Cape Ann Designs

June 2, 2026

Who are you, and what is your business?

Twenty-five years ago, I launched two, very different businesses on parallel tracks. One happened mostly “over the bridge” with the Boston Tech community as a marketing advisor for BTB/Tech companies. The other grew locally as an art-based entity. It’s the art-based entity, Cape Ann Designs, to which I will refer in this interview.

Please provide a brief description of your company.

Cape Ann Designs is a one-person entity. I am a maker focused on creating one-of-a-kind wearable art in the form of sea glass jewelry, hair accessories, and special garden pieces such as stepping stones and sculpture.

What inspired you to start your business, and what keeps you going?

I was inspired by a combination of factors after I moved to Gloucester from New York City! First of all, when I moved here 32 years ago, I met my husband who is a master craftsman. Being around him inspired me to return to my creative side. He introduced me to collecting sea glass as we both love history and antiques. But, practically speaking, just collecting was not of interest to me. I needed to do something with this unique local treasure and the first thing I thought of was to make hair accessories – basically a “lost” form of jewelry and one that had been nagging at me for a long time – having always had long hair! I have always been drawn to design and fashion and making wearable art was a natural direction for me. I quickly grew my wearable art to include jewelry as the designs caught on.

From day one, I wanted this to be a business that stood on its own two feet – not a hobby. [For me, hobbies are endeavors that no one would ever pay me to do – like golf or tennis]. I set my prices and created all the aspects of this endeavor to be able to sell both wholesale and retail. I also implemented a marketing program from day one to build a following. I have taken a number of classes to learn some techniques, but it’s really the design and unusual ways that I have used the sea glass and pottery that have helped me build a wonderful following of customers over the years. Their feedback and patronage have sustained and inspired me.

What aspect of your business are you most passionate about?

I particularly love the challenge of creating in a very specific medium. I have continued to work with only real sea glass and not altering it in any way. This in itself has been hard to sustain as it’s easy to diverge! So, design-wise, it forces me to stretch my imagination by finding new ways to use it. I’ve designed entirely new collections based on a particular shape such as bottlenecks or half bottlenecks. Making garden stepping stones evolved out of my need to use very large pieces not suited to jewelry

Is there something unique about your business that you’d like to share that most people wouldn’t know about?

I make every piece myself and primarily work within my collection. However, more and more, people ask me to design custom pieces from THEIR collection. Recently, I have also been given some very old collections which require a lot of sorting. When I receive someone’s sea glass, I will make them something from their collection as a remembrance and thank you.

What sets your business apart from other similar businesses?

I have been fortunate to work in the corporate world and as a business consultant for many years. As such, I understand the importance of every customer interaction. I work hard to communicate regularly, offer new product, keep my studio “ready” for any visitors, and treat my retail network as partners to support their businesses. I feel it’s particularly important that artists are also good business people or have someone in their sphere that can do this for them.

Do you have a recent accomplishment or achievement you’d like to highlight and share with others?

In 2025 I had the privilege of Chronicle5 filming in my studio. The episode was recently re-played. This was definitely as fabulous boost to my creative spirit and business. The episode is available on YouTube and is part of a series focused on Gloucester off season. It’s equally important to boost the profile of our entire arts community. The work I did on Cape Ann ARTWaves is something for which I am equally proud. The 75 artist interviewed were co-hosted and co-produced with fellow artist Kristine Fisher and 1623 Studios. They now reside in the video archives of the Cape Ann Museum.

Do you have a goal you want your business to achieve in the next one, 5, or 10 years?

I would love to really ramp up the number of stores that carry my work in the region and also in places with a summer climate year-round! I feel it’s extremely important to get hand-made, one-of-a-kind goods into the hands of gift shops and galleries AND support their efforts as partners. It’s very difficult for retailers to sell artist goods. So, my goal is to make it as easy as possible for them to work with me and make it a win-win. Many have gone out of business and we need to do our share. I’d also like to host more private groups in my studio!

Why do you love the Greater Cape Ann region and doing business locally?

We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful and authentic places in the country. I’ve lived in many cities here and abroad and when I landed here, I truly felt I had found a home. It’s not just the natural beauty – it’s that this is a true community where people take care of each other and you can still knock on someone’s door to say hello. It’s also safe and you can trust people. That’s a rare gift. In the last 25 years, the arts community has become a much bigger part of the economy and I am happy to see the Chamber and other groups start to embrace that as a critical part of our story.

As someone doing business in this area, how has or how can the Chamber help your business?

Marketing and relationship building are the key to any business’s growth. I know that the Chamber knows this, but it’s a message that we have to continually reinforce. I’d love to see the Chamber staff and volunteers have an opportunity to get out of the office to see more of the wonderful places, businesses, people, and events they are promoting-maybe something different or new each week – then maybe create some fun around it like “Michelle’s pick of the week!” It’s easy for any of us to get into a routine and with so many new people, I think it will build enthusiasm and commitment for the long term.

Contact Info

Cape Ann Designs
44 Thurston Pt. Rd., Gloucester
978-283-8333
jackie@capeanndesigns.com
www.capeanndesigns.com

Social Media

• Facebook: @SeaGlassCapeAnn
• Instagram: @jgdefalco
• Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-ganim-defalco-865a826/