Preserving, protecting, and restoring our waters are tasks for many lifetimes, and sometimes the effort can seem overwhelming. But as long as we stay connected with all of the many, many blessings that water provides, and continue to keep that love in the forefront of our minds and hearts, as long as we remind ourselves to hope, then our stories will help connect others to water and encourage them to do what they can to help care for this beautiful Blue Marble world.” – Wallce J. Nichols

For the Betty Family, celebrating Earth Month in April, doesn’t mean “Going Green”, it means always “Beginning (and staying) Blue”…well, cool– but what does that mean?  Let’s dive deeper…

What we all know by now, is that the health of our  precious Ocean, and all wild water on our planet– is severely threatened. To truly honor our whole Earth, we must not only make wholehearted efforts to restore the degrading & polluted lands we live upon, but truly revalue & cherish the sole element that allows the Earth (and us) to exist as we know it; Water.

In an ongoing, dedicated effort to support this mission, we at Betty Belts humbly contribute proceeds both annually & seasonally to a cause organization doing critically important (and very hard) work for community of true Ocean Lovers.

This Spring season we will donate 10% of sales made in April, through the Betty biz (both in-store & online), to the Blue Mind Patreon, organized by blue movement-maker Dr. Wallace “J.” Nichols— both a dear brother in the Betty Tribe & highly respected scientist & wild water advocate for the preservation & reverence for our Blue Planet.

He is the author of Blue Mind; a ground-breaking book which “connects the dots: neuroscience and psychology, nature and conservation, art and science, poetry and practice in profoundly important new ways. The result is an emerging, exciting, fast-growing new field we call Neuroconservation.”

Join us to support the work of this pioneering mentor & researcher– dedicating his life to share & teach the world that when we connect deeply with the healing power of Water & intentionally integrate it into our everyday lives, we benefit greatly in mind, body & soul– & so we become better stewards of the Ocean & all the wild Water systems that need our love & respect in return, to bring nature back into a healthier more sustainable balance for all Water, humanity & all Earth’s creations.⁠

With our whole hearts are we ever grateful for the contributions you’ll make through your Betty buys in-shop & at bettybelts.com, but also please consider donating directly. Every cent we can offer over time counts tremendously towards this much needed cause that will support the health & well-being for generations to come.

So thank you. Thank you so very, very much for your continued support and participation in giving the Ocean, and all of her miraculous gifts, the imperative care & true respect it deserves.

With deep blue gratitude,

Donna & Team Betty

It’s beginning to look bright again for the holidays.

That means a very special Betty tradition we always celebrate around this time of year called Bright Friday is upon us.

Every year, we choose to raise the bar with a Betty Belts Cause Day while most retailers drop to rock bottom–prices, that is… & entice people to rush out in ravenous crowds to buy cheap, trivial things at Black Friday blowout sales.

But it’s on this awesome day that you’re invited instead to delight in choosing treasured Betty gifts from the sea that really matter to the people you love the most, while also giving to those who are in true need. This week on…

 Betty B. Bright Friday
25% of our gross sales (online and in-store)
will be donated to the
East Bali Poverty Project

Click on the links and this little video we made below to learn more about how this cause organization is reviving a once desolate and forgotten community by providing education, health care, sustainable agriculture and community economic development. You can support educating their youth for a bright future by visiting our beautiful Downtown Ventura shop, the Ocean Room Gallery & through shopping online this Friday.

EBPP Local school building & development

EBPP provides school supplies & learning materials

EBPP Dental programs

Local organic farming programs

EBPP making improvements access to villages through road repairs & maintenance

Thank you for helping us make a difference in so many people’s lives by supporting our small business. 

With loving gratitude,

Donna & the Betty Family

We appreciate and love all of you who come to say hello and shop for loved ones, but we see a possible little glitch ahead this season.

Due to restrictions our lovely Government has implemented (and not entirely sure if they will go full Scrooge) we have come up with a plan, something truly unprecedented for Betty Belts, but these are unprecedented times. We’ve thought long and hard about this, because, as you probably know we never do a sale of this magnitude, let alone, many sales at all. It’s not how we roll. In this most challenging time for humanity, our intention is to make the Holidays less stressful, more joyful, more affordable.

So starting today we are launching 10 Days of Christmas here at Betty Belts! 

SHOP BETTY B. ONLINE

YUP! We’re making Betty dreams come true with this special! As this first-ever event of this magnitude will fall right in the middle of Bright Friday, all purchases made that day (both online and in-store) will see 25% from your purchase go straight to the East Bali Poverty Project.

Bali has been hit incredibly hard by the lockdowns. Many families were left with no income. The poor suffered the most. Your purchase will benefit them this Christmas. 

Thank you for helping Bettybelts meet all your holiday gifting needs!

*This offer is ONLINE ONLY. If you are local, please shop online and choose in-store pickup! Why only online? It really helps this small business when you order online as the shop is only allowed a few people at a time! 

#weneverdothis #unprecedentedtimes 

One of the Betty Shop Babes hand-picked out the prettiest piece they could find for you, packed it up with care, a personal thank you note & of course– that sweet flower sticker freebie that may end up on your water bottle, phone, car window,  surf or skate board.

It traveled to your door from Ventura Beach, California. Home to Betty HQ, kicked back locals, an epic point break & a few solid spots for fish tacos, micro brew, a legendary slice of pizza by the beach, and a mai tai that instantly gets you on “island time”.

Our hope is that when you open the Betty goods, you not only get that fun, new, shiny you’ve been waiting for– but feel the love from our sweet lil’ beach town, because we packed that too!

Always sending smiles & stoke from our home to yours,

Donna & the Betty Fam

We’re super stoked to get a feature in this year’s May/June 2019 issue with a spotlight on our Signature Betty Surfite Jewelry. Check it out & thanks for reading!

Shop Betty Surfite Classics

Betty Surfite Classic Ring

Betty Surfite Friendship Bracelet

Betty Surfite Amanda Earrings

But have you ever wondered how these colorful beach gems came to be?

This short film, produced and documented by David gives you a deeper insight into the journey of how the Betty B. Family–and Donna’s life –began revolving around sea glass, connecting to those who collect it, and bringing her and David to shores around the world on a sparkling hunt. Enjoy!

The recent Thomas fire to flood disaster that has landed where we live with the grace and destruction of an asteroid strike, has caused us to look at who and what we are, and why we do the things that we do in our daily lives, and more to the point for me, what my Company stands for, and does about that.

Previously many of you helped out and spread the word, donated, and/or otherwise encouraged our Saving Ventura: Rebuilding the Glassman project. And it worked! It helped Dan to get his company back up and running, as well as to grow, in order to meet an increased demand for his services.

You all really came through, in a show of compassion and action, which quite honestly is really what made this project work. The entire community did this. You acted.

Direct relief works! It is immediate when time counts so very much. And we are not done yet!

Though we do not have a history of disclosing the number of direct relief projects which this company engages in (and always has) the disaster has caused us to re think this “quiet service” policy of ours. So we are going to begin to share what we (all of us, as a company and with our tribe of Bettys) do.

I founded Betty Belts after moving back to California, where I was born and grew up. The divorce and a love of the ocean took me from my life and home in Berlin of almost 17 years, and dropped me back into California and a new life that was to be lived attached to the Sea.

Here is a little video about that called “Passages”, which we built for a business Grant competition from Intuit (We got the grant!)

As I built Betty Belts, what I focused on was empowering myself. Becoming stronger. Better. As we grew, I began supporting other women whose goals were ocean minded and that were all dynamic strong women. We created a network on Bali to supply work and training to village women and began to pay it all back to those who became our family and partners as fine artisans in Indonesia.

We have always been about that: female empowerment. Today I call it being “Betty Strong”. My mission as founder of this company is to make things better for the world, and to do so through the foil of the Ocean and all of us, (mostly female) who are part of this wonderful collective.

Much gratitude goes to all of the Bettys. It is impossible to list them all, there are simply too many who have built this. But together we are “Betty Strong”

This recent round of California centric localized disasters has underscored that we need to talk about what that is, why we do it, and who leads the movement.

Michelle Wolfe is Betty Strong. Her story will be next up here on the Betty Blog. It is both wonderful, then heartbreaking as the fire destroyed her worldly possessions, and now heads back to beautiful. Like Dan Glassman, we were amazed by her heart and strength.

Our first act was creating a simple tee shirt. The Betty Strong tee. All proceeds from it will go towards getting Michelle back on her feet and in business after the fire.

Our second action was to donate a sum in advance of the Betty Strong tee sales to help Michelle get rolling. What was the point of making her wait until we sell some?

Other ways to help Michelle: we have set up a tip jar on the counter at the shop for cash, gift cards, checks, letters of encouragement, etc. everything in it goes straight to her.

Don’t want to get a tee? Can’t come in? Donate directly via this  link which is a gofundme campaign that a family friend set up for her. At only $2717 raised so far today, more than a month after it was originally set up, it could really use some of your love.

Betty Strong Benefit Tee for Michelle Wolfe

Michelle’s apartment up in flames of the Thomas Fire

What remains of Michelle’s home of 12 years: nothing

Michelle Watkins Wolfe: Betty Strong

Yet, after these dark days we must shine bright with fierce beauty and strength of spirit.

Coming into 2018 brought with it heartbreak and unimaginable loss, but it also brought a golden opportunity. A historic moment in time for us to really show up and support one another– a challenge to get back up together, to boldly love and care for each other in ways only a deep, collective pain can give rise to.

Thank you for rising to the challenge with us. From the ash and mud we will rise beyond strong, we’ll rise Betty Strong.

Hello 2018, goodbye 2017, and sending so much love to you and our beloved Ocean Lovers.

With endless gratitude,

Donna, David, and the Betty Belts Family

Dearest Ocean Ohana,

First, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the outpour of concern and warm words of comfort from all who reached out.

We truly feel blessed to have such a strong community of support  in the midst of this devastating catastrophe.

Half our staff were evacuated from our homes. But thankfully, they and immediate loved ones are safe, all homes intact, and our Downtown Ventura shop remains in stable condition with exception to reliable power.

With that said, our retail store will remain CLOSED TODAY due to the public safety risk created by the Thomas Fire. 

However our online shop continues to be up and running, and orders are being shipped daily. So, please consider ordering online at www.bettybelts.com

Today’s high wind condtions should be the peak of this disastrous fire for Downtown Ventura and surrounding areas. As SCE works it’s way into the fire strike zones, we should be seeing more reliable power returned shortly.

If all goes well, our Ventura shop will re-open on Friday morning. Looking forward to serving all of you, and are so grateful for the kindness we have experienced from the community in this very stressful time.

With Gratitude,

Donna & the Betty Belts Team