 Apple murex shells are large sea snails found in Florida. They feature lacy vertical stripes and ridges and one large round opening. This is a fairly common find on Southwest Florida beaches, and often when I find one, I find many of them. The apple murex is one of 6 murex species found here.
Scientific name of the Apple Murex: Phyllonotus pomum Coloring: brown and white stripes, sometimes featuring pink, orange, purple and reddish-brown hues. Size: up to about 5 inches Apple murex live in coral reefs, mangroves, shell beds, rock and sand. They are carnivorous gastropods, drilling holes in bivalves.
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 The glossy, smooth, marble-like olive shells have a distinctive oval-shape with a conical top. You can find a variety of sizes, with a maximum size of about 3.5 inches. The most common olive shells in Southwest Florida are the lettered olive, which are cream or tan colored with brownish v-shaped "lettering". I have also found all-cream colored shells, and recently a dark-gray colored one. Scientific name of the lettered olive: Oliva sayana Olives are predatory sea snails, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Olivdae. Coloring: tan, white, cream, brownish, gray Size: up to 3.5 inches Find lettered olives from North Carolina to Florida, Louisiana to Texas and south through the east coast of Mexico. It typically lives in near-shore waters, on shallow sand flats near inlets. The shells frequently wash ashore on Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach. -Melissa    These breezy and rainy days in Fort Myers are feeling a bit like autumn! Here's our autumn bucket list for Southwest Florida. How many will you complete?
  Our events this month included First Friday Art Walk, Wednesday Night Market at Alliance for the Arts, and a Riverside Pop-up Shop. Learn more on our local event page.
On Patreon this month, we will be releasing our next digital zine! This one will be themed Southwest Florida Plants and will feature art and sketches by Matt and Melissa, a simple incense recipe to try at home, a game, and more. We will be releasing a new sticker design this month, and subscribers to our Fiddler Crab, Manatee, and Gum Limbo tiers will receive one in the mail! Photo above: Seashells collected near Marco Island, Florida  Our events this month include First Friday Art Walk and the Wednesday Night Market at Alliance for the Arts. Learn more on our local event page.
This month we will be continuing work on some new designs for a February Valentine/dessert release and a tote bag. We are excited to be vending at the Tampa Bay Chocolate Festival in February! On Patreon this month, we will be releasing our first digital zine! This one will be themed New Explorations. Photo above: palm trees at St. Armand's Key, Sarasota.  Our events this month include the First Friday Art Walk, a Holiday Market at the Edison Ford Winter Estates, and a Night Market! Learn more on our local event page.
This month we will be working on some new designs for a February valentine/dessert release and a tote bag. Matt's next incense and fragrance is also in the works. Follow our journey on Patreon! This month we will be releasing printable gift tags and a flamingo coloring page. We would love for you to complete our Patreon survey! We will be making some changes to our Patreon page next year, and would like to know what you think. Photo above: our booth at Paseo last week.  Greetings from Fort Myers Florida!
The past couple of weeks have been insane here, to put it lightly. We were fortunate enough to have survived hurricane Ian with very little damage to our personal property and business inventory, but this disaster has hit extremely close to home. Most of our work has been inspired by the beauty and nature on Sanibel Island and the fun vibe of Fort Myers Beach. These past days we have went back and forth with how to move forward. Though it is going to be difficult, we have been inspired by the support of our friends here and the overall optimism of the local businesses and government. More debris is being removed everyday, and rebuilding is already taking place. First order of business, you can find Melissa's new Halloween designs here! We've also added some new Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach designs. A portion of all purchases from these categories will be donated. We are currently investigating where the donations will be directed. A lot of the events and markets we were planning the next few months have been cancelled, for obvious reasons. However, you can still find some Halloween goodies at our Virtual Halloween Market, Estero Farmers Market, Oktoberfest, and Fall Festival at Edison Ford Winter Estates. Learn more on our local event page. This month we are focussing on surviving, participating in the Drawtober art challenge on Instagram, and printing some cards for the upcoming holiday season. Follow our journey on Patreon! This month we are preparing some interesting incenses and ingredients for the Gum Limbo tier, sharing a photo tour of Six Mile Cypress Preserve, creating a Halloween-themed coloring page, and catching up with a few posts from last month due to the storm. Thank you so much to those of you who have supported us during this difficult time! Your kind comments and purchases mean a lot. |
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