Buttons - The Multi Purpose Accessory

Buttons have been around for centuries, usually for clothes. But they can be used for jewelry as well, and as hair accessories, brooches, hat pins, you name it, the list goes on.

On a recent trip to the Czech Republic, we found a button maker with a stash of button molds going back 180 years, with the first mold belonging to his family that they acquired. It is quite simple, but with modern technology can be very elegant. We call it a window button.

The rest of his molds belonged to his grandfather, his father and have been handed down to him now. The molds attach to a pair of pliers, which is then bolted to the workbench next to the furnace, and he handpresses each button by hand, one at a time.

After the buttons have been pressed and cleaned, they are coated in whatever finish has been decided on, such as AB, vetrail or gold wash, then baked to keep the finish from peeling off. Each finish gives a different look to the same button.

Some buttons are made with a transparent glass, and the back is coated with a silver finish, which creates yet another look.

 
Some buttons have a metal shank attached to the back, and some are molded with a glass shank. The metal shanks are an older design, invented many years before the single mold of glass with the shank included was made.

Each button is a miniture piece of art, and can be used accordingly. Some examples are as centerpieces or focal pieces in a beaded necklace. Here, peridot chips and charlotte cut seed beads were used as the necklace, and a small window button was used for the clasp, and a medium sized button was used as the center piece, with tassles dangling below.

Created by J-Me of Wild Things Beads

Another quick and easy button project is the hair clasp. This idea has been around for a while, so I can’t take credit for it, but both metal shank or glass molded shank buttons can be used.

Step One

Step Two                                   Step Three
      

The final result.
An easy stocking stuffer for Christmas.

Wild Things Beads is an importer of Glass buttons and beads from Germany and the Czech Republic. Most of the beads and buttons are newly manufactured in factories by custom order, but occasionally vintage beads and buttons are purchased when found in basements or attics. Just ask.

Examples of vintage buttons. We have a huge selection of vintage buttons for sale.

We are found deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California. Our warehouse is by appointment only.