Purchases made August 4-15 will be shipped on August 16. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Shop handcrafted Artisan Jewelry and Luxury Knits by Janet Bocciardi - Free shipping within the U.S.!
- May 2022 (2)
- April 2022 (1)
- December 2021 (1)
- August 2021 (2)
- July 2021 (1)
- November 2020 (2)
- October 2020 (4)
- September 2020 (1)
- June 2020 (1)
- May 2020 (1)
The Jingle and Clinking of Button Jar Memories
This week's BlogFire Guild's theme is "Who in your family inspires you?" When no one popped into my mind I decided to go browse my shop to see who I could find. Immediately I saw the influence of my childhood joy of playing with my Mom's and Grandmother's button jars.
Marie Antoinette (*need to take new photos*)- Mother of Pearl fishing lure, vintage buttons
Actually my Mom's was a cookie tin. I used to spend hours dumping them on the floor, sorting them into colors and interrupting my Mom's sewing to ask where perhaps a particular blue bumpy plastic one had been used. She made all my dresses and shorts and tops growing up, so it was also fun to hear that a button was from my Easter dress when I was six or a jumper when I was three. My Dad's Navy and pilot uniform buttons stood out proudly from the more feminine mother of pearl and pastel colors. A side thought: Beaders love to run their fingers through their beads. It feels comforting. Weird? I think it goes back to that childhood memory of running our fingers through our Mother's or Grandmother's button jar.
I don't know what happened to those buttons, but I started my own button jar years ago, gradually adding more and sorting them into colors. Remembering some really ornate and fancy ones my Grandmother had in hers, I started buying some steel-cut and pictoral buttons at button shows and on e-Bay. The excuse I had was that I'd be making jewelry with them.
Committing a button to a piece of jewelry is difficult for me, but what was even more difficult was letting a jewelry piece go out my door. I've gotten better at it. I may hang on to a new piece for awhile before listing it. No need to worry though, if it's listed for sale in my shop I'm ready to let go. I'm just not going to let go of my memories, as they continually influence my work.
Filigree and Steel - Victorian steel-cut buttons with Czech crystals and Sterling Silver marcasite toggle clasp
Harvest Time
I bet many of you have button jar memories and maybe even were lucky enough to inherit them. I sometimes see a jar at an antique mall and wonder about the little girls who had their dresses made by their Mom's or if any are off of a long ago wedding dress or father's winter coat.
For the Love of a Dog Mourning Necklace (my personal collection)
Comments
I love your button jars, they
I love your button jars, they may serve a purpose for you, but I think they're simply beautiful to look at! Great post :)
Ahhh yes, yet another
Ahhh yes, yet another connection - buttons!! I love buttons and used to do the very same thing only with my grandmother's. I wish I had those buttons along with all her wonderful costume jewelry - if I had only known I would be making jewelry when I grew up! haYou're not alone in having a hard time letting go of pieces - it's because we put so much of our heart and soul into it.
Those are gorgeous button
Those are gorgeous button jar4s. I keep mine in a bowl on my desk and love to run my fingers through them.
Buttons have memories
Buttons have memories attached, that's so true! I have a jar full of buttons, I cut them off clothing and I've bought clothes just to get those gorgeous buttons! I wish I had thought to save more of them through the years.
Post new comment