Welcome to Grandmother s Buttons! We re so excited to be in your store. You can use this packet to learn how to tell our story and sell effectively. Take a look! O r Story The story of Grandmother s Buttons began in 1985 when Susan Davis delved into her grandmother s button tins to create a new line of jewelry. For us, it s all about the story. We create jewelry from actual 100-year-old buttons, buttons that have been passed down from generation to generation. Each button has a story. Originally designed to embellish a woman s gown in the late 1800s, it has served decades of women on their clothing, their fabrics, and their collections. Now we give them new life and purpose as handcrafted jewelry designed to be passed down or generations. Owner Susan Davis has been using her creativity for over thirty years to design each piece of Grandmother s Buttons jewelry, traveling the world in search of antique buttons and vintage glass. HAVE YOU MADE A WHOLESALE ACCOUNT YET? For super easy ordering, set up an online account at grandmothersbuttons.com/wholesale. Or call 1.800.580.6941 for help. @GRANDMOTHERSBUTTONS All of our jewelry is made in the small town of St. Francisville, Louisiana in a 1905 bank building. A team of local women hand-craft each piece.
Fasten -ATIN G TALKING POINTS Grandm o authen ther s Buttons tic je They re antique butt welr y is made ons circ ally are from a o ver 100 1880-1 Started 918. Y y e ars old in 1985 es!! grandm b y Susan other s Davis, u button sing he s - hen r All our ce the jewelr y name! is desig made n in a sm all tow ed and hand n in sou Our jew t h Louisia elr y als na. o caboc f e a tur hons c irca 19 es vintage gl ass 20-19 Recent 60. ly, we h a Czech v glass b e started usin ut g 100 ye ar old tons, hand-pr modern molds i e n the C ssed in zech R epublic. Psst! Be s video i ure to check o nclude d on th ut our Button s e flash drive w 101 e sent!
WHAT ARE Antique B ttons? Yes, the buttons that we use in our jewelry are actually over 100 years old! When crafting our designs, we primarily use buttons from the Victorian and Edwardian eras, circa 1880-1918. They were made from a variety of materials, including brass, pewter, glass, cut steel, and velvet. Victorian metal buttons were made in two, three, or even more layers. In the United States, Connecticut was the button-making center, while France, Austria, Germany, and England were the European centers of manufacture. For women of the 19th century, getting dressed was a complicated procedure. There were layers of corsets to be laced, undergarments with hook and eyes, drawstrings, and finally two or three dozen buttons to be fastened to the front and sleeves of her gown. Actual Victorian jacket showing how antique buttons were originally used. The shank! When hand-making our button jewelry we preserve what is called the shank on the back of the button. The shank is the little loop, which would be used to sew the button to a garment. If a button has a looped or twisted wire shank embedded in a metal back, it is very likely a button made prior to 1918. We leave the shank in order to preserve the value of the button. Telling which part of a piece of Grandmother s Buttons jewelry is the antique button can be difficult for a button novice, since they do not resemble the four holed buttons of today. So we include a detailed description of the elements that make up each design on the back of the jewelry card. Each description is written by owner (and Chief Buttonologist), Susan Davis! That s the button!
OTHER Elements Glass cabochon V ntage In addition to antique buttons, we also use glass or mother-ofpearl pieces that date from the years 1920-1960. These glass cabochons & buttons were primarily made in Czechosolvakia, Western Germany, & Occupied Japan. The pearl buttons are Lady Washington pearls made from Mississippi River mussel shells in Iowa between 1908-1964. Mother-of-pearl button Using the vintage glass, mother-of-pearl, and Czech glass elements adds a pop of color in a delightful contrast to the metal antique buttons! @GRANDMOTHERSBUTTONS Be sure to follow along with us online for behind the scenes glimpses, Button Breakdowns, and sneak peeks! Czech Glass We have also begun to include colorful glass buttons made today in the Czech Republic. Though new, these buttons are hand-pressed in vintage molds in the Czech Jizera mountains, where the first pressed glass buttons were made in 1732. They are molded one button at a time using antique iron tongs.
LET S Merchandise D splaying Grandmother s Buttons jewelry properly is a vital part of selling effectively It can also be a fun, creative process! Here are some suggestions on how to best merchandise our jewelry for optimum selling. O r D splays: Antique Spool Earring Tree $20 Wooden Necklace Stand $40 Logo Mannequin $40 Vintage Cigar Box Ring Display $20 Antique Sewing Machine Drawer Bracelet/Ring Display $50
LET S Merchandise The antique and vintage elements of our jewelry pair perfectly with found props. Many of these items are easy to find in junk stores or ebay. Here are some props that we use in our own stores. Creative Ideas: We have created drawer and table walls in both stores that make for a dramatic way to display A LOT of jewelry. We combine vintage dresser or desk drawers in different sizes and shapes with small occassional tables that we have sawed off at about 4 inches deep. We use small brass screw-in cup hooks to hang the jewlery in the drawers.
Old books are easy to find and make wonderful backdrops for necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Vintage purses are a great accent pieces! Old spools of thread.
The ultimate display piece for Grandmothe r s Buttons is of course an old general store spool display cabinet! If you are lucky enough to have one, consider lining the drawers with black foam ring display cushions (available online from Rio Grande and many other jewelry display sites). This view of our display cases in New Orleans shows how we mix old books or book covers with vintage props such jewelry boxes, china, old mirrors, shoe lasts, and more, to tell our story visually.