Button collecting has been going on for generations. “But when people think of button collecting, they think of shirt buttons and they don’t realize what all goes into it,” explained Bev Bownik, of St. Cloud, a button collector for the past 10 years or so. “There is a historical aspect to the hobby which is not recognized.” Nearly all our modern clothing has buttons made of plastic, but older buttons were made of many types of material. “Buttons were made from available material that people had on hand, like rubber, horn, wood or fabric,” said Bownik. “And before the modern washing machine, clothing was washed much less often. Buttons had to be removed because they couldn’t go through the wringer. They had to be sewed back on after being washed.” There are many buttons which are really miniature works of art. Bownik owns a grouping of 12 Bicentennial buttons made by a studio artist out of jasperware. The scenes on each button depict historical events in our nation’s first 200 years, which include: the Declaration of Independence, Washington crossing the Delaware, the Gold Rush, the Alamo, the Pony Express, the Gettysburg Address, the Spirit of St. Louis, Iwo Jima and the first moon landing. The Minnesota State Button Society will celebrate 70 years of buttoning in 2013. This organization is dedicated to the collection and preserving of antique and collectible sewing buttons. They have monthly educational meetings and an educational bulletin which is mailed out several times a year. There also are opportunities to buy and sell collectible buttons and to participate in the state competition every May. Bownik estimates there are about 130 members. She attends the monthly meetings of the Minnesota Button Society at the Textile Center in Minneapolis. She also meets with a small group of local collectors quarterly and attends meetings in Lindstrom, which are called study groups. There is a topic for each meeting and members of the group help each other put together their cards (for the competitions). They may also share with each other the new buttons which they have found since their last meeting. Bownik said,“I really enjoy talking to the other collectors.” She is also the state’s supply person which, among other things, includes researching new reference books and ordering those which she believes will interest fellow collectors. Bownik got started button collecting with the help of another woman in St. Cloud who helped her learn about the hobby. She said she enjoys it, but it can be mind-boggling. She sorts her buttons by material and by subject. “I’m still learning. There is so much to know.” She pulled out the Blue Book, the official National Button Society classification and competition guidelines, which has very specific rules for each entry in a button competition. Awards are given for different sizes of buttons and for different categories, including celluloid, ceramics, china, enamel, fabric, black glass, clear and colored glass, metal, pearl and so on. Buttons are mounted by wire to mat boards which are placed in plastic protectors and hung around the room for viewing. The Minnesota show and auction is held each May. During the competition, the cards are judged. “If there is something that does not meet the requirements of the award, you get a ‘measle’ which is a small dot sticker, and you are disqualified,” Bownik explained. A few years ago, she entered a card in the Lucite division, but one of the buttons was glass so she was disqualified. She admits it was disappointing because of all the time spent putting the card together. Judges are usually dealers or more experienced members. There are “button buys” a couple of times a year. In some areas, like out East, collectors spend a lot of money on buttons, but that isn’t as common here. Bownik said that three years ago a dealer paid $2,200 for a rare button made of black horn, which was called Mice in Council, named after the fable. The button’s design was of mice around a table putting a bell on the cat. Bownik has The Big Book of Buttons, a must-have reference book for anyone serious about button collecting. The book, which she refers to as the Bible, was originally published in 1981. It has a price guide, although it’s out of date. When hunting for buttons, Bownik wears a necklace with her searching tools attached. They include a spoon-style Linley measure, which allows her to determine the size of a button, from diminutive to small to medium to large. Other tools are a magnet, a tiny flashlight and a magnifying glass. Bownik’s husband loves attending garage sales, and he will search for buttons for her. They also go to estate sales and thrift shops to look for additions to her collection. Friends and Bownik’s granddaughters have also brought back buttons from their travels. Some collectors use buttons in artwork or they make jewelry, but there is one important rule collectors abide by– do not damage the button. Bownik added that buttons can deteriorate with changes in temperature and humidity, and proper storage is important. They should never be stored in closed containers, like jars. They need to breathe. Buttons of the same material should be stored together. Some plastics can deteriorate and give off a gas. Bownik has a button chest and a file cabinet, which she uses to store her collection. She did not begin competing until several years after she started collecting buttons. She entered her first competition about five years ago. Last May, Bownik won four awards at the state competition. “It was my best year,” she said. “I was amazed at the results.” She received blue ribbons for the Lucite division and for the Black Glass with Lusters division. She also got second place for Bakelite Buckles and third place for Celluloid Bubbles. Bownik has attended National Button Shows held in Denver, San Francisco and Grand Rapids, Mich. “I like the workshops and seminars best,” she said. Her twin granddaughters have attended some shows too. “They cannot believe it when they walk into a room full of buttons!” (Granddaughters, Lindsay and Melissa, earned themselves a bit of fame 20 years ago when they took turns playing the 2-year old daughter of Daryl Hannah in the movie Grumpy Old Men, filmed in Minnesota. Bownik remembers being present during the filming of the wedding scene at a church in Centerville. She said the girls had their hair done and put on white dresses at noon and the filming didn’t start until 9 p.m.) Getting started with button collecting can be overwhelming and can take a lot of time. It is easier for those people who inherit their grandmother’s collection, according to Bownik. She credits her hobby for keeping her brain cells going because there is so much information to absorb! More information on button collecting, membership and the annual show dates can be found at www.mnbuttonsociety.com.
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