Kamusta! I’m Abigail, the founder, designer, and artisan behind Butones Jewelry.

Butones began in 2020 when I found myself needing a creative outlet outside of my professional life working in County Counsel. I have always loved art, creating, and anything a little unconventional. My personal style has always been an interesting mix of earthy and bohemian, while at the same time having an appreciation for the craftsmanship, history, and artistry behind designer fashion. Somehow, those two completely different worlds came together when I began turning authentic designer hardwares into jewelry. What started with buttons eventually grew into zipper pulls, locks, keys, rivets, charms, and other forgotten pieces that I could look at and immediately imagine as something entirely different. That curiosity and love for transformation became Butones.

What I loved most was that these elements already had a story before they ever reached me. Instead of letting them sit forgotten or become something no longer useful, I could give them another purpose and turn them into something you could actually wear and make your own. No two pieces ever felt exactly the same, and that became part of what made creating them so special. You may recognize where an element came from, but by the time it becomes a Butones piece, it has taken on a completely different life. I think that is also why so many of you have connected with the jewelry over the years. You are not simply choosing a piece because of the name stamped on it. You are choosing the one that somehow feels like you.

Over the years, Butones has grown, but I have grown right alongside it. Travel, nature, motherhood, spirituality, life experiences, and even the more difficult seasons have changed the way I see what is valuable and what deserves my time and energy. I have become much more intentional about what I own, what I consume, and especially what I create. Somewhere in that growth, I realized that the very thing Butones had been doing from the beginning had taken on a much deeper meaning for me. Taking something that already existed, honoring where it came from, and allowing it to become something new started to feel like much more than simply repurposing materials. It became a reflection of transformation itself.

That evolution has changed the way I create today. I create more slowly, more thoughtfully, and with much less interest in making more simply for the sake of having more. I would rather spend my time creating pieces with character, craftsmanship, and individuality, pieces that feel personal enough for someone to see them and know immediately, “that one is mine.” Butones is still rooted in the same idea that started it all: authentic designer elements, responsibly sourced and thoughtfully transformed by hand. The difference now is that I understand the meaning behind that process in a way I probably could not have understood when I first began.

Maybe that is what I love most about Butones today. It reminds me that transformation does not require us to erase what came before. The history can stay. The imperfections can stay. The story can stay. Sometimes all it takes is seeing something from a different perspective and realizing there is still so much possibility there. That is true of the pieces I create, and I think in many ways, it is true of us too.

Whether you have been here since the early button days or you just discovered Butones, thank you for being here and for seeing the beauty in what something can become!

With so much love,