– Young entrepreneur wows with her unique sea-glass accessories

ZOYA Samaroo is a devout environmentalist who believes in utilising natural resources to create environmentally friendly products such as from washed-up shells, wood and glass that she finds on the beach.

The 21-year-old is a full-time University of Guyana student in her final year pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Biology.
From a young age, Zoya had been very fascinated by colours and the way that they blend to make new creations, leading her mother to often describe her as a quiet and crafty child who typically found her ‘own corner’ with crayons and paper.

But as she got older, her fascination for arts and craft only increased and this motivated her to pursue Visual Arts at the CSEC level (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate). It was there that she learned valuable skills and gained exposure.
Zoya’s love for the beach also played a large part in her artistic journey as she would often collect the washed-up materials while picking up garbage, seeing like no one else the beauty in them.
She loves to spend time at the beach and even lends herself to cleaning it whenever she could, as her mother’s upbringing always impressed upon her how wrong it was to litter.

“After collecting a substantial amount of glass, I realised that their beauty seemed pretty wasted in a glass jar so I decided to do some research on how best to use my new jewels,” she reflected.
“I discovered basic wire wrapping and began experimenting. I have since honed my skills and began sharing my creations with the world. Being able to upcycle discarded materials often considered garbage, into unique and beautiful pieces makes me feel accomplished and I hope to encourage others to become more sustainable in their day to day habits,” she further expressed.
Zoya’s business entails handcrafted jewellery and accessories ranging from necklaces, earrings and bracelets to key chains, picture frames and wind chimes. She utilises sea glass and driftwood collected from beaches to create unique, wire wrapped trinkets.

“I stumbled upon the inspiration to create unique jewellery using washed up sea glass from broken bottles littered on the beach about one year ago, and have since developed my skills in designing pieces that will promote a sustainable earth while leaving customers with a feeling of satisfaction in contributing to a cleaner, greener environment,” she said.
Zoya found that she had quite a lot of the materials piled up and nothing to do with them, so she began making jewellery as gifts for her family and friends.
But people then started suggesting that it would be a good idea for her to start a business since it was so very unique. So she started within her friends’ group, and people later began making special orders.

“Each piece is very unique; it’s like a little piece of the ocean that you get to take home with you. I try to use less plastic because, in my career path, I want to try and reduce as much plastic use as possible, especially in the small scale business industry because I know plastic is the cheaper alternative. But I try my best to stay away from those kinds of things,” Zoya said.
A lover of the environment, nature, animals and wildlife, Zoya tries to ensure that whatever she does is sustainable. “I would use less plastic and I try my best to get the people around me to do the same; to think about the impacts their small actions would have on the much larger community.”
Her Instagram page is called ‘Coriolis.’