Weird Little Earrings is run out of West View. On nice days, you can hear my drill as I work outside on my back porch. Otherwise, the entire living room is overtaken by toys as my sweet 11-year-old puppy, Alex Trebek, snores on the couch.
I began crafting earrings from discarded toys during my eight-year tenure as an expert in play at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, where I worked from 2013 until losing the career I loved to the pandemic. I began this craft to see the smiles of the children (and adults) who came to play each day – my first ever earring was a green and maroon stegosaurus. Eventually, I had created so many earrings that they were overtaking my house, and my partner asked that our earring burden be lessened. While I casually sold earrings pre-pandemic, mostly to friends and colleagues, the loss of a job I had intended to keep forever really shook up my entire life and sent me on a different path. This summer, on my weekends and many weekdays, I find myself swinging in my camp chair and bringing joy to the public through my art.
Nearly every single item I create is one-of-a kind due to the nature of repurposing found objects. I’ve learned this selling season to carry keychains in addition to the plastic and 925 silver findings I always have on hand so that everyone can walk away with a memento, whether they’re pierced or not.
This season is my first at the Bellevue Farmers Market, and I’m very excited to be a member of the diverse crew of vendors. You will usually find me at the booth, though sometimes you’ll see my friends hanging out behind my booth eating from the week’s food truck. We can’t pass up food on wheels. Sometimes I will abandon my booth for cheese, though. I love the carefree and welcoming nature of the Bellevue Farmers Market and its dedication to ensuring that underrepresented bodies feel seen.
Outside of Weird Little Earrings, I have acted as the Judge of Elections in my local precinct since 2017. While I have always been passionate about politics, I felt the need to become more involved in November 2016.
While I prefer to sell my items in person because I like to experience the joy with my customers, I have a sparsely populated Etsy shop (etsy.com/shop/weirdlittleearrings) and take orders via direct message on my social media and local orders – I’ll even deliver!
Be sure to check out Weird Little Earrings on Facebook and Instagram at facebook.com/weirdlittleearrings instagram.com/weirdlittleearrings.