'Salty Girl' creates coastal-themed decor from debris found on Maine beaches
YORK, Maine — From beach debris to handcrafted decor, a Maine woman has turned her passion for beach-combing into a successful business.
Cherie Herne’s basement studio is busting with what seems like an ocean’s worth of debris that she will transform into a coastal-themed piece of decor for her business Maine Salty Girl.
“There's always something. That's the beauty,” Herne said.
Herne said no beach is out of reach, even if it means paddling to get there.
"I love to go to places where no one has walked down on the beaches, like cliffs and things,” Herne said.
A lifelong York resident, Herne said she knows all the cliffs, nooks and crannies. She said the more remote the location is, the better the treasure.
“I feel like I found a shipwreck with all these treasures, and I just pack it up on my paddleboard, saddle up and paddle back,” Herne said.
Back at her studio, she pieces together the treasures and trinkets washed up by the tide. Her work can range from a simple hand-painted sign to her signature driftwood wreath adorned with sea glass.
“This will take me forever to make, and the process that you have to go through and the wood, they will probably use between 350 and 500 pieces of driftwood,” Herne said.
With an eye for crafting, Herne said there is always another piece to be created from the sea.
“I'm there to get the staple stuff and then I find, I just happen to find all this other good stuff, and I say, ‘Well, I have to take it with me," Herne said.
On a side note: Cherie finds that combing the beaches helps to ease her joint pain and confusion bought on by Lyme disease.
Steve Minich
WMTW News Anchor