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One of the first persons in Fort Collins, Colorado, to take up the hobby of making such earrings, Mrs. Nickerson soon was doing quite a flourishing business by selling them to local shops and from her own home. However, because of the wide distribution of directions for making the earrings by the manufacturers of rickrack and others, many people in all parts of the country began making not only their own earrings but making them for sale as well. Consequently competition became great and Mrs. Nickerson found sales becoming increasingly difficult to make.

Manipulating rickrack so it resembled flowers which she used for earrings had grown to be a most fascinating hobby with Mrs. Nickerson but now with the market for them declining she faced the fact that she would in all probability have to discontinue making them. Mrs. Nickerson reasoned that one of the best ways to fight competition would be to turn out something quite different from the things being made by her competitors.

TO AN imaginative minded person like Mrs. Nickerson new ideas are not slow in coming so it was not surprising that she thought of varying ways the flowers could be used as decorations on children's hats and head bands, and for making boutonnieres. She was still toying with these ideas when she chanced, to see an advertisement showing a necklace fashioned from rickrack and trimmed with several flowers exactly like those she had been using for earrings. Shown with the necklace were a pair of earrings. Immediately she made up several sets based on the general idea as shown in the advertisement but added a little boutonniere consisting of three rickrack flowers and a couple of artificial leaves.

Mrs. Nickerson lost no time in showing her new creations to friends, many of whom had previously bought earrings from her. Upon seeing the delightfully different pieces of rickrack jewelry several of her old customers placed orders for additional pieces to match the earrings they already had, or ordered entire new sets. "Almost overnight my dwindling business was revitalized and I began with renewed vigor to create new and unusual styles of rickrack jewelry," says Mrs. Nickerson, triumphantly.

While the basic part of each set of jewelry made by Mrs. Nickerson consists of flowers made from different size rickrack, with centers of small beads or glass flower peps, she also uses such materials as metal chain, clasps, ear screws, household cement, artificial leaves, floral wire, tape and ribbon.

TO MAKE a medium size flower, Mrs. Nickerson cuts a strip of number twenty-nine rickrack eleven inches in length. Some brands of rickrack, even though the same number, vary as to number of points to the inch. For this reason it is advisable to use the same brand in making all flowers for any one set of jewelry. Using a needle and matching color mercerized thread, Mrs. Nickerson runs a row of stitches through the points along one edge of the rickrack, making one stitch over a point, the next under, as shown.

Leaving about an inch of the thread at the starting point, she holds the thread and rickrack firmly while she pulls the needle end of the thread tightly to draw the rickrack up into accordion-like pleats. As this is done the rickrack takes on the form of a flower. The ends of the braid are tucked under to make a neat finish and the thread is tied tightly. Mrs. Nickerson leaves about ¹/8 inch of thread beyond the point where it is tied before she cuts it. She finds by doing this that the ends of the thread can be tucked into the center of the flower and when cement is added later will make a more secure joining of the rickrack than if back stitches are taken as some directions advise doing.

To make a center for the flower she uses either a small bead or glass pep. First she puts a drop of household cement in the center of the flower, then adds a bit of cotton and more cement. The purpose of the combination of cement and cotton is to make the rickrack more adherent to the bead or pep which will be placed in the flower center. If a pep is used a tiny bit of the wire at the base of the pep is left on and is forced into the cotton and cement until the pep fits closely to the rickrack. When using a bead, Mrs. Nickerson presses it firmly so it is partially submerged in the cotton and cement. If centers are placed in this way there is little chance of them coming loose.

ALTHOUGH THEY are constructed in almost the same way, the diminutive flowers (³/8 inch in diameter), made from baby size rickrack only slightly resemble those made from the large size braid.

Mrs. Nickerson makes several styles of necklaces. One, a choker, is made from number twenty-nine rickrack. After cutting two strips of braid into 15½-inch lengths she lays one piece atop the other and weaves the two strips over and under so they become interlaced. She then trims the ends so they are even, turns ends under and sews on a clasp. Since the rickrack takes up some as it is interlaced, the finished length of the choker is about 13½ inches. Using four of the large size flowers, Mrs. Nickerson then sews them to the choker, spacing them about an inch and a half apart. One kind of clasp she frequently uses on a choker is adjustable by means of a short length of chain which enables the wearer to vary the length of the choker by about an inch. The other style, slightly smaller in size, is not adjustable.

Another style necklace made by Mrs. Nickerson, preferred by some because it is somewhat daintier, calls for metal chain instead of the interlaced rickrack. Mrs. Nickerson finds rickrack having metallic thread woven in it most suitable for all jewelry making purposes but she especially likes it for this particular type necklace since the gold, threads which appear at the outer edge of the made-up flowers match in a pleasing way with the gold links of the metal chain. Silver chain and flowers with matching silver threads are sometimes used instead of the gold and are equally as effective. Using matching color thread, Mrs. Nickerson sews four flowers with tiny stitches to the chain, spacing them about an inch apart. Two points of the flowers are sewed to the chain thus making them lie flat when worn.

WHEN MRS. NICKERSON first started making this kind of necklace she purchased blank chain necklaces, complete with fastener. However, she soon discovered she could save considerable money by purchasing separate parts and assembling them herself. By doing this she also had the advantage of making the necklaces the length she found to be most popular with her customers. Necklace chain may be purchased in either silver or gold plated metal from jewelry supply houses, craft shops or variety stores, the price being dependent upon the quality of the chain.

Mrs. Nickerson buys chain in fifty foot bolts, the price being ten cents a foot. Unless otherwise specified she makes the necklaces about sixteen inches long. A small clasp, costing five cents, is attached to the chain with jump rings. The rings are purchased in packages of seventy-five and cost twenty-five cents. After cutting the chain in the desired length, Mrs. Nickerson uses a knife blade or fingernail file to pry the joint of a ring slightly open. One end is then slipped through a link at one end of the chain and the other end of the ring is pushed into a small eyelet on the clasp and the ring is then closed with a pair of sharp-nosed pliers. The same procedure is used to fasten the clasp to the other end of the chain.

Earrings to match either style necklace are made by cementing a rickrack flower to metal earscrews which can be bought for ten cents a pair.

To make a matching boutonniere, Mrs. Nickerson uses three flowers, each attached to floral wire which she cuts into 2½-inch lengths. In the center of each flower, at the back, she puts a drop of household cement before inserting the end of the wire. A tiny piece of cotton is then wedged around the wire with more cement being added if necessary to make the wire stem secure. After all three flowers are cemented to the wires they are set aside for several hours or overnight for cement to harden thoroughly. The three flowers and two artificial leaves are then bound together at the stems with a narrow strip of green parafilm tape (an adhesive-type of tape such as florists use in wrapping the stems of natural flowers before making them into corsages). To give the boutonniere a finished appearance, Mrs. Nickerson makes a small bow from ribbon and ties it to the point where the stems are bound together.

MRS. NICKERSON realized that many people might object to paying extra for a fancy box yet she knew the jewelry would be enhanced if the sets could be displayed in some neat and attractive manner. After giving this matter considerable thought she decided to mount them on white cardboard. After cutting the cardboard the desired size (a rectangle approximately 4¼ by 7 inches was used for the sets made from large size rickrack) she tied the boutonniere in the center, near the top of the cardboard. At each side, over the upper edge of the cardboard, she screwed on the earrings. She then hung the necklace loosely across the cardboard just below the boutonniere, holding it securely in place by drawing the chain through two slits made at the ends of the cardboard. The cardboard which Mrs. Nickerson buys for mounting purposes comes in twenty-two-by-thirty-inch size sheets and costs fifteen cents.

Three 2½-yard bolts of number twenty-nine rickrack are required to make two sets of jewelry, consisting of a choker or chain necklace, boutonniere and pair of earrings. The cost of the rickrack with metallic threads, is ten cents a bolt. The adjustable type clasp costs twelve cents while the non-adjustable one costs five cents. Peps, which Mrs. Nickerson frequently uses for flower centers, come in either colored backgrounds covered with minute sparkling balls or in a pearl-like finish. They usually are double headed (a pep attached to each end of a wire or green-wrapped string) so both ends may be used. The peps are sold by the bunch and cost from twenty-five to thirty-five cents a bunch. Small-size beads also make good flower centers, Mrs. Nickerson finds, and can be purchased in packages of several dozen the cost being about fifteen cents a package. Sometimes she buys inexpensive bead necklaces at the dime store and uses the beads from them for flower centers. A bundle of floral wire costing ten cents is sufficient for making many stems for the flowers used in the boutonnieres. The cost of artificial leaves varies depending on kind used. Mrs. Nickerson sometimes buys them at the dime store for as little as two cents each. Only a little tape is needed to bind the flower stems and the leaves together so a large roll, costing twenty-five to thirty-five cents lasts a long time. Because of the small size of the boutonniere only a small bow is needed. Mrs. Nickerson pays five to ten cents a yard for the ribbon and uses about ¹/3 yard for each bow. The cost for the cardboard, cement, cotton and thread used in the making of a set of jewelry is slight, Mrs. Nickerson estimating it to be less than five cents.

Mrs. Nickerson usually can complete a three-piece set of rickrack jewelry in less than an hour. When selling direct to customers she charges $1.50 for the set or seventy-five cents for anyone piece. She also makes up two-piece sets, consisting of a necklace and bracelet which sells for $1.25 or seventy-five cents each.

"I have found small stickers with my name and address printed on them a good means of putting an identification mark on my products," says Mrs. Nickerson. "I put one of these stickers, which cost me about ½ cent each when purchased in quantities, on either the front or back of each mounted piece of jewelry that leaves my workroom."

WHEN USING miniature flowers made from baby rickrack for a necklace, Mrs. Nickerson attaches six or seven of them to the chain in the same manner as when using the large-size flowers. Anyone of the several styles of earrings she makes from miniature flowers matches well with the necklace. For those who like a small and inconspicuous style of earring she uses only one flower cementing it to the ear screw while others are made by grouping two or three flowers together. Not forgetting those who keep up with the modern trend she also makes a dangle type earring. The earscrews that she uses for this kind cost five cents a pair and have a little eyelet built in to which the drop part of the earring can be attached. The drop, or dangle, part of the earring is made by cutting a piece of chain (the same kind as is used for the necklace) 1¼ inches long. To each end of the chain she sews a flower, making the stitches pass through the side of the flower. Doubling the chain to find the center she then places an opened jump ring through the two center links and through the eyelet in the earscrew, closing the ring with pliers. Since both sides of the flower show as they dangle when worn, it is necessary for them to be the same on both sides so she cements on another center to correspond with the kind used on the other side of the flower. These two-piece sets sell for $1.25, or if sold separately the price is seventy-five cents each.

Often friends and relatives drop in to chat with Mrs. Nickerson. She heartily enjoys these calls but being a very ambitious person she only reaches the maximum of enjoyment when her hands are busy as she visits. "My friends know my handwork provides me with a needed income," says Mrs. Nickerson, "so they really feel more free to drop in if I keep on working than if they felt they were interrupting my activities. Sometimes as people watch me work new ideas that I had not thought of come to their minds and they offer suggestions which often prove to be very worthwhile.

"For instance, it had never occurred to me to make snap-on rickrack flowers to be used as decorations for clothing and household items until a friend made such a suggestion. The idea aroused my curiosity so much that I told my friend to make an apron for herself and I would furnish what flowers were needed for it and we would then see if the idea would be practical. She was delighted to do this and soon had the apron made. The main part of the tie-around apron was made of lime color percale. A straight band, with a cutout section, of cream color percale was stitched across the bottom of the apron and was trimmed with two rows of baby-size red rickrack. Above the cutout section of the band, on the main part of the apron, my friend had made a prim row of flower stems and leaves in simple embroidery stitches. At this point she turned the apron over to me to complete. I sewed one part of the snap to the apron at the tip of one of the five stems, which were of graduated lengths, and just below a cluster of embroidered leaves. I then sewed the corresponding part of the snap to the back of a flower I had made from number twenty-nine red and metallic rickrack. When all the snaps were sewed to their proper positions we snapped the flowers onto the apron. Presto, we had a flower bedecked apron much more attractive and unusual than either of us had expected.

"I knew the greater variety of uses I could devise for my rickrack flowers the greater would be my chances of making money from my hobby so I decided to add snap-on flowers to my jewelry line." That the snap-on idea was a good one is borne out by the fact that Mrs. Nickerson has found a ready market for them. Many people like the snap-on flowers because they are quite unlike many other types of trimming and also because of the convenience in removing and replacing them when used on washable articles. Some customers use them in place of trimming buttons while others use them to snap on the cuffs of white or black fabric gloves to carry out a certain color scheme.

AT FIRST Mrs. Nickerson sewed the snap to the flower but this was quite hard to do without getting the flower out of shape. She tried cementing the snap to the flower and found this to be more satisfactory. After removing the snaps from the card she opens and closes them until they pull apart easily. With the flower upside down, she drops a little cement into the opening at center of the flower, wedges in a little cotton then more cement and places on this one-half of the snap, pressing it so it is securely embedded in the cement and cotton. Since there is some strain on the snap as it will later be snapped on and off, the cement should be allowed to harden thoroughly before the flower is used. Using the same kind of cardboard as she uses to mount the jewelry, Mrs. Nickerson punches four small holes in a piece cut four inches square. A flower, with snap at back, is placed over one of the holes and the other part of the snap is fastened to the snap-on flower from the under side of the cardboard. The three remaining flowers are fastened to the cardboard in the same way. When customers buy the snap-on flowers they remove them from the card and sew the under half of the snaps to the article where they wish the flowers to be. The flowers can then be snapped on and off as the need arises. Mrs. Nickerson uses size 0 snaps, the cost being four to eight cents a card. Four snap-on flowers, mounted on a card sell for seventy-five cents. When selling less than that number she charges twenty cents each for them.

TO MANY who wish to turn a hobby into a profitable part-time venture, attracting customers poses a perplexing problem. Mrs. Nickerson, who for many years has been successfully selling her various handmade products, has found that no matter how well made and attractive products are, customers will not beat a pathway to your door unless you employ different ways to familiarize the public with your products. "Direct sales to friends and acquaintances are fine," says Mrs. Nickerson, "and often lead to more sales as they in turn show their purchases to others. However, broader means of advertising are usually necessary if one expects to expand beyond the limits of occasional sales."

Once a year the Junior Chamber of Commerce sponsors a two-day hobby show in Fort Collins. Local hobbyists are urged to exhibit. Mrs. Nickerson takes advantage of this means of displaying her work. While no selling is allowed direct from the hobby show, exhibitors are permitted to have their name on their exhibits and are urged to be with their exhibits at all times while the show is in progress. This affords Mrs. Nickerson an opportunity to let spectators know that if interested they can purchase her handwork at her home or at two certain shops in town that handle her work.

Another means of advertising came to Mrs. Nickerson quite unexpectedly. A friend in a nearby town invited her to be her guest at a home demonstration meeting and asked her to bring a display of some of her rickrack items. "Upon my arrival my friend set up a card table and together we arranged the dozen or so items I had brought with me," explains Mrs. Nickerson, "then informed me that following the business meeting she wanted me to tell the audience how I happened to take up my hobby and other interesting facts concerning my work. Unaccustomed to public speaking and with no advance notice that I was expected to fill such a role on the program, my friend's request sent cold chills racing up and down my spine. Fortunately, I had a fifteen-minute period during the business meeting to calm myself and collect my thoughts so by the time I was introduced I had lost some of my apprehension and soon was actually finding enjoyment in sharing my hobby experiences with the audience." Appearing before this group proved to be most profitable for Mrs. Nickerson since many of the women bought items from her and she went home with a much lighter sample case but a heavier pocketbook. A short time later she was asked to put on a similar program for another demonstration club, this occasion bringing her nearly the same results.

A FEW years ago the Nickersons purchased a small trailer for use when going on long automobile trips. Since they like to take leisurely trips with stopovers wherever fancy dictates, Mrs. Nickerson always takes her working equipment, which consists of scissors, pliers, needles, etc., materials and a quantity of made-up rickrack items with her. Even lengthy trips of two or three months' duration and several thousand miles are usually fully financed by the work she sells along the way. Most sales made while traveling are to people she meets while staying at trailer courts.

"I never peddle my products from door to door—I use more subtle means to attract customers," says Mrs. Nickerson with a smile. "It's surprising how you can arouse people's curiosity by just working nonchalantly on your products outside your own trailer. Since most of our trips are made in the northwestern states at a time of year when severe storms are infrequent I can usually work outdoors without any disturbance by Mother Nature." Choosing a spot conveniently near the trailer, Mrs. Nickerson sets up her card table and places on it the material for her work. Seated nearby she carries on her work just as she would if she were at home. To further attract attention she sometimes puts a few eye-catchers, such as a bright apron with snap-on flowers and a few sets of jewelry, on the card table. Sometimes if she is especially eager to attract prospective customers she places a card indicating she has handwork for sale in the window or on the outside of the trailer.

Since the Nickersons usually follow no fixed schedule when traveling if they stop at a trailer court where business is extra good they stay until sales begin to dwindle then move on to another court. Business is usually good in trailer courts frequented by tourists, Mrs. Nickerson has found. These people generally want to buy things that are easily packed and that do not cost more than $4 or $5. Many travelers, even in mid-summer, are looking for small gifts for Christmas giving and her line of rickrack jewelry and other items offers them a nice assortment to choose from.

Mrs. Nickerson's advice to anyone who may have reached a discouraging point in the marketing of his hobby products is to not give up too easily—only slight changes one way or another may be all that is necessary to make them saleable. "Had I not experimented with new ways to use my rickrack flowers I would have had to abandon a fascinating hobby because of lack of customers," says Mrs. Nickerson. "As it now stands I am deriving a great deal of enjoyment as well as very satisfactory financial rewards from my hobby, all of which leads me to believe that the pathway to success is not always found without taking detours."

To MAKE AN APRON with snap-on flowers like the one pictured you will need one yard of twenty-seven-inch wide plain color percale, or similar material, six inches of the same width material in a contrasting color for the trimming band, 1¾ yards baby size rickrack, green embroidery thread and five snap-on rickrack flowers.

Stitch narrow hems along the two sides of the main part of the apron. On the lower part of the apron, on the wrong side, lay the trimming band (with the cut-out section toward top of apron), placing so edges of both apron and band are even. In from the edge about ¼ inch stitch apron and band together. Turn band over at the seam and press so it lies flat on the main part of the apron. Turn ends of band under and blind stitch to apron.