Mother of Pearl Buttons - Shell Shocking History

Recently I came across an awesome post with some

great information about mother of pearl buttons.

I have to admit, I never knew where they came from!

It was Faye from Wild Rose Vintage who brought

 it all into perspective for me.

She wrote about mother of pearl button making here.

I asked if I could share some of her photos, etc.

It all started when she and her hubby

 came across these shells

with the holes in them.

I probably would have just said

"Oh look, there are holes in them thar shells!"

But alas, they had a real purpose for being well, holey.

She even did research on an old button factory

in her area (I think near the Mississippi)

that did the same kind of thing

back in the day.

Of course, her post and info is much better

than mine here.

I encourage you to check out her details!

 

Here is an example of what the factory did.

And voila....real mother of pearl buttons from

real shells!

Who knew?

I am definitely looking at MOP buttons (andshells )

with a different perspective and appreciation now.

Thank you Faye!