Whether your sandy reminiscences are wet or dry, two artists have devised ways to make your memories tangible.

My brain inextricably links sand to sea thanks to 25 summers spent on a New Jersey barrier island.

Middle East experiences have me now connecting the grainy stuff to locations and memories largely devoid of water, such as Wadi Rum’s white desert, the crumbled limestone skirting Jerash’s ruins,  and Petra’s pulverized sandstone – a powderlike coppery red.

Dune Jewelry Design combines sterling silver with sand from your favorite beach, desert, golf course or ancient ruin to create one-of-a-kind jewelry that links to specific memories. The designs are simple, modern, and clean.

Self-taught jewelry designer Holly Daniels Christensen stocks sand from over 700 locations world-wide, or send her your own sand for a fully customized piece.  A drop-down menu on her website lets you scan her granular library:  she’s got samples from Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

Christensen is a native Cape Codder and direct descendant of the Cape’s Nauset (Wampanoag) Indian tribe.  Deeply rooted in that Massachusetts beachline, she was struck  by the observation that many of us have a  powerful emotional connection with a specific patch of sand: special memories or adventures that took place on sandy spots spanning the globe.   Her company credo is “Live for the moment, then take it with you.”