People Profiles

Table of Contents
Jane Schneider
Kathy Hoppe
Simone Brenner

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As Jane attended the meetings, she also "listened to the lessons, sorted the buttons, played the games, identified the materials, carded the buttons, then prepared some of the lessons, made up the puzzles, and tried to be as smart as the kids. They just soaked it all up. I read and read and read, and then joined the adult button collectors," Jane explained.

Jane leaped into competition with gusto: "Since they always had the Iowa State Show in Marshalltown, right off the bat I got involved in the fun of shows and competition. The Juniors learned the rules from Day One and it was pretty painless. I learned in spite of myself."

Talk about irony, Jane said "After a couple of years both girls became disinterested in buttons and went on to boyfriends, but by then it was far too late for me. I was truly hooked!"

Like most collectors, Jane likes pearls and black glass, but she’s always captivated by "anything I may be looking at, at the moment."

Buttons have made their impression on Jane, and now they are making their impression on her house... "I have 60 frames hanging down our halls, and probably 10 hanging elsewhere in the house -- then I have a room full of carded buttons and drawers and files." When the woman who started this passion passed away at the age of 96, she left her wonderful collection (begun in the 1940s) to Jane.

Jane’s happy to have a husband who supports her button habit, and joins her "living among the button clutter when a project is going on." "Our two girls are now grown and married and we have three grandchildren. We have two standard poodles, one black and one white that we adore."

Moving hasn’t slowed Jane’s interest in buttons. In fact, she encourages people to learn wherever she goes, and "started the Eastern North Carolina Button Club 5 years ago -- then started the North Carolina State Button Club 3 years ago. So I have been a State president of NC State and of Connecticut State and secretary of NY State Button Clubs. I also do lots of programs -- from church groups, antique groups, the library, AARP, etc., to collectable shows.

"If I can get two people (even one will do), I will tell about collecting buttons, anything to save buttons from being tossed! My biggest thrill was having a show of my buttons in Germany, in a town that was 900 years old, in their Historical Society, where we lived for 3 years!!!"

"We got our computer in February (so our grandsons wouldn't be smarter than us) and went online in May. We have just hooked up the scanner and I am trying to get to where I can put my pitures on it. I want to scan for my records. And why I collect is "the fun is in the hunt" and it is the people you meet and the friends you meet along the way!!!"

Button Bytes Light Profiles: KATHY HOPPE of Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Five years ago, Kathy Hoppe, a woman who enjoys sewing, spent some time with a friend who introduced her to button collecting. Since then, she has been adding to her collection, and learning.

Although she doesn’t have a favorite type of button, she’s enjoying picture buttons, but she’s really on a hunt for a large calico rimmed in metal.

Kathy was doing some home repair, and tore down the wall of her kitchen, and found, yup, FOUND, a "Falcon Huntress" stamped and pierced picture button with faceted steels around. "It's really cool!" she said.

Kathy has a nice way of looking at her collection. She said, "Every time I buy a button, I think to myself that some day when I'm gone and my kids have my collection, they'll each have a little bit of me and remember how much I loved them and my buttons."

"My favorite buttons are my French enamels because of the quality and colors," Simone said, but she still loves to find the bakelite buttons. And, not content with merely having the buttons in her home, Simone has found a way to wear them.

"I wanted to have beads to match my collection of bakelite bangles, earrings and rings," Simone said. "I found a denim waist bag, and sewed buttons all over it, encrusting the surface so that no space remained. That took hundreds of buttons and lots of patience. When I wore it, I was amazed at the attention it received: both men and women were effusive in their compliments. So I continued to make more and more."

Not content with a few fanny packs, Simone also makes vests and hats embellished with buttons. As a college profesor, Simone said she used to put ideas together. "Now I put objects together in interesting ways. It is gratifying and lots of fun."

She’s also managed to get a little help from her friends who know how much she likes buttons. "My best button find was from a friend who sent me a gift of buttons she found at a garage sale for $2. There were about 25 French enamels and carved mother of pearl with polished steel trims in there!"

"I have about 3000 buttons. I make all kinds of button bags, vests, hats with them, so it is impossible to count them. I am always changing them because they are sewn on! Wherever I go, people stop me to see my creations. My traveling companion is used to it by now!"