About Southwest Desert Glass

Southwest Desert Glass began circa 2024–2025 as a simple experiment with a rock tumbler and the red desert sand found throughout Southwest Utah. What started as curiosity quickly became a way to repurpose discarded and broken glass into smooth, frosted pieces with a sea-glass-like finish.

I’m a U.S. Navy veteran and disabled veteran, and Southwest Desert Glass is a one-person small business built around creativity, cleanup, and respect for the places I explore. I collect discarded glass from desert areas and other places where collection is permitted, including private property only with the owner’s permission. Along the way, I also pick up other litter whenever I can, with the goal of leaving every place better than I found it.

The glass is cleaned, carefully sorted, and tumbled with water and Utah red desert sand, sometimes along with naturally occurring sandstone, until the sharp edges are softened and each piece develops its own unique finish.

I do not collect from protected archaeological, historical, cultural, or restricted areas, and I never remove material from private property without permission. The goal is simple: responsibly transform glass that might otherwise remain as litter into something worth appreciating again.