Thursday, October 1, 2026
Glamorous Glass Creations, a business started by siblings Ella, and Joseph Kopacz, ages 11, and 9, was kick-started during the Covid-19 lockdowns, when their family started collecting sea glass. Now, the two Oyster Bay youth use found glass to create mosaic, collage-style art pieces.
“We started to take walks on Center Island Beach during the lockdown, and we found some [sea] glass and started collecting it,” Ella said. “We eventually had a lot of glass and on one walk on the beach, we were like, ‘Why don’t we make a business out of this?’”
The siblings, along with their parents, collected as much glass from walks on the beaches as possible to use in their art. Soon after they started making some pieces last year, Joseph received a rock-tumbler for Christmas. He and Ella decided to make their own tumbled glass to be used in their pieces alongside their found sea glass.
“Our parents drink wine,” Ella said. “My brother and my dad smash the wine bottles [once empty] to get pieces to throw into the tumbler to be used in our art too.”
A few recent designs made by the pair include seasonal images, like Christmas wreaths and trees, string lights and a Santa hat. Additionally, the brother and sister tapped into their Oyster Bay roots, creating a number of art pieces centered around sea life and ocean imagery, like starfish and lighthouses. They also made a dragonfly design and a flower design.
“My favorite part is we got to go to the beach a lot during the summer, and the glass that we find on the beach are really pretty …,” Ella said.
Each of the siblings have created their own designs, incorporating both sea glass and tumbled glass to add dimension to the images. Ella’s pieces are mostly the seasonal images, while Joseph had a hand in designing the more beach and water-themed pieces, like an orca whale and a sand crab.
Joseph and Ella’s art is on display and currently for sale at Hive Market and Maker’s Space on Audrey Avenue, where the two held a “Meet the Makers” event on Nov. 28. Attendees were able to learn what inspired them to start their sea glass business during the pandemic.
In addition to the Hive, Ella and Joseph’s pieces are available for purchase through their website, glamorousglasscreations.weebly.com.
“We like to spend time making stuff and not spending that much time on things like electronics,” Joseph said. “It’s pretty fun.”
In selling their pieces at the Hive Market, Joe and Ella became the Hive’s youngest ever featured artisans. They gave their new customers an opportunity to follow their work by putting a QR code on each piece, which leads to their website, where some of the pieces are available for purchase.
“We were very excited to have Glamorous Glass work in our shop,” Laura Escobar, founder and owner of HIVE Market and Maker’s Space said. “Now more than ever people want to support local businesses and we are happy to be able to support our local makers, especially ones who live in our hometown.”
Looking ahead, the two don’t have specific plans to expand their operation, or increase the number of designs made available, they said, but if the right time comes, they will consider taking their business to the next level.
“Later on, we’ll see if we expand,” Ella said.
Moving forward, Joe and Ella are considering shifting Glamorous Glass Creations into a philanthropic direction, donating some money from the sales of their pieces to a charity of their choice. While they haven’t settled on one just yet, they are leaning towards an animal-related charity.
“We just got a dog in the beginning of the Covid shutdown,” Ella said, “so we were thinking of a dog charity if anything.”
