Christa’s South aspires to make the finest quality and most unusual seashell pieces in the world. Working with great architects and designers has led me in directions from minimalist to way over the top in terms of form, color, dimension and texture. I have been inspired by grottoes, tiles, stone work and other art forms and mediums.

Always finding some natural curiosity to photograph or bring home, I have added fossils, semi-precious stones and crystals to my massive collections of specimen shells and corals from which I draw.

My undergraduate degree is in journalism, and I worked as a writer and producer in Washington, DC. I love words, but the Earth is an amazing treasure trove of the only things that never finally bore me. I have brought home rocks, bones, bird’s nests, feathers and other little pieces of nature since I was a child, and was fascinated by archeology in graduate courses at Harvard University.

Seeing Mary Leaky’s Australopithicus skull in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, was a high point in my life. Of course living in Italy turned me on to an exciting love affair with history and stone, and in Bavaria my family’s love of the forest was deeply instilled in my sensibilities.

For 25 years I had a fine antiques store on Antique Row in West Palm Beach. It was there that almost 20 years ago I first started experimenting with seashell art, and creating the works which take up all my time an energy now.

At Christa’s South we do custom work aside from catalog items. Your project can look clean, pristine and virginal, or as if it had a crusty legacy of hundreds of years. We have the capability of fabricating furniture and fitted wall panels, as well as ceilings.

Thank you for your interest. We have been widely copied by others, but never equaled in the quality or originality of our work. Our goal is to keep learning and improving with every project done. I look forward to working with you.