Polly McCarthy turns found objects and vintage buttons into wearable art using needle, thread, tiny beads and a disciplined imagination.

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She starts with shards of beach glass and jewel-like agates found on Pacific Coast beaches near her studio in Washington State, and also visits antique shops and estate sales to find vintage buttons made of cut glass, metal or wood.  It is painstaking work: each piece she creates is framed with hundreds of beads to define and enhance the found object.

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Polly is a graduate of the University of Washington. She made a living in the marketing and communications fields, all the while pursuing various crafts involving beads, fibers and vintage buttons. Polly also enjoys teaching her craft in and around the Pacific Northwest.