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We've got buttons in our family on both sides. While doing research on my mom's family in the Netherlands, I came upon a 9th great grandfather who was a button maker in Leiden, 352 years ago! Johnny's great-grandmother was a milliner. Her name was Helen Hart and she opened her own hat shop in her 20s.  Helen left behind a treasure trove full of velvet scraps and antique buttons. Our first designs emerged from this box.  Saved on a shelf for decades, this treasure trove is a journey into the history. We've translated some of our favorite designs into modern, wearable art by casting...

Announcing our new Dragonfly antique button necklaces - available in our suite of signature designs: Classic, Circlet and Echo - made from a real antique button cast in recycled bronze - perfect for Spring! Here is the Classic - shown in bronze.    Circlet - shown in sterling silver: and Echo - shown in bronze: Browse ALL Dragonfly designs in the shop

 The story of these buttons is one of my favorite examples of the ways that ancient Greek motifs are translated through the Roman Empire, passed on to Napoleon and the picked up by the Victorians. At our first National Button Conference, I came across a beautiful set of buttons modeled on Roman coins minted in Alexandria Egypt in the year 144/145. Beginning in 138AD, Hadrian's adopted son, Antoninus Pius, sat at the head of the Roman Empire, which encircled the Mediterranean Sea. The coin mints of Alexandria made a remarkable number of designs during this time, thought in part to celebrate the completion and renewal...

The nautical antique button jewelry in our collection is made from real antique buttons cast in recycled sterling silver and bronze. This collection of anchors, ships, and sailboats conjures up a nautical story dating back to the 1700s.  Our Lighthouse Necklace is made from a vintage button with a whole nautical world with a sailboat sailing on the open sea with a lighthouse in the distance. Our Anchor design is made from an 1870s button - it's available as a necklace, earrings, or a ring.  We also have a fantastic Lighthouse button, cast in recycled sterling silver or bronze.  Our Anchor design comes as cufflinks for fancy occasions: See...