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fact sheet
Overview
Grandmother’s Buttons began in 1985 when
Susan Davis and her 95-year-old grandmother
spent an afternoon sifting through the
assortment of tins and boxes that held the
woman’s lifetime accumulation of buttons.
Today the company makes all of its jewelry
by hand with antique and vintage buttons
and a variety of vintage glass cabochons.
Year and Place
1985 by Susan Davis in St. Francisville, LA.
Sales for the first ten years were primarily
wholesale. In 1995, Davis and her husband
Donny opened a flagship retail store in a
restored 1905 bank building in St.
Francisville’s historic downtown. Inside they
created aButton Museum in the old bank
vault, housing Davis’ prized collection,
ranging from mid-18th century Wedgwood
buttons to the first plastic buttons.
Product Distribution
Sold to approximately 600 independent
retailers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan.
Online at www.grandmothersbuttons.com.
Holiday Gifts List
HOLIDAY GIFT LISTS: Parents Magazine “2011
Best Gifts Under $50,” Southern Living, “Best
of the South 2010”
Recent Development
Continued to work with a young design staff
(Amber Lea, Anna Davis and Kara Breaux) to
reinterpret a well-established brand for a new
generation, a generation that places high value
on items with a meaningful history and that are
handmade.
Books Written
Beautiful Button Jewelry written by Susan
Davis and published by Sterling in 2006 in
hardback, and in paperback in 2010.
Featured Publications
Southern Living, Country Living, Country
Home, Victoria, Southern Lady, Giftware
News, Gifts and Decorative Accessories,
Accessories, Museum Store Magazine,
Southern Accents, Brides.
CONTACT MEDIA
Susan Davis, Store Owner
Kristy Small, Sales Manager
[email protected]
grandmothersbuttons.com
225.635.4107
New Line Debuts at
Summer Markets
ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA: Grandmother’s Buttons,
makers of antique and vintage button jewelry
since 1985, introduces its new 2014-2015 line at
this summer’s major gift markets. Included are
more than 100 new necklace and bracelet styles
that incorporate authentic antique buttons
dating from the years 1880 to 1920.
Using the tag line, “History Unbuttoned,” the
company has created pieces that combine
authentic antique elements with a more modern
sensibility. Customers are always amazed when
they realize that each piece contains a unique
antique button or vintage glass cabochon. The
one-of-a-kind nature of the line makes it a
perfect choice for specialty retailers, who must
strive to offer interesting products not found in
larger stores.
Wholesale customers can find Grandmother’s
Buttons at the Atlanta Gift Market
(Booth 3-2-300) and New York Now (Booth
9218), as well as on the company’s website,
grandmothersbuttons.com. They can also call
1-800-580-6941 to request a copy of the new,
32-page wholesale catalog. Retail customers can
order online, go to the company’s flagship store
in St. Francisville, LA, or visit the 600 retailers
across the country who carry the line.
Highlights of the new line include:
Button Classics—Simple and stately pieces
where the focus is entirely on the antique
button(s) used.
Art Deco Glass—Colorful and sophisticated
pieces created with Art Deco glass cabochons
from mid-century Czechoslovakia, Japan and
Germany. These pieces are limited editions,
available as long as the company’s supply of
each vintage glass cabochon holds out.
Adjustable Rings—Eclectic and colorful rings
(that adjust in size) made with either
100-year-old metal buttons or vintage glass
cabochons.
Collectible Charms—Grandmother’s Buttons’
charms stand out from other lines in that they
are created with vintage pearl or antique metal
buttons. The no-hole pearl buttons come from
the Lady Washington Pearl button factory, which
closed in 1964, and are printed with whimsical
images and scripted initials.
CONTACT MEDIA
Susan Davis, Store Owner
Kristy Small, Sales Manager
[email protected]
grandmothersbuttons.com
225.635.4107
Contact Media
Creative Team
Bios
Susan Davis and her husband Donny founded
Grandmother’s Buttons in 1985, after leaving
their city jobs and returning her family’s south
Louisiana farm to raise specialty vegetables.
Knowing she needed to start a business for
additional income, Susan went to her
95-year-old grandmother for inspiration. The
two spent an afternoon sifting through the
elderly woman’s lifetime accumulation of
buttons (some 30 boxes) and it struck Susan
that these smallest artifacts of the past could
be transformed into heirloom-worthy pieces
of jewelry.
In the 29 years since that day, Grandmother’s
Buttons has grown into an internationally
distributed jewelry company with more than
600 accounts. Authentic antique clothing
buttons circa 1870-1920 are still used in more
than half of the company’s pieces, combined
now with vintage glass and Mississippi River
pearl buttons from the early 20th century. All
antique buttons are left intact, with their
shanks on, so that they can grow in value as
the years go on.
In 1989, Susan’s husband Donny parked his
tractor and joined Grandmother’s Buttons
full-time as its business manager. In 1995 the
couple opened a flagship retail store in St.
Francisville’s original 1905 bank building,
complete with a Button Museum in the old
bank vault. This unusual combination of store
and museum has been featured in many
national magazines.
The second floor of the old bank contains the
company’s studio, where a group of talented
women, several of whom have worked with
the company since the early years, create all
of the jewelry.
Susan Davis, Store Owner
Kristy Small, Sales Manager
[email protected]
grandmothersbuttons.com
225.635.4107
New designers have since come on board to
add their fresh perspective, all the while
following the company’s long-standing motto
to “honor the button.”
Anna Addison Davis grew up in the company
and today spends her time behind the camera.
She graduated with honors from Tulane
University with a Fine Art degree in 2010. She
splits her time between St. Francisville, where
she serves as the company’s photographer and
videographer, and her nation-wide travels in a
restored Airstream. Also, in her spare time she
is a cetacean activist.
(www.annaaddisonphotography.com).
Kara Breaux is the newest member of the
creative team, having come onboard last year
and has quickly grown into the position of
Visual Coordinator, Buyer and Graphic
Designer taking on roles in catalog styling and
production, store display and merchandising
and graphic design. With a background in
design, photography, and visual display, Kara
integrates her great attention to detail within
all aspects of Grandmother’s Buttons, wholesale and retail. She also loves cats.