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Hidden Gems Thousands of buttons found in one Huntersville woman’s collection BY: » Renee Roberson PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: » Gay Rudisill
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ost of us have buttons stuffed away in envelopes or drawers—buttons that come as “extras” with clothing just in case we lose one and need a replacement. Huntersville resident Gay Rudisill has those types of buttons, but they accompany 16 LimitlessMagOnline.com | March 2021
an impressive array of what is likely close to 8,000 buttons she’s been collecting since she was in her early 40s. That’s thirty plus years of buttons. They are displayed in beautiful glass jars, baskets and even in an old green battery case in her home and have served many purposes since she began her collec-
tion. She first discovered an interest in this type of collecting more than 30 years ago while attending an auction. She bid on a large batch of buttons, won them, and a collection was born. “Anytime I was somewhere, like a sale at a store, I would look for buttons,” she says. Some of her favorite places to
find buttons are flea markets, thrift stores, antique stores and garage sales. She especially enjoys coming across jars full of buttons where someone has been keeping them for years, and then decides to sell or donate them as one large group. Friends and acquaintances also gift her with buttons they find themselves
