Award-winning Buttons

[amandainvermont]

I keep meaning to share this - My cyber-friend Matthew (in Normandy, France) entered four trays of buttons in the US National button Society competition in August and he won four second places.


1. Patterns, 25 any size, specialized to synthetic polymers and celluloid. In the button world, patterns are geometric figures (like straight lines or wavy lines) or shapes (like circles and triangles) or stylized motifs, like fleur de lys, heart or paisley.

2. Shell, 25 any size, specialized to shell mounted in metal or shell with metal embellishment.

3. Shell, 25 any size, specialized to mechanical make-up. (This means that the shell has been worked to be united with other pieces of shell or with an embellishment of another material.)

4. Vegetable ivory, assorted. This means 35 small and medium buttons that best show the various ways VI has been used -- various working techniques, decorative finishes and other material embellishments.

 

[Jonathan]

My favourite button of all is the green vegetable ivory with the blue 'stitch' marks but the frog vegetable ivory runs a close second!

I can see the attraction in button collecting, but I have to wonder what garments they were snipped off!

 

[MyVintageCocktail]

Stunning collections! Thanks for sharing, Amanda. Some of those metalwork-on-shell ones are divine!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Some fabulous buttons there: what's vegetable ivory, I wonder? Which is to say, what's it made of?

Nicole

 

[amandainvermont]

Nuts Nicole! I'll ask Matthew for a better definition, as that is his preferred button type.

 

[vintagedevotion]

Thanks for sharing. Beautiful little works of art.

 

[amandainvermont]

Matthew says to check out THIS SITE for everything you want to know about vegetable ivory.

Then he wrote about some of the buttons, and this is interesting. When you enter these competitions the buttons do not have to be vintage.

He writes:

"That green button with blue cord -- it is brand new, purchased from a sewing shop in Paris last spring. As the above site hints, people have rediscovered VI as a renewable material, and it's starting to be used in creative ways to make great buttons. The pierced dark blue button with various metal rivets is also brand new. The frog button is too... a guy in CA is having those carved in Micronesia by former ivory carvers who don't/can't work with ivory any more. They're mostly made for collectors, but they are reasonably priced, so if someone wanted to use them for clothing, they could. The button with a number 1 is also relatively recent, but I don't remember the exact story on that... they were designed for a clothing line... I want to say by a company called "Blue Fish" or something like that, but I can't remember! "

 

[cmpollack]

Wow, so many super-stunning examples--I can see why Matthew placed four times with these!

Thanks for sharing, Amanda!

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

Sure is hard to pick a favorite from such a fabulous choice...I'm rather partial to the contour shell button!

 

[Sky Ranch Vintage]

Wow! If those won 2nd place I can't even IMAGINE what 1st place was like. They're GORGEOUS!!

 

[sewingmachinegirl]

Oh my, those buttons are just so gorgeous!! The little frog one is especially cute! G x

 

[bartondoll]

Button, button, who has the button? Why it must be Mattew! And what a great collection he must have. I would love to see his
whole collection, but assume it would be rather overwhelming.

Thanks for sharing these award winning selections. Hard to
pick a favorite!

Sue