I am originally from Liverpool
, Nova Scotia. Shortly after finishing high school in 1976 , I headed from the east coast, to the west of Canada. It took
a few years , and a profession as a Journeyman Chef, before I landed in beautiful Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia,
Canada.
In 1988, I rented a studio in downtown Victoria next door to a potter,I was just looking for a space to be
creative. I didn't know what I was going to do. I bought a bag of clay from the potter, Dave Gobin, and the fever
began. I started making little pins for kids that I painted with florescent colors and called them, "Hot Heads."
Soon I progressed to a much larger scale. I now grew a passion for life sized masks. Somewhere in the middle of this frenzy,
I rolled out about a 1000 or so little Terra Cotta buttons. They were just moved around and around in the shop and never really
found a home. Several years passed and I saw some ceramic buttons in a major craft supply house.I now remembered my little
Terra Cotta buttons that were looking for a home. I pulled them out and developed the idea a bit.
I had inherited
a set of 9 antique aspic cutters from my Grandmother, Annie Kelly, from Milton, Nova Scotia. I used them for my original buttons
which I call my "Heritage Collection." The first time I took my buttons into a fabric store, Buttons-N-Bows, on
Foul Bay Road in Victoria, I had them in a little basket. The shop owner, Lisa Burrowes, said, "If you can make hearts
and stars, I'll buy them from you." I now have over 1400 different cataloged buttons with new ones being inspired
daily.
In 1995 I moved to Pender Island. It's one of the Gulf Islands off of the coast of British Columbia,
a short ferry ride from Victoria. It's a very unique community. I refer to it as a step back in time ~ it's the real
world here. I have a little shop called, "The Buttonladys Gallery"....drop by some time for a visit!
My
button inventory includes everything from life sized ladybugs to skulls and flames. The Christmas buttons are popular year
round for stockings and advent calendars. I have a wonderful collection of sweater buttons that I call, "Bubble Gum"
buttons. They come in 6 sizes and range in color from snow white to fun chartreuse, real orange, & turquoise, to luster
gold and chocolate.
I have a philosophy about my buttons. If you can dream it up, I will do my best to make it
for you. I do a lot of custom work and that's why I now have so many different buttons.I have a long list of ideas which
I'm sure will never run out. If you have an idea for something, just email me a picture with your required size and color
and we'll go from there. If you need an exact color match, I find it best that you mail me a color swatch of fiber or
fabric.
My love for buttons has grown to a whole new dimension. It's exciting to check the kiln each morning
to see rows of little pieces of wearable art. A plain outfit gets a face lift with the addition of a few special buttons.
A single button can give a hat or a scarf that touch of pizazz. Not to mention one of my "Jumbo Bubble Gum" buttons
as an embellishment at the center your favorite pillow or cushion.
