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Born in St. Barnabe Sud, Quebec, Canada, Mrs. Avis went to the Pacific Coast in 1936, where she became an American citizen. At that time she was Miss Marie La Riviere, but her sunny smile soon attracted a young man who had come from Washington, and a little later she and Arthur Avis were married. That they have "lived happily ever after," is no idle pleasantry, for it would be hard to find two people who are more congenial.

It wasn't until a severe illness kept her in a hospital for fifteen months that Marie Avis became shell-happy from watching a roommate who was making shell jewelry. Always quick and deft with hand work, her fingers itched to touch and arrange the fascinating little colored shells. Subsequently, during her long convalescence, she not only mastered the rudiments of a hobby which was to develop into "Avis, California," a profitable avocation, but she was deeply grateful to have discovered a creative art to occupy her mind agreeably while striving to regain her physical well-being. And so today when shellcraft has become a recognized industry as well as a pleasant pastime, Mrs. Avis spends several hours each day creating lovely brooches, earrings, necklaces, figurines, and decorated boxes, plaques and perfume bottles which she sells at a profit in both local and out-of-state gift shops.

UNQUESTIONABLY there is a charm about shells. Perhaps this is because they have had such a varied, worldwide use among races since time immemorial. Early Mediterranean peoples used large shells as receptacles for food and water. African tribes adorned themselves with loops and strands of small shells; the American Indians used conveniently sized shells as money and for barter, as well as for bodily decoration. Certain tribes of Indians carved cameos from shells, or made exquisite buttons from some types of clam. At the present time cup-shaped shells serve as nut cups, while abalones are suitable as soup dishes, or planters for small flora. The large spiral types make graceful vases.

Geographically speaking, shells have a universal distribution, certain kinds occurring only in cold waters, with an entirely different line found in tropical seas. Many of our armed forces who were stationed near Australia and in the South Seas brought home enormous, handsome shells that lend themselves to outstanding flower arrangements, planters, or interesting conversation pieces.

So, all in all, it was a lucky happenstance that gave Mrs. Avis the impetus toward such a fascinating hobby. She began with one of the simplest examples of shellcraft—a pair of rose earrings. She borrowed the makings from her roommate—a small package of rose-colored baby cup shells which resemble the petals of a flower, some lucines, a pair of blank earrings, a couple of plastic earring discs, a tube of the "stickingest" household cement and some tiny tweezers.

In order to hold the work steady and have both hands free, Mrs. Avis screwed a blank earring to the edge of a pasteboard box. To this earring, she cemented the small plastic disc to make a foundation that would be durable. When it was dry enough to be handled, she picked up a baby cup with the points of the tweezers, gently squeezed the tube of cement, touched the edge of the shell to it, then placed the shell on the outer edge of the disc with the hinged side up. Using one baby cup after another, she constructed a border around the outer edge of the disc, completing the circle.

Continuing to work in a circle, she lapped the last shell over the previous one to give the rose a natural appearance. When all the baby cups were in place, she glued two of the tiny lucines almost touching each other at dead center to give the illusion of a rose just beginning to open. (Had she wanted to create a fully opened rose, she would have placed the baby cups with their rounded edges up.)

AFTER FINISHING the earrings, Mrs. Avis sent for an illustrated catalog which pictured a bewildering array of shells, all named, and with directions and charts for making the most effective use of them. She began to put in as much time on shell jewelry as her condition permitted, and she derived great pleasure from giving her completed work to her friends.

She had no thought of commercializing her newly found art, but, as her jewelry had begun to take on a professional touch, her nurse one day asked to buy a brooch and earring set. They settled upon $2.50 as a fair price, and soon Marie was selling to many of her friends who work for a living, and they, in turn, were taking orders for more. So, her convalescence proved to be a profitable period, for, from an investment of a few dollars, she realized approximately $300.

Then, happily able to be home once more, Mrs. Avis went with her husband on jaunts to the seashore, where they both had fun picking up all sorts of interesting shells from the wet sands. Arthur became almost as apt as Marie in spotting a promising specimen for their beginning collection—which, by the way, is still growing.

MRS. AVIS' first figurines were made entirely from shells gathered at Laguna Beach, California—whimsical little people with quaint clothing, and cheerful, life-like expressions. She has never sold any of these, preferring to keep them as little figurines of fun to place on shelves or in odd corners about the home which she and Arthur love so much.

Marie's first figurine made from purchased merchandise was a dignified matron ten inches tall which she calls Rose. Rose was dressed mostly in the larger type of shell, the fluted-scoop sort called scallop shells. They form the voluminous draped skirt, as well as the sedate bonnet. They are white, with a touch of pastel flower decor here and there. Considering Rose somewhat in the role of mascot, Marie has never parted with her. Rose's simple wardrobe proved to be entirely too easy for Marie's ambitious fingers—and soon she was turning out flirtatious misses, coy ladies, and Hula dancers about two inches high, and giving them away to her friends to use for favors and table decorations.

Then her best friend announced her engagement, and Mrs. Avis wanted to make her something especially outstanding and individual. "Why not a wedding party in miniature?" she asked her husband eagerly.

"Swell—but that would be an enormous amount of work!" Mr. Avis exclaimed, always concerned lest his wife overdo.

"It would be such fun to see her face when she spies the tiny wedding party on the bride's table!" said Mrs. Avis, her face radiating enthusiasm.

Arthur sighed, then grinned, "Well, the bride will be a lucky gal, is all I can say," he said. Following her into the room where she still keeps her worktable and the unbelievable variety of shells of every size, shape and color in glass jars, he added anxiously, "You must rest before you become tense—."

"I do rest," Marie replied blithely. "You've heard of women who say that crochet work rests them? Well, shellcraft rests me."

"Promise not to get over-tired?"

"I'll work only two hours at a stretch," Mrs. Avis agreed, sitting down and beginning to pick out the makings for the first of the six four-inch-tall bridesmaids.

AS SHE always begins with the head, she first chose a medium lucine, a rather thick, almost circular shell with a pearly surface, which is about ½ inch in diameter. On this she painted expressive features in oil with a very slim brush. When the paint had dried, she cemented a large, paper-thin, white, slightly scalloped jingle shell on the top of the head, tilting it at a fetching angle to form the brim of the picture hat. Under the brim, she cemented minute baby cup shells, the color to match that of the bouquet the bridesmaid would carry.

Pipe cleaners form the skeleton of all of Marie's figurines. In this case, if feet were to have shown, she'd have used two pieces and finished them with tiny snail shells for the feet. But since the bridesmaid's skirt was to touch the floor, only a single bit was needed. At the lower end she tied a knot; over the upper end she slipped seven or eight keyhole limpet shells, a shell for each flounce. By their very construction these shells are already pierced in the center, and their grayish, rather rough texture makes an ideal ruffle for a skirt. For the waist she selected two of the larger lucine shells, turning their concave sides toward each other and cementing them to the skeleton above the top skirt flounce. The arms, two tiny bits of pipe cleaner, ordinarily would have been finished with baby cup shell hands. But as the hands were to be concealed behind the bouquet, this wasn't necessary. Bit by bit, Mrs. Avis cemented on tiny baby cups to form the bouquet, the hidden hands seemingly holding the flowers. White, garfish bone, cut in slivers, made the ribbon, and sheer white snapper scales made floating capes to finish off the shoulders. The head, wearing the picture hat, was cemented on to the top of the pipecleaner "backbone," and a white bow of garfish scale finished the neckline. Completed, the miniature stood alone, all ready to walk down the aisle to the strains of the wedding march—

Using the same basic construction and technique, Mrs. Avis finished the nine figurines, together with a decorated cross before which the tiny bride and groom would seem to pledge their troth.

She not only finished the exquisite ensemble in time but herself placed it on the bride's table at which she was an honored guest. Realizing how much joy she had given her friend, she decided to give a miniature bride and groom to other friends when they said, "I do." Needless to say, these were treasured, not only for their sentimental value, but for their beauty.

IN ADDITION to compliments, Mrs. Avis received a great many orders for figurines from those who had seen the tiny wedding party. When she had caught up with these orders, she began to build up a backlog of jewelry, figurines, and other shell-decorated novelties for the Christmas trade. With a nice selection, tastefully arranged in a large box, she set out to call upon the local gift shops, where she was able to place her shellcraft on consignment without any difficulty. At present, she has enough annual repeat orders in three local and three out-of-state gift shops to keep her pleasantly occupied, and she could have enough more to make her avocation into a full-time vocation. However, husband and home come first, and she loves to make all sorts of artistic things for the house—rugs, braided and hooked, drapes, curtains, and decorated plastic novelties.

One of the most popular sets is the fan brooch and earrings, illustrated. Each artist, of course, has his or her special type of working methods, but Mrs. Avis prefers to work in a shallow tray similar to a cookie sheet with a piece of waxed paper fitted in. On this she sets the receptacles containing the shells (Figures 1 to 5), she intends to use, and the necessary equipment. For the fan brooch, she selects a fan-shaped base of clear plastic, puts a drop of cement on the back, and lays it flat on the waxed paper. The drop of cement holds it firmly and keeps it from sliding about. Next she puts cement on the edges of the King Crown cut-and-a-half shell (Figure 1), which is to form the handle of the fan (Figure 6). Next she places the pearly white, round Pikaki shells which are the size of a small pea, all around the edges to form the border (Figure 7). In the pictured brooch, thirty-four of these Pikaki shells were needed, but had the shells been smaller, more would have been needed. If larger, of course fewer would have served.

Next, she cements a small King Crown double-cut shell in the center of the plastic base to form one of the ribs. Four more are fitted in neatly (Figure 8). If the shells are larger, only three would be required. Then small, cup-shaped Lilac shells in pastel colors, are placed in five-petaled flowers to fill in (Figure 9). The idea is to show as little of the plastic base as possible. A tiny yellow Cerethium shell forms the center of each flower.

The plastic base is then loosened from the waxed paper, and a nickel pin, or catch, containing three or more holes and 1¼ inches in length, is cemented to the back. This pin has a safety catch, and wholesales for about 25 cents a dozen, or less by the gross. The earrings are easily made from Pikaki shells, bits of chain, and tiny pastel shells. A beginner buying locally in a small quantity, would pay about 75 cents to make the set. But since Mrs. Avis buys by the gross, direct from the factory, she can of course make her jewelry cheaper. Her itemized cost on the set follows: plastic foundation—5 cents; earring backs—5 cents; pin back—2 cents; chain for earrings—5 cents; King Crown shells—8 cents; Pikaki and other shells--11 cents and glue—2 cents, which adds up to just 38 cents. Selling for $3, this shows a nice profit. Mrs. Avis often gives this popular set as a gift. In fact, each year she selects some article—a decorated jewelry box, for instance—and makes up enough of them for all her friends for Christmas.

THE AVISES continue to collect shells, and now they have a display collection of over 200 species, mounted and cataloged. Exhibiting these along with other shellcraft, Mrs. Avis won awards in 1950 at the Los Angeles Annual Hobby Show in Shrine Auditorium, and the Pacific National Exhibition at Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1951 she received a blue ribbon at the fair in near-by San Fernando, California.

Naturally, Mrs. Avis obtains many orders from individuals who have seen her displays, and write to her for information. But her out-of-state orders have come about from contacts she made with gift shops advertising in some hobby magazines. Year after year Mrs. Avis retains these old customers in Texas and Illinois. After the middle of the year she writes to them, sending a list of the merchandise she has to offer. As they are by now well acquainted with her line, it isn't necessary to include samples as would have to be done if one were contacting a new prospective customer. The gift shops with which she does a steady business send her their orders, and she ships the articles to be sold on consignment. Consignment means that the gift shop pays out no money in advance, and receives a percentage of the selling price which is agreed upon, sending Mrs. Avis a check for the major part. Experience has taught her that it is the jewelry which sells most readily.

There are many firms that specialize in supplies for shellcraft. They sell by the dozen or by the gross, such necessities as foundation, etc. Shells come by the package, the ounce, the pint or quart, and large sizes at so much a dozen. These firms put out illustrated catalogs with information and price lists.

AS TO the prices for the finished article—Mrs. Avis sells her figurines for from $1.25 to $2.50 each, depending upon the work involved. Brooch and earring sets, single brooches, buttons, barrettes, combs, scatterpins, and ribbon with lavaliere, are mounted neatly on three-by-five-inch white cards, on which is stamped "Handmade by Avis, California." The brooch and earring sets bring from $1.40 to $3 each. Barrettes are 70 cents. Buttons are around 60 cents each. Scatterpin and earring sets average $2 each. A lavaliere on black ribbon is $1. Besides, Mrs. Avis will make a necklace to match any set on order. According to the work involved, her decorated plastic jewelry boxes, perfume bottles, ash trays, picture frames, and lamp bases can be created to suit almost any pocketbook. All in all she clears about $400 annually.

Added to the numerous attractions of shellcraft there is the vital factor that shell products ship well with almost no damage, but must be packed carefully, with a layer of cotton next to the trim, and layers of tissue paper to prevent jarring.