WEST JORDAN, Utah - Jennifer Peterson often shops the shelves of the Deseret Industries Thrift Store in West Jordan looking for decorative items, particularly art glass.
"Interesting, I always buy them," she said glancing at a curio cabinet full of colorful items. "We shop for treasures me and my husband, it's kind of a hobby."
Last Monday, an unusual piece caught her eye. "I turned it over and saw the gallery name. I thought, well it might be worth something."
She purchased the glass globe and its contents for three dollars. The beautiful blue and green colored swirls that surround the globe are topped with bits of white, resembling whitewater atop waves. Inside, seashells and what appears to be a dark coarse sand flow freely when the globe is turned.
"One night after my husband went to bed, I got online, researched it and looked up the gallery name," Jennifer said.
The Edge Gallery in Newport, Oregon, specializes in artistic glass. When looking at their website at first, Jennifer had a hard time spotting a piece like the one she purchased until she clicked on a category called "Memorial Glass."
Memorial Glass is a specialty. Human ashes, or cremains, can be used in the process of creating blown glass with stunning results. Prices start at $150.
"The white within the glass is the ashes itself. That's what the lady at the gallery told me," Jennifer said. Concerned that she may not be the most appropriate owner of the glass globe, she reached out to the Edge Gallery.
The owner of the Edge Gallery tells Fox 13 he will look into past customers who live in Utah in an attempt to learn more about the piece in question. He says it is also possible the globe may not contain cremains, as some globes have been created without.
In the mean time, Jennifer feels compelled to guard the piece, just in case it's all that remains of someone.
"Pretty crazy, that you can end up in a thrift store on a shelf for three dollars", she said, "I hope I don't end up like that."
Peterson said that if the owner of the piece would like it back, they can email her at bikrbabe@live.com.
