In the Q-niverse: Well, Bust My Buttons!

Union Jack giclee print, $45

Surely we’re not the only ones around here who have a bit of a button problem. And no, we’re not talking about not being able to get the ones on our clothes fastened without threatening to pop off (at least we’re not talking about that right now). We’re talking about just collecting them, having them, keeping them in pretty glass jars and bowls so we can look at them and maybe sometimes, when no one is looking, swirl our fingers around in them. (Oh, what? Like you don’t do that too?) Yes, one or two might make their way onto a sewing project now and then, but that’s a fluke, frankly.

So when we went on our daily stroll through Etsy recently and found these incredibly fun button designs from Sugarushuk celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, we admit we got a little swoony.

These posters are created by Bev Grice, who lives in Norwich, England. She and her partner, Floyd Sayers, who also does the photography, started a stationery and gift card business several years ago, and one of their designs featured “Sock Creatures” with buttons sewn directly onto the cards for eyes. This “meant having a constant supply of interesting buttons,” Bev says. “Although I already had a small collection, I started scouring charity shops and car boot sales (editors’ note for the slightly clueless: Car boot sales are like flea markets where people gather in a field or parking lot and sell stuff out of the trunks of their cars) on the look out for tins of buttons. My mum had also been instructed to be on the look out.” She also inherited a wonderful button collection from her grandmother, who would string like colors together, making fascinating playthings for a young girl.

The Queen in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee, A3 giclee poster, $45

Bev creates her button posters by placing each button over an outline. “The buttons are always loosely laid, so that they can be moved and tweaked during the whole process. I do sometimes have to use blu-tak to hold shank buttons straight, but other than that everything is freely placed.”

Once Bev has everything just so, the piece is photographed and then…well, the slate is wiped clean for the next one. “I would have loved to have kept the original of The Queen,” says Bev. “It took about three days to complete and I didn’t take it down for a month while I was deciding whether to go back over it and secure all the buttons. Fortunately the photographic image is such a good representation that ultimately I don’t feel the need to keep the original.”

She plans to make new posters celebrating the Summer Olympic Games being held in London this July, and promises to keep us updated. We can’t wait!

Sugarushuk’s Etsy shop can be found here or you can also check out her web store here. Click any photo to be taken directly to that item’s Etsy page.

Diamond Jubilee Poster, A3 giclee print, $45