Like many sisters, Joyce Davies, Jackie Smith, Jeanette Abbott, Jane Weast and Joan Brilke share a number of interests and hobbies.
Together, the five have turned one hobby into a burgeoning money-maker.
Davies, Weast and Abbott create original beaded and wire-wrapped jewelry; Abbott and Smith offer space to sell the wares — Abbott through Advanced Cabinet Systems, the store she owns with her husband, Ed, and Smith through her daughter’s store, Diamond Daisy at 1 E. Madison.
It is Abbott’s storefront, at 9 N. Jefferson, that is giving the women the most exposure.
In a space that otherwise sells kitchen cabinets and hardware, sparkling stones and brilliant beads catch the eyes of passersby.
Strings of luscious turquoise lure in those who like cool blues. Violet pearls, wound together with rose, gold, peach and green, adorn another piece.
One necklace is made using stick pearls — fresh- water pearls cultured upon tiny rods, rather than around a grain of sand as is done with more traditional orb-shaped gems.
The sisters joke that “Joyce, Jane and Jeanette make the jewelry, and Jackie buys it.” And it’s true: the sisters are their own best customers.
Iolans, though, are learning of the unusual treasures found in the two stores on the square.
With Smith and Abbott both Iola residents, local economic pressures are in mind. The sisters, therefore, try to keep prices reasonable, they said.
“We don’t have a lot of mark-ups,” Davies added. Instead, prices reflect the materials used in the pieces, she said.
With beadwork, stonework, metal work and more, the variety can be dizzying.
A TRIP to Hawaii spurred the endeavor, Davies said.
A sultry day prompted a vacationing Davies and friend to seek relief inside an air-conditioned shopping mall named The Plantation.
Inside, the women discovered a myriad of stores in what was a former working farm.
At a jewelry store, a particular necklace grabbed Davies’ attention.
“It was openwork gold with a Chinese gambling counter and pearls,” Davies said. “I loved it, it was gorgeous, and,” she said wryly, “it was only $1,700.”
Davies returned to Gardner — without the piece — but “obsessed with this gambling counter,” she said.
The mother-of-pearl counters, she learned, had been commissioned by the British in 18th century Hong Kong. Carved by hand, they are often in the shape of a fish.
“I found some on eBay and I bought them” Davies said.
“And then I created something I thought was comparable (to the $1,700 necklace) for about $90.”
And so it began.
Weast had already taken some jewelry-making classes in Overland Park, where she lives. So Davies took some, too.
Davies favors beadwork while Weast does silver wire wrapping of gems, creating one-of-a-kind pendants of stone and silver.
Abbott, too, learned that technique, and dabbles in other styles as well, including making pendants out of silver clay.
The clay is molded like regular modeling clay, then fired to burn off the earthen material. Left is a creation of shaped silver.
Abbott’s influence is also found in some larger necklaces that sport cabinet and drawer pulls — surprisingly ornate, and fitting right in with the sense of whimsy that dances through the jewelry as a whole.
There are even “caterpillar” necklaces — brightly colored multiple strands of beads that appear almost fuzzy, made by Davies.
The strands are beaded both separately and together, Davies said.
“It takes about three days to make one,” Davies said of the style.
Still, she said, “Those are some of my favorites” to make, “because it’s such a feeling of accomplishment” to complete one.
Another technique involves attaching colored pearls individually by gold pins to links on a chain, Davies said.
With the quality of work on display, it would be hard to guess the sisters have been creating the wearable art for only about two years.
And though Brilke, who lives in Yates Center, doesn’t make jewelry, her influence comes through in silver spoon jewelry made by Davies. “This is Joan’s silver pattern,” Davies said of the pieces.
“Sisters 5 is what we call our little business,” Davies said, “Because we couldn’t do this without each other.”
