Ed and Jaynie McQuirk recently moved from Crystal Beach, TX to Mountain View to be near family and built a home. They have been recent vendors at the Artisans Market on the Square and were accepted as members of the Arkansas Craft Guild, with their unique jewelry made from antique and vintage silverware. They named their business, now in its 18th year, The Vintage SilverWear Company. Their bracelets are available at the Arkansas Craft Gallery at 104 E. Main, Mountain View, the Guild's retail outlet.
Describing how they got started, Jaynie says “We owned an antique store and had a few sets of silverware when someone asked if we could make a ring out of her baby spoon, so we started testing it out. I began by selling bracelets off my wrist at work. We had a few friends who acted as mentors and encouraged us to apply to shows. We started selling at the Park City Silly Market on Sundays, which led to us traveling all over the country doing art shows.”
Both Ed and Jaynie have creative input in design as well as being involved in production. Ed has made his own tools for bending, cutting, and drilling. They use a magnetic clasp with an extra hook as a convenience and safety factor. From many silverware sets over 100 years old, they identify the pattern, the company and the year it was first introduced and include this information on their label. Many clients bring them the family silverware so that each family member can have a keepsake of Aunt’s, Mom’s, or Grandmother’s silverware in the form of rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, or key chains. Read more about them and their jewelry at their Artist page here.
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