countertop sample earring cards

As you well know, I am committed to repurposing whenever i can to not only keep things from going into the trash, but to stretch the budget as far as possible.
I have a bunch -i mean, a BUNCH- of countertop sample chips;
their colors and textures appeal to me, as well as the neat way they are collected on ball chain. I acquired them without a purpose in mind, but over the summer as soon i envisioned a physical space for NikCo, i knew they be perfect for earring cards.
At festival and shows i am standing right there, so it would be kinda hard to shoplift (not impossible of course), but in a physical location i needed a way to keep pairs together and make them harder to pocket.
 
Plus it makes an easy surface on which to affix the price tag and NikCo online information.
I decided to use the slightly smaller Formica samples so that more could fit on the display. My handy-dandy Dremel made quick work of drilling all the holes for the earring wires. In fact, the hardest part was matching earrings to cards so that the background color highlighted the jewelry instead of distracting from it.

Mayhaps you recall that i was trying to build a repurposed display, but that failed miserably so i ended up buying a metal and glass shelf from Objects Found (so i guess still technically repurposed). For months i had seen so clearly in my mind how i wanted the cards to be hanging from binder clips stretched through the air:

The open metal work of the shelf supports allowed me to stagger several strings of them with black wire while the glass shelves themselves gave me areas to group some recently acquired cream and sugar sets that i am showing a great deal of self-restraint by selling instead of keeping.

top shelf

middle shelf

The hole in the top of the earring cards made it easy to hang them on the branches of a little pre-lit tree so that i could create a Christmas display of Quirkees.



Here a couple of (terribly lit) pictures of NikCo's little corner of the world:

To see how much prettier it is in real life (really, that lighting is horrific for taking pictures) visit booth 110 in the Antique Depot, next to the Phoenix in Old Ellicott City. I am already working on how to display bracelets and necklaces and will be switching the Quirkees display from Christmas to snowy weather later this week.