Wednesday, August 19, 2015

What To Do With Old Buttons

I have a button collection.  It's quite large.  I have thousands of buttons in fact.
Well, actually it's not really a collection.  I mean I don't go out of my way to collect specific buttons.  For example,  I am not on the lookout for that rare vintage antique Japanese Satsuma "Cat with Fan and Hat" button to finish out my Japanese Satsuma Series.   Which, by the way, a pair of these just sold on eBay for $100.  That's right $100 for two old buttons.
I would have to classify my buttons as more of an accumulation rather than a collection.
I used to be an eBay seller.  I sold vintage items.  In order to acquire vintage items, one must be on a perpetual treasure hunt.  That means constantly attending garage and estate sales along with sitting through hours of estate auctions.
I must have gone through a button phase because I apparently and frequently needed to be the top bidder on old sewing baskets filled with buttons.
Yes, I remember,  I did have a fascination with old buttons.  I think it satisfied some obsessive-compulsive tendencies that I may have a tinge of.   By that I mean, I could immerse myself in a tin of hundreds of buttons, sorting through them, grouping them together by color and size, two hole or four hole, metal, plastic or glass.  I would scoop up handfuls and then let them slip through my fingers. They felt smooth and silky.  Before I knew it, hours would have gone by and I would be surrounded by stacks and piles of buttons.
But, in addition to my slight OCD urges, I was aware that there are serious button collectors out there who will pay big bucks for just the right button.   The thing about buying buttons at estate auctions or garage sales is that you most always have to buy in bulk.  And you never know what you might find in grandma's old Christmas cookie tin.
Now, in order to find out if I had any of the rare ones, I, of course, had to have a means of  identifying the buttons and determining the values of the buttons I now possessed.   There is a bible for button collectors.  It's titled "The Big Book of Buttons" by Elizabeth Hughes, circa 1981, now out of print.
Because it is out of print, it too goes for big bucks.  But, sometimes you have to spend money to make money.  Isn't that what "they" say?
Yep, I am the owner, no make that proud owner,  of the rare and out of print Button Bible.
It's now years later.  My button phase has passed.  I did sell a few unique ones on eBay.  I probably even recouped the cost of the Button Bible.
But I am now left with hundreds and hundreds of plain old ordinary buttons.
And what does one do with plain old ordinary buttons.  After all, I've already sorted them.

Today, I am feeling quite sad.  Grief.  Interesting, I started out wanting to write about grief.  Suddenly, however,  I found myself thinking about my button accumulation. It's easier to talk about buttons, though. Less uncomfortable for me and for you. So once again I immersed myself in my buttons, just like I've done so many times before.

10 comments:

  1. Looks like quite a collection! My sister in law's mother was into buttons; had lots of them and was always on the lookout for more. Not sure what my sister in law did with them after her mom passed. Sometimes it is good to have a distraction to think about and focus upon when dealing with grief. Grief is that pesky thing; sometimes it just "sneaks" up on you. I have not lost a son like you have, but I do find myself at times grieving a silly corgi puppy.

    betty

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    1. I thought about donating the buttons to our local seamstress. But I'm sure she has tons of her own. I do knit and sometimes will make a sweater that requires buttons. I don't need that many, though.
      Yes, today, grief did sneak up on me. You are right it does do that sometimes. As time goes on my emotions get stuffed further and further down but when they surface they are very raw.
      Thank you for understanding my post. It is all about distraction sometimes. And I do know how much you miss Koda.

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  2. Wow. That's a lot of buttons. I actually know of a seller on Etsy who takes antique buttons and makes jewelry and other items out of them. My button collection is small and just from my family. (I inherited my great grandmother's buttons--all her knitting notions actually--upon her death.)

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    1. I thought about searching on the net for "what to do with old buttons?" I'm not into that type of crafting, though. I could try to sell in bulk, perhaps on Etsy. The postage would probably be expensive. I am going to dispose of them one way or another. I'm in that sizing down mood.

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    2. By the way, I did do a flea market a few years ago. Among other things, I put out all my buttons. Everyone who passed by was astounded by the number of buttons. Most said the same thing, though,"I have a ton of my own." I think I sold less than a dozen.

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  3. My grandparents lived through the depression. When clothes got worn out, they would cut off the useful parts (buttons, zippers, patches to patch other things). This habit of my grandmother's lasted until the day she died. After she died, I found a large jar of buttons...and other random things she kept (6" long pieces of sewing thread come to mind but other things as well). I kept the buttons. I've added some of my own. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Just when I need a button to fix something :)

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    1. Interesting about the 6" piece of thread. I wonder why she kept that. I'm sure everyone has a stash of buttons. Especially those extras that come with new clothes.

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  4. I could get in to sorting buttons. Maybe it distracts you, too.

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    1. I have to have them to get through, distractions I mean.

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  5. I am not a collector of buttons but must say that you have a wide selection that intrigues me.
    Shalom,
    Patricia

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