SOURIS, P.E.I. — Leonardo Consejo Cadena enjoyed a busy Sunday at the Mermaid Tears Seaglass Festival.
The 11-year-old boy, who came to P.E.I. with his family from Mexico in 2018, greeted customers who checked out his booth, talked with people about his art and kept track of his sales on a piece of paper.
It’s part of a business called Seaside Treasures that he started with his friend, Caleb Lombardo, where they make and sell sea glass art – seaglass pieces glued on canvass in different designs.
The idea for the business came to Consejo Cadena after he moved to Souris four years ago and fell in love with collecting sea glass at the beach.
“It’s really cool to get to see … like, different shapes and different colours – or if you find a rare piece – and I like just being able to look at them even more and just play around with them and putting them into art,” he told SaltWire on July 30.
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Consejo Cadena and Lombardo, who are part of the Young Millionaires Program, began selling sea glass art last year at the Souris Farmers’ Market.
This year, they decided to do something different and joined the Mermaid Tears Seaglass Festival as vendors for the first time. While his friend couldn’t join him on Sunday, Consejo Cadena had his mother support him in running the booth.
“It makes me feel like I’m part of something bigger than just a farmers’ market or like just at home selling stuff right out the driveway. It’s really fun to be able to see everyone here and be able to start selling and have fun with my partner when he’s here,” he said.
Young entrepreneur
Consejo Cadena and Lombardo were among more than 40 vendors who participated in the festival, now in its 14th season.
Jeannie Roche, the events co-ordinator with the Town of Souris, said that’s an increase from last year, with a few first-time vendors joining the event. The festival took place over the weekend, welcoming more than 1,400 visitors on Saturday alone.
“That’s not including our vendors, not including the vendor assistants or volunteers on the ground,” Roche said. “It’s wonderful.”
Consejo Cadena could definitely see how busy the festival was. During SaltWire’s visit, he and his mom constantly chatted with people as a steady stream of visitors dropped by to check out their products.
The 11-year-old entrepreneur said he loved that hustle and bustle because it could provide him with lots of valuable experience.
“It’s probably going to encourage me to talk to people or to do more with the community and it’ll help me maybe if I’m in a job or have my own store to already have the experience.”
He also likes the creative aspect of his business, often having to come up with interesting designs for his art. Among his pieces, one of the creations he’s most proud of is a collection of sea glass pieces glued together on a canvas in the shape of Prince Edward Island.
Some of the sea glass pieces were collected by him, while others were donated by community members, making the artwork even more special to him, Consejo Cadena said.
Now that the festival has concluded, people can still find the boys’ business at the Souris Farmers Market or visit their Facebook page, Seaside Treasures, for more information.
Crafting for the soul
Another first-time vendor at the festival, Brenna Farren, owns Sea in Colour Designs – an arts and crafts business based in Charlottetown.
Farren got into sea glass art last year when she realized she had collected too much sea glass and decided to turn it into arts and crafts after watching tutorials on YouTube. For her, it’s not just a business, Farren said.
“I do it for my mental health. It’s a great way to just kind of get out of your mind and just create. It makes me happy. It makes me feel at peace. And then when somebody sees it, and they say this is beautiful, it’s like, ‘Well, thank you,’” she said with a laugh.
She loves how each piece of sea glass has its own story and history.
“When you think about the lifespan of a piece of sea glass, it started as a bottle or a lighthouse lamp or something. And over decades or centuries, it has broken down into this really beautiful, unique item, and no piece is the same. So, it’s always interesting to think of where it came from and the history behind it.”
Thinh Nguyen is a business reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @thinhnguyen4291.
