My friend Jen, whose online store Xurple is my source for bakelite buttons, has moved her store from Ruby Lane to Bonanza. Here's the new link: Xurple
Here's a carved butterscotch bakelite bird that caught my eye: Bakelite Tropical Bird Brooch
The pin is $68, but Jen sent me an e-mail offering a 20 percent discount. She sent this e-mail to her regular customers, but gave us permission to pass on the discount code to friends.
So if you want to buy something from Jen's site at the discounted price--and who wouldn't?--e-mail me and I will put you in touch with Jen or just give you the code.
If you don't know much about bakelite, here's an explanation on my blog: My Bakelite Bangles
Here's a bracelet I made for Julie using bakelite buttons that I bought from Jen: A Gift for Julie: Flowers and Puppy Dogs
Most, if not all, of the buttons on the bracelet in the photo came from Xurple: Couldn't Wait to Post This One
Yesterday I ordered two groups of bakelite hearts from Jen, one group is deep cherry red and the other has five hearts of different colors. Expect to see bracelets with these hearts on my blog fairly soon.
Jen doesn't just sell bakelite. Far from it: She has a wonderful inventory of vintage items.
For one, she is selling a pair of 1950s lucite bracelets. The bangles are clear with embedded dried flowers, and are priced at $34, before the discount. The bracelets come with a matching lucite ring.
Another item that caught my eye is an antique wooden needle case, made in Germany:
The German needle case is three inches high, which is probably too big to attach to a necklace, but it's a great collectible. I made, and sold, a necklace recently with a silver Chinese needle case:
Photo: @ Monica Strasen 2011.
@ Jeanne Sather 2011.