Welcome Home: Local Living Episode 6: “Beyond the Surface”

At GlassEco Surfaces, Elizabeth Fisher transforms recycled glass and personal keepsakes into one-of-a-kind surfaces that give homeowners a lasting connection to the places they live.

Audio Interview and Story by Josh Walker | Photograph by Ruta Smith

A homeowner once came to Elizabeth Fisher of GlassEco Surfaces with debris from the World Trade Center. Her family had been personally affected by the September 11 attacks, and she wanted to preserve a tangible connection to that history in her home. She knew Fisher could incorporate those pieces into a custom surface, making them a permanent part of her everyday surroundings.

Another homeowner saved a handful of nails from a barn she’d dismantled, a cherished memory that represented a past chapter of her life. Fisher embedded the pieces that once held part of a beloved property together into a tangible reminder of that era.

She’s also incorporated into custom surfaces Civil War-era musket balls, antique tobacco pipes, arrowheads unearthed on private property, and even the rim of a champagne bottle saved from a wedding. Each piece tells a different story, preserved within a material that becomes part of everyday life.

These are among the more extraordinary requests Fisher has encountered at GlassEco Surfaces, where discarded glass, coastal shells, and sometimes deeply personal keepsakes find new purpose in countertops, backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, and other architectural surfaces. I recently visited her at the Charleston showroom to learn how she and her husband, Chris, turned a recycling business into an unlikely creative enterprise, and how their work has given homeowners a way to build pieces of their own stories directly into the places they live.

The company’s roots stretch back to 1992, when Chris founded Fisher Recycling. For years, the business collected recyclable materials from Charleston-area businesses before shifting its focus toward glass. The change presented an opportunity to rethink what happened to those discarded bottles and other glass materials after collection.

“What we ended up looking at was terrazzo countertops,” she said, adding that in the recycling industry, this kind of process is known as closing the loop. “You’re collecting material, you’re reusing the material, and then reselling the material to your local clientele.”

The surfaces they create offer a distinctly coastal interpretation of terrazzo, with fragments of colored glass and shells suspended in resin or cementitious material. Some designs feature subtle, finely crushed pieces against neutral backgrounds, while others make bold statements with larger fragments of cobalt blue, turquoise, green, pink, and other colors. Depending on the combination, the finished material can resemble traditional terrazzo, coastal tabby, or something entirely its own.

Every surface is one-of-a-kind. Even when customers choose the same materials, the orientation and depth of individual pieces create subtle variations in color and appearance. “You never know how the shell is going to land,” Fisher explained. The same is true for glass, which can settle in any position and appear richly saturated or nearly translucent.

While that unpredictability gives the process an artistic quality, the real creativity often begins long before the material reaches a mold. Customers arrive with everything from carefully collected inspiration photographs to little more than a general idea of what they like. Fisher guides them through combinations of background colors, glass fragments, and shells, sometimes arranging the materials together in a dish until something clicks.

“All of a sudden, you add one color, and you’re like, ‘That’s it, that’s how it works,'” she said.

Some people bring wallpaper samples, lighting selections, or other elements from their homes to help inform the design. Others arrive carrying something far more personal, like the aforementioned nails, musket balls, tobacco pipes, and arrowheads, as well as sentimental jewelry, sea glass, and even shark teeth.

The possibilities extend well beyond conventional decorative materials, provided the objects can withstand the production process, and Fisher emphasizes that customers needn’t arrive with a collection of meaningful artifacts to create something personal. Sometimes the significance lies simply in being a part of the creative process.

“I want them to know that they contributed to that design,” she said. “I want them to know that they chose that to fit their space.”

Since the Fishers started GlassEco Surfaces, the company has expanded beyond traditional countertops to include tabletops, backsplashes, fireplace or tub surrounds, and other architectural features. They’ve also introduced Element, a concrete-based product designed for outdoor applications, bringing the same creative possibilities to spaces beyond the home’s interior.

For Fisher, the greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that each finished piece reflects a part of the person who helped create it. Whether telling the story of a cherished keepsake or complementing the color story of a thoughtfully designed interior, the finished surface carries meaning that extends beyond its striking one-of-a-kind appearance.

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Welcome Home: Local Living is a Charleston Home + Design series that explores what makes a house feel like home through conversations with the people who shape the way we live. Each installment goes beyond products and projects to uncover the experiences, ideas, and personal connections that influence how we design, furnish, and experience our homes. For more information or to participate in the series, contact josh@newhomecharleston.com.

Listen to the interview.