Cover Photo by Susan Hagstrom
Driftway Designs brings the ocean to your table — and your nightstand, and your wall and anywhere in your house.
After years spent sailing on the waters of the North East, Jenna Sammartino found a very special place in her heart for the ocean. Fixing her sailing boats, she discovered epoxy resin and that’s when she decided to let her creativity take over and attempt to recreate the beauty of the ocean waves for a handmade Christmas gift for her husband.
The gift was completed, but she continued to create and was advised by her husband to let the world see her work.
With a career as a registered nurse, beautifying functional home decor became Sammartino’s creative outlet in late 2019. By the time the pandemic hit her industry the hardest in March 2020, she had already been working on her art as a hobby and coincidentally had decided to officially start Driftway Designs.
Sammartino loved her job as a registered nurse, but the pandemic put a strain on it, and her art became her getaway. “It was the most stressful time of my life,” shares Sammartino recalling the time when her unit was converted to an ICU during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Creating these pieces became an outlet for her. “It was a soothing thing. It was predictable and it brought me joy and calm,” she says. “It felt so right in a moment when nothing felt right.”
After balancing her career, motherhood, and her art business taking off, Sammartino left her job at the end of 2021 to dedicate her time and energy to her art and her family.
Driftway Designs’ goal is to bring the beach inside. As you sit in your office, your kitchen, or your living room, you can have a little piece of the ocean through Sammartino’s art. From the deep blues to the white spume, you can almost hear the waves crashing and feel the breeze softly running through your face when looking at her art.
Selling pieces to friends, family and co-workers turned into an opportunity for Sammartino to leave behind her job as a registered nurse, and dive fully into Driftway Designs. With the power of Instagram, her pieces found new eyes and fans who wanted to acquire them.
The home decor pieces beautified by Sammartino with a touch of the ocean make a perfect gift for anyone, including yourself. You can pick from her collection available for purchase online, or make a custom commission.
Despite the fact that Massachusetts’ waters were the initial inspiration for Sammartino, she has continued to explore and portray the tones and colors of beaches from around the globe. From dark deep blues to orange and peach waters, her work portrays the beauty of one of the main elements of the earth.
As the popularity of Sammartino’s artwork increases, she is enjoying the ride and taking it slowly. “I like keeping it small and making sure my hands are on every single step of the process,” she says, talking about the future of Driftway Designs. “I just want to keep chugging along.”
