![[Valid RSS]](/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
I’ll have your new podcast a bit later today, but first, I had to share the amazing experience I had at the National Button Society Show yesterday. I’m telling you, crafters, Button Society Shows are where it’s at. And they happen all over the place, so if you’re near one, you should go!
(That’s my loot, but I’ll talk more about it in a moment. Locals, if you read this on Saturday, you should check out the last day of this show!)
So, Button Society shows are aimed primarily at button collectors. I love buttons dearly, but don’t know that much about collection. It’s always fun, though, to get a glimpse into other spaces where people geek out on things. And the world of button collecting runs very deep.
Most of the booths have row upon row of these display cards, where buttons are organized by material or type. And the collectors flip through them looking for treasure to add to their collections.
There’s even a show, where people submit specific collections for judging.
Here’s one such collection closer-up. There are some gorgeous flower buttons in here.
But here’s why you’d love a Button Society show: poke boxes! Poke boxes are my new best friend. Many booths have them, and they range in price from a quarter a button up to a few dollars a button. You rummage about, creating that glorious button-rattle sound, and you fish out the treasures. And there were so many treasures.
It’s a good thing I went into that room with a specific budget and no extra cash, is all I’m saying. I had planned to save out a few bucks to buy myself a coffee for the ride home, but ten minutes into the show, I was all, “Screw the coffee! Are there any extra coins at the bottom of my purse?!”
But we should talk about my loot now! I spent all of $20.00, and amassed an incredible haul for that amount. Here are all my pretty molded buttons together. Won’t these make awesome Kanzashi centers?
Here’s most of my painted buttons. That big yellow one just makes my toes curl with happy.
I should add here: button dealers are some of the nicest people on earth.
…And here are some of my sparklies. Mmmm… sparklies.
So, yes. If your city has a Button Society, I can’t recommend enough that you check out their shows. Oh, the crafting possibilities! Whether you sew, make jewelry, do mixed media, or any of a hundred other crafts, you’ll find wonderful materials at a button show. They’re like a great hidden resource, right under our noses. If you go to one locally, I want to hear all about it.
It’s those bins of free buttons I would LOVE. And search through for hours!
Now to find a button show near me.
Those bins are INSANE!! It’s like meditating and diving for treasure and getting a big hit of sensory joy all at once. I hope there’s a show near you!
Sigh! So much cool stuff! I would especially enjoy fondling the buttons in those bins.
How fun to be able to attend this show. I looked and there is a Texas Society and a local group in Ft Worth. Who knew? The yellow button is a wow! (thanks for sharing the fabulous photos)
Yaay, I’d love to see what a Texas show looks like, if you end up going to one!
Great finds! I would have lost days and days in those bins..
You of all people need to get to one of these shows, my dear! I want to see what you’d make from all these buttons.
Oh how fun! I love going to the antique shops in my town to find treasures like these & I always end up finding some amazing pieces but I can’t imagine what an actual button show might be like! :-) Love your new stash!
It’s a very heady experience, to be sure! :-) I’m still taking peeks at my new buttons all the time!
Happy to see your button finds! I’m hoping to write up a post about the show too… it sure was amazing!
OMG, those poke boxes were everything you said they’d be!
Oh Diane So glad you had fun at the National Button Society show in Portland! We loved having you teach and all of the students loved the Kazashi technique.
For those of you looking for shows in your area check out http://www.nationalbuttonsociety.org and look up state shows in your area. Many of the states have websites with local shows and button club listings.
These shows have 100s of 1,000s of buttons. Buttons lovers nirvana. Buttons for the collector, crafter, fashion designer, knitter, costume maker, etc. Come listen to the wonderful music of the buttons being sifted through in all of the poke boxes.
Thanks so much, Greg! And thank you for the amazing job you and Marcie did introducing this resource to all the creative communities of Portland. I heard quite a few vendors mentioning how nice it was to talk with people who were new to the button world.
I have about a million if not more vinage,old ,new buttons set up here at home all for sale one by one or?.because I once had a buttons shop.
…And what time is it convenient for me to show up at your front door? :-)
Wow! So beautiful! That yellow one made my eyes light up too :) What a fun way to spend a day – this totally seems like something great to do with my mom and my sister.
YES! Total crafty girls’ day out!
Awesome haul! I went to my first Arizona State Button Show this February and it was awesome! I don’t collect…yet…but love working with buttons, and this was nirvana! My mom and I spent about an hour going through the poke bins – it was like grandma’s button box times 100. We are going to make this an annual thing. And it just happens to be scheduled around my birthday. :)
OOh, what convenient timing that is! :-)