Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Horseshoe Crabs - a fun accessory



Horseshoe Crabs - they're kind of cute, aren't they?  It's best to find them dead on the beach or in an artificial form - especially because their blood contains amebocytes, which play a role similar to white blood cells, and medical firms  harvest them, bleed them for their "blue blood" and 
then return them to the sea. Plus, they're important to the ocean ecosystem.
 (Design above by Marika Meyer)


Design by Laura Garcia, Lonny March/April 2012, photography by Patrick Cline


Bronze Limule Sconce, here


Painted silver, from etsy here

12 comments:

therelishedroost said...

Agreed!! Move over Turtle shells I think you found the next cool accessory! Also how many times do you walk down the beach and see one of these poor shells just sitting there, now they have a purpose, great!!
xo Karolyn

ArchitectDesign™ said...

I don't know - sorta cool but also creepy??

prince snow farm said...

Yes, I agree, only take the dead ones, as they are so scientifically important to research and the ecosystem. I have been fascinated since I was a kid. I think someone needs to leave one on ArchitectDesigns pillow.

Teresa Hatfield ~ Splendid Sass said...

Michele-
Never thought of using horseshoe crabs for decor!! Love.
Happy Birthday to Ryan!
Happy Wednesday.
Teresa
xoxo

Unknown said...

I need to save one of these from our beach trip. By the time they wash up on shore they seem kind of fragile, but I love them painted! Great idea Michelle!
xo Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com
P.S. Looking forward to Press Day with you!

Mary Ann Pickett said...

How interesting! Very cool.

TSL said...

Growing up after a storm we'd find them upside down at the dock behind our home. I never knew much about them, thanks for the info, now I want to learn more. And though we'd take buckets of crabs back home, never thought to take a horseshoe crab - lol.

Pigtown*Design said...

i saw some in a chic store in nyc a few weeks ago. we always had them at our beach house growing up, because along the delaware coast you can always find them. they are a very important species, leftover from the dinosaur years.
we also had friends who used them as wall sconces. they were marvelous.

Kerry Steele- Design du Monde said...

I like the shell as a light but the tail reminds me a bit of an opossum tail-yuck. Maybe the tail could accidentally break off.

Dumbwit Tellher said...

I love the sconce. I had no idea that about their 'blue blood'! I'm thinking of you as your vacation in Scotland nears. This week we've had sunny bright blue skies and my hopes are that it holds out for your family. Still cold, but it sure beats dark days. Looking forward to reading about your adventures.
Cheers!

Unknown said...

Ewww, not for me! We had them around our beach house and they actually frightened me as a child seeing them! But glad to know of their value to our ecosystem and will look at them a little more positively now. But to decorate with them, no thank you.

Regards,
jean

Unknown said...

Ewww, not for me! We had them around our beach house and they actually frightened me as a child seeing them! But glad to know of their value to our ecosystem and will look at them a little more positively now. But to decorate with them, no thank you.

Regards,
jean

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