To say that I love coral is an understatement. Each piece is like a nugget of creative inspiration with its innumerable shapes, textures, sizes, and patterns. So the amount of design ideas one can pull from them — no matter what kind of art you make — is infinite. One of the many reasons why I love the beach so much.

The villa we stay in is right on Hart Bay, which is a long strip of shell and coral fringed by seaweed, driftwood, and mangrove trees. There’s a walking trail that leads directly from the house to the beach and Liza, Caitlin, Jamie and I went down for a walk to see what we could find. Upon first glance, the uneven ground beneath us looked like a bed of porous rock, almost like lava, but when I took a closer look, it was actually a blanket of coral and some of the more unique forms that I’ve ever seen.

Our pace was slow as we took time to pick up everything in our path. Caitlin found a little man of a coconut with a goatee and amused expression on his face. Jamie collected a handful of pieces with unique texture and details. And Liza picked up a bouquet of white soft coral as well as tiny sea urchin shells that were still whole. We also came across these gorgeous sea fans with their vibrant colors still in tact. I wish I could bring all of it home but even I don’t have enough faith in me that they would all make it back to the States in tact. Maybe one day!