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52 Womeninc October 2008

Cathy Collison and her

2008 by Womeninc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission

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Womeninc October 2008 53

nvent ng a m n p ece o art

out o recyc e mater a s

wasnt w at Cat y Co son

a on er m n w en

s e went to er stu o one

even ng w t a an u o ott e caps.

S e s mp y wante to create somet ng

new an ave un. L tt e s e now

that her evening of playing with used

ott e caps was go ng to resu t n a new

us ness venture Bott e Cap Bea s.

Cathys need to make things, and

ave un n t e process, as een t e

r v ng orce e n er 15 years as a

jewelry designer and business owner.Im one o t ose peop e t ats a ways

ma ng t ngs. T at oesnt necessar y

mean that Imgoodat it, she laughs. Her

customers, emp oyees an r en s at G ass

Gar en Bea s, er u -serv ce ea store

n Nort e , M nnesota, wou sagree

or Cat y s nown or er creat ve a r n

es gn ng ea s an ewe ry. St , Cat y

ns sts, er Bott e Cap Bea s nt come

out of trying to make something beautiful.

Instea , t ey eve ope ecause s e a

an ea an s e nee e to go t roug t e

creative process to make a puffy littleott e cap ea .

T e v s on or t e Bott e Cap Bea

came to Cathy five years ago when she

saw some s ver, ent s ape ea s

t at er r en , art st Leanne Stremc a,

made. She loved the beads and wanted

to ma e somet ng e t em - ut nt

now exact y w at. One even ng, t e

mage o Stremc as ea s strong n er

m n , Cat y saw some ott e caps on er

tc en counter, e t nsp re , gra e

t e caps an ea e to er stu o.

She pounded, she played and sheso ere . A ew ours ater Cat y a

a an u o ott e cap ea s. T e pro-

totypes didnt match the picture in her

m n , ut t ey nsp re Cat y to p ay

an exper ment w t er ott e cap ea

concept for the next three years.

S e nt p an to mar et er new

creat on ut w en s e s owe t e ea s

to people, Everybody responded to

t em, says Cat y, even t ey werent

nto ea s. Rea z ng t ere was a

I

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54 Womeninc October 2008

demand for her new creation, Cathy set out

to manu acture er Bott e Cap Bea s.

Be ore s e cou eg n, Cat y a to

tackle the first of many challenges. She

nee e t ousan s o ott e caps. S e ran a

press re ease n t e oca paper, Bea La y

needs Bottle Caps. From seniors who

a caps stas e n a rawer to t e young

teac er w o a er stu ents co ect ott ecaps on a tr p to Europe, peop e steppe

orwar w t ott e caps onat ons to e p

Co son ma e er ea s.

Ma ng eac an -cra te ea s a

labor intensive process. First, Cathy cuts

an omes eac cap w t t e Ka-C un er,

a mac ne a oca mac n st e pe er

develop. Next she solders two domed caps

toget er an t en r s a o e nto t e pu y

or . S e a to app y or severa patents or

the beads and tools she uses to make them.

Applying for patents, Cathy laughs, wasnt

on my st o to os. I t n o eng neers

an nventors gett ng patents, not me out

there playing with my toys.

Now, ve years a ter s e create er

rst Bott e Cap Bea , Cat y emp oys a

handful of creative women to make them.

T ey ma e Bott e Cap Bea s n two s zes

an recent y starte ma ng a pen ant aswe . T e eman or t e Bott e Cap Bea s

s enormous an Cat y as so t ousan s

o t e ea s rom er store, er We s te,

www.glassgardenbeads.com, an at ea

shows around the country.

Cat ys creat ve team s a ways

t n ng up new ways to ncorporate

the beads into beautiful jewelry. One of

t e r avor te creat ons, Cat y says, s

t e r S x Pac Brace et, ma e up o

six bottle cap beads. The bracelets says

Cat y, are un an peop e ust aug

w en t ey see t em.

Peop e o ten c uc e, too, w en t ey

oo t roug t e ea s n t e store anrea ze t ey are ma e rom ott e caps

Cat y en oys watc ng t em w en t ey

rea ze w at t ey ave scovere . You

see t em t n an a o a su en t ey ge

this big grin on their face and say, Is this

w at I t n t s?

Its een nterest ng or Cat y to see

the bottle caps people bring to her because

t e caps ave mean ng an memor e

attac e to t em. L e t e group o sen or

women, Cathy recounts, who traveled to

A r ca, save t e r ott e caps, an roug

t em to Cat y to turn nto ea s. T en t eyall had special necklaces made of them to

remem er t e r tr p an t e great t me t ey

s are toget er.

Its t at n o un an moments

s are , t at as ept Cat y wor ng on

er Bott e Cap Bea s or ve years an

eep er creat ng new t ngs. I a way

want people to see you can really do

w atever you want to o, s e says

Because t e t ng s, t ats w at you

have the energy for. Five years spen

per ect ng a ea ma e rom ott e caps

asnt e t e a ar s p, says Cat yBecause I am really doing now wha

Ive a ways wante to o w c s us

ma e stu .

Cathy smiles. Hundreds of bottle caps

surroun er, neat y organ ze n s a ow

rawers. B ts o ewe ry, empty t ns an

too s are scattere a out. I eas are sp nn ng

t roug er ea an Cat y gets ac

to wor . Its t me to get ac to ma ng

somet ng. Its t me or Cat y to ave some

more fun.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

Cathy in her studio, creating. Hundreds of colorful and unique bottle cap beads. Glass rings Cathy

makes from recycled wine and soda bottles. The Glass Garden Beads store in Northfield, Minnesota.

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