bottled buttons

  I have recounted how I reluctantly bought in a French street market, a double orange box full of packets of glass buttons in three colours, white, red and blue.  They were made of glass so the colours were there for ever and they glistened in the sun and  I thought knitters would like them for chunky jerseys and cardigans.   It turned out that everyone liked them and this is how I sold them;  I thought plastic bags were not a good idea and plastic boxes were too expensive.   One day after I got home, I saw a big crate of Bonne Maman French jam jars in my cellars - problem solved!  I was able to put a hundred or so, I did not bother to count them, in each glass jar and screw on the pretty red/white gingham screw lids and I sold them all complete for £3 each.  They soon disappeared and I was amused to see other button sellers then using the same jars for the same idea and also using the very tiny hotel breakfast jars for more valuable buttons, m.o.p. ones especially.   The big wine jars acted as door stops in my showroom and were always commented on.