A little catch up- It’s been a while

A little catch-up

OUR DAYS RECENTLY.

26th June, 2026

Well hello, lovely people,
Welcome back to tide notes. It’s been a while.

As I’m writing this, today’s jewellery orders are almost wrapped and I have just enough time /before my trip to the post office/ to sit down and have a little chat with you.
I completely jinxed myself last time, didn’t I?
After proudly announcing my plan to write a blog post every month… I disappeared. Life had other plans I guess…….

Well, actually, instead of writing, I threw myself into making YouTube videos. I managed eight or nine before pressing pause on those too for a while.
The truth is, between being a mum and running two creative businesses, free time feels like something I only remember from the old days rather than something I actually have in my life right now.
After focusing on my family, my next priority is making your jewellery, packing your orders and editing and delivering galleries for my photography clients. By the end of the day, sitting down to write or edit videos often feels like the one thing that has to wait.

So even it looks quiet here, it’s the complete opposite in my life.
There is always something happening behind the scenes. Designing new jewellery, learning something new, planning future collections, improving the website or working on ideas that haven’t made it into the world yet. I’d love to share every step of it, but sharing constantly takes time away from creating and doing these prioritised things in the first place..


But now that I’ve sat down, I’ve realised that whenever I really need to slow down, writing finds its way back into my life.
It’s like pressing pause a little bit. Going back to the simple things; just me, my camera and my computer. A little breath of fresh air between the beautiful chaos of everyday life.
I know I always say this, but it’s so comforting to create at a slower pace, where every word has a purpose and every image has room to breathe.
Like writing a letter to friends.. Summarising what happened and reflecting on my journey.

So What has happened-
From the last time I posted ?

Glimpses from my life

The months leading up to Christmas were wonderfully busy with website orders and Christmas markets, which I’m always so grateful for. Afterwards, I became completely absorbed in learning how to make YouTube videos. Editing, storytelling, filming… it opened up a whole new creative world, and I absolutely loved learning it all.

Then we visited my in-laws in Gran Canary.
Of course, I came home with hours and hours of footage from the beaches and beautiful places we have been. If you’ve ever tried choosing your favourite shell from a beach full of treasures, you’ll understand how impossible it felt to decide what to include in the next video. Every time I opened the project, I became overwhelmed. I eventually found a way to tell the story and even started editing it… only for bluebell season to arrive with lots of family photography sessions.
Between photographing families, editing galleries and making jewellery orders, the travel video found its way back onto the shelf.
Making the channel quiet..
/ but I still hope one day I’ll upload it…. /

Then, towards the end of May, elderflower season arrived. I always look forward to this time when the air carries that sweet scent that always reminds me that summer is on its way. So, as we do every year, we headed out with a basket and picked enough elderflowers to make 6 bottles of cordial.  Every year I tell myself I should make more because it never seems to last very long.
I love bottling a little piece of the season and enjoying it months later. Every sip takes me straight back to this lovely warm day, standing beneath the elder trees with a basket full of flowers.

Then something happened that completely reignited my creativity.
We were invited to showcase our jewelleries at the David Attenborough Ocean film premiere by Bristol Film Festival, and it honestly felt like such a perfect fit.
Looking after the ocean has always been at the heart of what we do. Every piece of sea glass has already had one lifetime before the sea gently returns it to the shore. Giving those little pieces a second life as jewellery is something I’ll probably never stop finding magical.
It was such a lovely evening, filled with people who genuinely cared about the ocean and loved hearing the stories behind the sea glass. I also met the wonderful Lisa Sea Urchin, whose artwork is inspired by the beautiful textures and patterns found in nature. Events like this always leave me buzzing with ideas, and I came home desperate to start creating again.
So that’s exactly what I did.
I’ve spent the last few weeks making new jewellery and experimenting with new pieces.

I’ve also found myself dipping my toes back into social media.
I know… I said I was stepping away! /Sigh! /
But after meeting so many lovely people at the Ocean event and handing out business cards with our Instagram on them, people started to follow us, and it felt nice to have somewhere to keep sharing little snippets from behind the scenes. I’m still trying to find a healthy balance, and I’m sure I’ll still disappear every now and then, but that’s okay.

If you’ve followed my journey for a while, you might think I’m someone who starts lots of projects and then stops them.
It probably does look like that.
When I fall in love with a project, I give it everything. I become completely immersed in it until another creative part of me starts calling for attention. Then I miss making jewellery. Or writing. Or photography. So I take a break, and do something else I feel passionate about, and then I come back to it months later.. I don’t think it’s about giving up though… I think it’s just how my creative brain works.
Maybe one day I’ll figure out how to balance all my passions at once.
Until then, I’m learning to stop feeling guilty about following where my creativity takes me.

Behind the scenes, I’ve also been reviewing our pricing a little to keep up with the ever-rising cost of silver and materials. It’s never the most exciting job, but it’s an important one if we want our webshop to stay sustainable for years to come.
Speaking of webshop, I also finally got around to photographing some new jewellery and uploading them. It’s one of those behind-the-scenes jobs that often gets pushed down the to-do list, but it feels so satisfying when it’s done.  It takes much longer than I think it will. There’s the making, then waiting for the perfec light, photographing each piece, editing the images and writing all the little descriptions before they finally find their place in the shop. But Seeing all the new pieces finally sitting in the shop, ready for someone to discover them is such a good feeling.

Oh by the way, we just came back from Hungary, where we spent some time with my family. As someone who spends so much time beachcombing, I realised that even without the sea nearby, I was still collecting things. 😀 Not sea glass or shells this time, but textures, familiar scents, and vegetables and fruits from my grandparents’ garden. I filled my camera with many tiny details I want to remember.

For me, collecting is equal to noticing the little things in the exact moment, that would otherwise go unseen, and keeping them somewhere safe, whether that’s in a jewellery box, in a photograph, or simply in my heart.

So back to where I am right now

I am sending off a little pink sea Glass to its forever home. It was inspired by our Just Believe necklace, but instead of the pearl, it features a birthstone chosen especially for its new owner.
It’s a lovely reminder that almost every design in the shop can be personalised. Different sea glass colours, sizes, birthstones, charms, chain lengths… if you have an idea, I’m always happy to create something that’s uniquely yours.

Now I’d better get back to packing the rest of today’s orders before I miss the post office again.

I was supposed to go yesterday, but the heatwave completely defeated me.
Even though I’m from Hungary and grew up with some wonderfully hot summers, these past few days have felt incredibly intense. I don’t know whether it’s the humidity, the air pressure or the way the houses are built here in the UK, but I’m definitely ready for a few cooler days.


I also loved watching the huge lightning storm at around 2am last night. by the time I grabbed my camera , the lightning was right above us so I couldn’t see them much. ..Such a shame. I would have loved to photograph it properly.
I did manage to capture the moment everything lit up when one of the lightning strikes hit. For a split second, it felt like broad daylight. It was so fascinating to witness. and once I managed to catch the very bottom of one lightning bolt… which is better than nothing! 😅

Another little thing that’s been making me smile lately is our bird feeder.
It sat on the window for months /five months, to be exact/ without much interest from the birds, and I started wondering whether they’d ever find it at all.
Then, almost overnight, the sparrows discovered it.

Thank you, as always, for being here.
Whether you’ve been reading these little updates from the beginning or you’ve only recently discovered Tide Notes, it genuinely means the world that you’ve chosen to spend a few minutes here with me.

Until next time,
Bernadette