Sorting the buttons

Tiny 8mm button found in Briare.   Three holes - anyone know any more a bout three holers?

Tarte aux boutons - see the Incombarable buttons??

An evening well spent.   Le triage.

More ordinare ones.

Basking basset

Basking basset.

Well I was fast asleep until someone woke me up.

The button hunt

Last week I had the opportunity of taking part of the Festival de la perle et du Bouton – in other words a button and bead festival.  It was held in Briare le Canal, a lovely French town in the Loiret.  The beautiful Chateau of la Trousse Barrière just next to the museum of mosaics in the center of town hosted the festival.

Briare le Canal located on the river Loire, is famous for its enameled ceramic  tiles  and china buttons.  The factory was founded in 1850  manufacturing 1.400.000 buttons a day  and employing 500 people.  Enamaled tiles and mosaics followed.     It was when  the washing machine came into use that the china button production stopped around the 1950’s but the tiles are still made to this day.

During the course of the four day festival I heard that there was a dump behind the old factory and next to the museum and set out along the canal path, through a hole in the wire fence, and up a well worn path through woods to an amazing sight of broken tiles scattered over a space of at least two football fields and two feet high.   Finding buttons was like looking for a needle in a haystack but I was lucky and came across a hole where I could glimpse buttons and beads through the broken tiles.     Armed with a bit of stick and a corner of a broken tile I managed to pick out a few bags of buttons and beads which I shall wash, sort and use to make my button jewellry .     On my next trip I shall arm myself with bucket, spade, gloves, sieve and a strong man to help dig at least a meter down into the dirt – I only found black and white buttons and a few coloured beads  but others have discovered different colours  and types of enameled buttons.   There may be tons and tons of “lost” buttons underneath this dirty pile of broken bits of enameled tiles – but finding “the” button spot is not for the faint hearted – when it rains the place becomes very slippery, and the sun brings out the snakes who apparently love the heat reflected off the dumped tiles.  This won’t stop the real button lovers though and I’m planning another trip back to Briare – anyone coming?

Mr. Oswald and his famous button collection.

Love the back of his waistcoat.

Now the hard work starts, washing, sorting by colour and size and then drying, polishing and making my jewellry.   But a bracelet made from buttons from Briare must be worth having.

Une nouvelle design par "àlaTache" © - with Incomparable boutons que je diffuse.   Une pochette pour fils, aiguilles et épingles - the French touch while sewing.