Some people may wish to know about the provenance of the stones I use.
You may have already picked up your own pebbles from a beach before to take home as a memento of your trip. In some locations, this is seen as theft, and there is a theoretical impact on coastal erosion or damage to the natural environment.
The raw materials that I use in my designs are only taken from beaches where the stones are not in their naturally occuring environment. They have been brought in as a form of coastal protection, and are unnatural as far as their geology goes. Giving respect to this activity, I only take stones from above the normal high tide mark, and for every set of stones that I send out, I replace the originals by placing at least twice this amount by weight of stones which I purchase directly from a garden centre. Thus I am improving coastal protection as time goes by, rather than depleting it. I think this is only fair, and negates any disadvantages.