The Journey to Design - The Garment District

It’s that time of year again, when the creative juices start flowing at Grandmother’s Buttons and designing the new line begins in earnest.  For those of you not familiar with our design schedule, we release a new line with a new catalog each summer.  Our design process is a bit unusual.  It doesn’t always begin with a sketch book, but rather with found objects, both the antique buttons we use and the settings we put them in.  Inspiration for these settings are vast and the Garment District in New York provides the most fruitful pickings.  Now I can’t divulge the name or exact location of our favorite hunting spot, but I can show you just why we love it so much.  Nestled on the second floor of a Garment District building, it is like walking into a world of craziness - in a good way.
 Hidden among all of these boxes lie treasures, like these German glass cabochons in the original boxes.





But you seriously have to do some digging, as Lindsey learns...





Her find of the day..... The Chain Monster.

But back to the treasures that I mentioned.  This year we went in search for inspiration for new castings for the 2013 /2014 designs.  And New York did not disappoint.  We found tons of amazing vintage pieces:



Susan in her element, searching for vintage treasures in the Garment District.



So now the digging is over and the hard part begins.  What will these ultimately become?  How is the button going to find a home? These are the questions that are yet to be answered.  So stay tuned for more of the journey to the new line!