Page 25 - February1999

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February 1999 NNIONAN, BUII1ION B{JN,N,ETN L)

attended this program and gained insight into the labor intensive manufacturing
process of these new buttons, Much of this material was on the technical
aspects of production, which we are purposely omitting from this article.
Suffice to say that many hands and many steps are necessary to bring forth
quantities ofthese new buttons.
Back to Susannah for her comments in the last paragraph of an article she
wrote for the Colorado State Bulletin:
"l believe the Czechoslovakian glass button makers are making buttons in
the I 990's in the same manor that they did in the beginning of this century. this
is both wonderful and sad. The currently imported Czechoslovakian glass
buttons are in the price range of other commercially available buttons. After
World War II it took the West German economy about 20 years to grow so that
button making was no longer viable. If the Czechoslovakian economy grows in
a similar manor, this means we have about 15 more years to buy these buttons
before the makers can make a better living with less effort in a different line of
work. Kathy believes that the factories may close or convert to bead making
even faster. To date one ofher suppliers has failed."
At this point, we knew we had to contact the three dealers/importers that
we had become aware of. since their stories would be of interest to all
collectors.

Stortes $ehind the J\Jew Czech Qlass

For the first time, we are going to a dffirent format in this Bulletin by
presenting each of the three dealers to tell their story in their own words.

First is Jane Johnson of California:
"I visited the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic along with my
husband in May of 1998. This trip allowed us to meet with the staff of the
export company that arranges for the production and shipment of the glass
buttons we buy from that area, and visit some of the shops that make those
buttons. Although we have occasionally bought buttons direct from
manufacturers, we usually arrange our purchases through a Czech export
company with an American branch office, along with the help of a Customs
House Broker here in California. This gives us the "local" contacts and
assistance needed during the 3 to 4 months from order to delivery and eases
paperwork and customs requirements, which can be quite daunting. Having a
local office in the US also helps with making payment for the order, which is
usually required in advance of shipment.
"Over the past 30 years the popularity of glass buttons with large volume
clothing manufacturers has declined due to automatic sewing machines (plastic
buttons are more forgiving when struck by a way.ward needle), and machine
washing. As a result of this decline, button manufacturing in the Czech
Republic is now an entrepreneurial activity carried on in many workshops