JERSEY SHORE – What started out as a part-time hobby collecting shells at the beach has grown into a worldwide phenomenon of colorful, decorated shells.
“I’ve always liked to do beach walks and pick up anything interesting on the beach. At one point I had so many shells my husband asked me what I was going to do with all of them,” Carrissa Caramico Chapkowski said. “I decided to paint them and give them away. It definitely gave me an excuse to do more beach walks.”
Carrissa started painting shells four years ago and decided to share her ideas by creating a Facebook page called “Jersey Shore Shells.” Carrissa said she first had the idea after coming across a similar group in Florida.
“I vacation in Florida once a year and I thought it would be nice to paint shells not just one week out of the year, but for the entire year. I thought ‘I can do that too,’” she said. “I had talked to the people who had created a similar Facebook page from Florida and I asked if I could copy some of their ideas they were doing and they were totally ok with it. After speaking with them, I decided to go forward and make the Facebook page.”
Carrissa has lived in the Ocean County area for most of her life, however when she recently moved to South Carolina, she knew she wanted to continue the page.
Since its creation, the Facebook page has garnered 35,650 followers and counting. Jersey Shore Shells encourages those to decorate shells and write a message on the underside with the label “Keep or Re-hide.”
Those who have found shells often share their findings to the page, or those painting shells do the same. Carrissa has listed tips and tricks on the page to help those who are interested. She emphasizes to never hide shells in the ocean. If you are going to hide shells in a store, get permission first. And remember, anyone can paint and hide shells.
“It’s really about random acts of kindness. You don’t expect anything, you don’t really want anything in return. It’s just trying to make people happy, because if you give someone a little smile maybe they’ll do something nice for somebody else and those acts of kindness will snowball bigger and bigger. I want to spread that positivity,” she explained.
Her local initiative has now transformed to a worldwide affair. The idea of painting and hiding shells has gone beyond shore towns in New Jersey; it’s expanded throughout the entire state, country, and even internationally.
Pam Gregory, a New Jersey local, said she started painting shells after her and her daughter Sarah found one in Smithville.
“We collect our shells at the Barnegat inlet. We have painted and hidden 11 shells, four have been found. My first was an ‘adopt don’t shop’ paw print and has changed hands three times now in New Jersey,” Pam said.
One of their shells, which was decorated to represent the Pine Barrens, made its way to White Water State Park in Minnesota. The shell was then shared to the Facebook group and gained over 7,000 likes.
“I left it at Arney’s Mount in Pemberton, NJ. It was found by a lovely woman named Laurie and taken to Minnesota where she re-hid it. Another lovely girl named Hannah found it and her post took off! It is being shared by many sites as well as people,” Pam said. “This group is great to communicate with other people. It’s a great hobby, and makes people smile.”
