Old Bottles Make Lovely Jewelry
Written by Corinne Garcia Tuesday, November 22 2011
Snapshot: Laura Bergman, founder, Bottled Up Designs
Laura Bergman has had a thing for antique glass bottles since she was a child growing up in Pennsylvania’s Amish country, where she still lives. While working as an advertising manager for a local magazine, she spent her spare time in the woods, digging up old bottles as a hobby collector. But one day, when she saw a deer lying on pieces of broken glass, she started gathering it with no idea what she would do with it. The last thing on her mind was starting a business. Now, just three years later, Bergman creates a jewelry line made from these recycled pieces of antique glass. Her products are sold through her website and are currently in about 50 stores around the country, on numerous websites, and in two print catalogs. Find her jewelry at Bottled Up Designs.
Womenetics: What do you find fascinating about this found glass?
Laura Bergman: I grew up on a working farm in Pennsylvania’s Amish country, and our house was full of antiques. My mother loved old bottles, and we always went to auctions, flea markets, and yard sales. Every window in the farmhouse had old bottles in them; I just grew up with it. When I got married and moved, it just kept it going.
Womenetics: What was the inspiration for the business?
Bergman: I really never set out to start a business. I was always out there digging and collecting glass. It’s a passion; I go to bottle shows, and we have a club and get together. But I would never think about the broken stuff. There’s so much wildlife around here, and one day this little deer was lying on a broken cobalt blue Noxzema bottle. After that, I started picking up some broken stuff to use to make crafts with my kids. I never thought of myself as crafty, but I was always trying to keep my kids busy. It was all spread out on the dining room table, the sun hit it just right, and I was like, “I wonder if I could make some jewelry out of this.”
The jewelry was really crude at first; I was gluing it together. I had never made a piece of jewelry in my life; I don’t even really wear it, but there was something pushing me, like I knew it was a good idea.
Womenetics: Tell me about how you got the business off the ground?
Bergman: I started selling earrings at craft shows for $5 and sold $300 worth in one afternoon. Soon I went to a local store, and she told me the idea is good, but the product is not. I had no idea what to do. I taught myself to drill glass and bought some hobby-level equipment. My husband is a machinist, and he had this metal working machinery from World War II. He remade it so it was a wet operation, which you need when working with glass.
I was terrified at first, with spinning blades and all. For a couple months I played around with it. The pretty part is the glass, and I didn’t want to use any solder or chemicals. That first year, I was trying to figure out the best design with some nice wire I found.
Eventually, I went back to that store, and she took them, and she’s had them ever since. Soon after, I submitted the earrings to the eco-friendly website Uncommongoods.com, which has a heavy emphasis on recycled things. They took them, and they did so well that summer; and from October to December I had to make over 1,000 of them, and that’s when it became incredibly real to me.
Womenetics: How did it evolve into your full-time job?
Bergman: I was an ad manager for an equestrian magazine for 15 years, and I have two kids. Once these earrings took off, I was doing 18-hour days. Uncommon Goods sent me the purchase order for Mother’s Day, and it was like, “Oh my gosh, I have to decide now.” It was right during the recession. It was very scary. You hear all your life, “Just go for it.” And I did. I quit my job, and I’ve never looked back. It’s been nonstop.
Womenetics: Why do you think your earrings caught on?
Bergman: Every single piece has a story that comes with it about the glass, including its history and how old it is. Whether it’s a pink Depression glass teacup from the 1930s or a cobalt blue Noxzema bottle from the 1960s, it all has a story, and it’s beautiful.
Womenetics: When you first started did you think it would be a hit because of the green movement?
Bergman: That’s really what hit first was that little niche. I don’t know if that’s as big as it was. Now it’s “American made” – that’s what people want. And this product has both.
Womenetics: Tell me about the business operations today, and how you get the product into people’s hands.
Bergman: I work so hard at sales and marketing; I put aside a couple hours a day. I will sit and cold call stores all over the country, work on my Facebook page, and send emails out. I thought the Smithsonian should carry them, and I called and finally got in touch with their buyer. I just found out that the stores of the Smithsonian are picking them up. Some people say, “How did you get in there?” Well, I just asked!
As far as making the jewelry, I still do it all myself. When I get really busy, my husband helps out.
Womenetics: Are you still harvesting glass? It seems like you could run out one day.
Bergman: I do harvest still, but I also get glass from other people. I have antique dealers contact me when a piece of Depression glass breaks. I have other collectors who keep an eye out for me.
Womenetics: What has been your biggest challenge?Bergman: Initially, the biggest challenge was figuring out how to do it. It took us a good year to figure out what I needed, with my husband’s help. We’re so rural, so it was a challenge teaching myself these skills in the sticks.
Womenetics: What’s your next step for growth?
Bergman: The next logical step is to get people to do some sales for me. I do mostly wholesaling now, but I think the jewelry would do a lot better in stores if I could figure out a model with sales reps.
Womenetics: What have you learned from the whole entrepreneurial process, and what would you have done differently?
Bergman: If I would have known what I know now about the world of internet marketing, how to make a website more searchable with SEO (search engine optimization), I would have saved a lot of time. You just can’t put a website out there and think people are going find it. It would have been cool to know that up-front. Everything has kind of been a surprise. I’ve had to throw myself in to that world and figure it out. Anyone starting a web-based business, I would tell them to research that beforehand.
It’s all consuming, but it’s fun. It’s so different when it’s yours. It’s not the same as having your own medical practice or something. I actually invented it. You put so much of your soul and time into it, and so every victory is so exciting. I have appreciated every single order so much.
Womenetics: What’s your advice for other creative women?
Bergman: If you really think if you have something neat and believe in it, people should go for it. There’s something so therapeutic in creating something, even if you’re not doing it to make money. I wish more people would do it. And creating something out of something found is even better.
Womenetics: Do you take time for yourself, and, if so, what do you do?
Bergman: We love to go to the beach. We live about two hours from the Jersey beaches. We bring the dogs down there, and there are a couple of state parks. Or I’ll go antiquing – but I end up finding stuff for my business. I love walking the dogs; I’m a big dog lover. I try to sneak out and walk them around at least a couple times a week.
Corinne Garcia is a freelance writer and editor living with her husband and two young boys in Bozeman, Mont. She has also written for Women’s Adventure, Christian Science Monitor, Northwest Travel, Pregnancy, Fit Pregnancy, and Fit Parent.
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