Coastal life from Maine to Florida inspires The Atlantic Collection. In retrospect my fascination with clay started when I was very young. Growing up on the coast of Maine, I collected clay along the shore every chance I got. Full buckets were dragged home and shaped into figures, candlesticks and bowls— whatever my imagination conjured and my fingers could form. As I dug for clay on one particular island, sea urchins lined the ledge below the waterline— abundantly. Osprey dove and feasted; gulls scavenged their leftovers. Most often I stumbled upon the shattered remnants: bits and pieces— but every once in a while, a nearly perfect empty urchin found me. The delicate shells, pinholes where tines once were, beautiful round little orbs, felt like gifts from the sea.