“Meet “Gus”! This is the Mississippi Harvest statue that sits on the banks of the Mississippi in Muscatine, Iowa. Gus is standing in a small boat with a pair of large tongs and mussels at his feet. Muscatine is known as the Pearl Button Capitol of the World. Why? It was the center of the “Gold Rush of the Midwest.” 1.5 billion buttons were produced here annually in the late 18th and early 19th century from shells mined from the Mississippi. I have always loved pearl buttons and they have been featured in many projects I developed over the years at the pattern company I founded, Indygo Junction. Prym Consumer USA acquired Indygo Junction a little over a year ago and now I have the time to devote to researching and sharing vintage notions! Why not start with one of the most plentiful and undoubtedly the most beautiful, the pearl button!
Are you ready to create?
Check out this blog post with ideas for making jewelry and cards with Pearl Buttons!
I love learning the history of items we use everyday. I have canisters full of vintage buttons that I like to recycle by putting them into my new sewing creations . I now see that many of the buttons I have are pearl buttons from mussels. This fact only makes me treasure them more. Thanks for the history lesson!
You are so welcome Mary! Join me for my Facebook Live at 1:00 central in my Vintage Made Modern Facebook Group to learn more fascinating history about buttons and more!!Tomorrow I am sharing the three ways I identify pearl buttons vs plastic and some textile treasures from my trip to Michigan.