COCO BY THE SEA
“CoCo By The Sea” isn’t just the name of CoCo Rocili’s jewelry business – it’s also an apt description of where you’ll find her. Many of CoCo’s custom earrings, necklaces, and keychains are made using materials she finds beachcombing in King Cove, and others are based on the colors, textures, and environment of the Island. Whatever the material is – beads, fish-skin leather, fur, sea glass – it’s always something that speaks to her.
“The pandemic is what got me started making jewelry,” she explained. “But my twin sister, Jill, was and always has been a big supporter and inspiration for me.” CoCo has always loved creating things, and when COVID-19 forced her to spend more time at home than usual, she started using her beachcombing finds to make her pieces. She shared a few photos on social media and received several inquiries and requests to buy her earrings and other jewelry from across the globe.
“A friend suggested I start a business – that idea hadn’t occurred to me until that point, but I started it the next day,” CoCo reminisced. Within a week of launching, she’d done her first giveaway and already had over 1,000 followers on social media.
Despite the quick success and sudden interest, CoCo stays grounded. She spends plenty of time “by the sea”, finding inspiration from just walking on the beach and incorporating the colors and textures of King Cove into her artwork. Nearly anything can inspire her – she discovered some crab pots during one beachcombing expedition, and ended up incorporating beads of the same color as the pots into her next pieces.
Other items are even more special. “I’ve also had people just give me things that I incorporate into jewelry; one elder in my family who was a dear part of our community, he would stop me on the road just to give me some porcupine quills,” she said fondly. “That means everything to me. Fishing, hunting, and subsistence are deeply important to my culture and to use materials from that is a big part of who I am.”
In addition to drawing inspiration from her sister and the community and people of King Cove, CoCo says the Alaska Native artist community constantly amazes her. “I’ve met so many amazing artists from Alaska – we’ve learned from each other, done trades, helped one another; Alaska might be a large state, but we’re a very tight-knit community.”
CoCo recently hit the 50-state milestone: at least one person from all 50 states has purchased a piece of jewelry from her. She takes great pride and joy in knowing that people all over the world have found her work as beautiful as she finds King Cove. “I put my heart into all of the jewelry I create, and the most rewarding thing is to see someone in a store wearing something I created, or to hear from a friend that they saw someone wearing one of my pieces.”
BUSINESS: CoCo By The Sea
FIND ME ON: Instagram – @akcocobythesea Facebook – akcocobythesea
TRIBE/HOMETOWN: Agdaagux; King Cove