.
Prices range from $9 to $200, depending on the item being sold and the materials being used to craft the treasure. With earrings starting at the lowest price, other gems found at Rubbish Revival include necklaces, earrings and necklace sets, rings, bracelets, sea glass shadow boxes and the original mobiles.
Rubbish Revival also offers classes in Santa Barbara, which is where Long originally taught the mobile-making classes. The class is $45, and includes both the materials and the lesson. A typical class consists of women 21 and over who love sea glass, and want the opportunity to learn the craft, while gaining an appreciation of the time and patience that goes into the crafting of each mobile.
“The mobiles are very hard to make. I have had people walk out on my class before because it was so hard,” said Long.
Now living in the Boston area, Long is hoping to find a studio where she can sell her crafts, and host classes similar to those she held in California on topics such as jewelry making and sea glass crafts.
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