Bang-Up Betty Jewelry Voted Best Artisan, Stifft Station Gifts Runner-Up Best Gift Shop in Best of Arkansas
Stacey Bowers
A peek at my work bench, where I make and sell custom handmade jewelry inside Stifft Station Gifts in Little Rock, Arkansas. Thank you for voting us “Best Artisan” and runner-up “Best Gift Shop” in the Best of Arkansas!
I can’t say thank you enough for voting Bang-Up Betty “Best Artisan” and Stifft Station Gifts and Sundries runner-up “Best Gift Shop” in the Arkansas Times Best of Arkansas 2020. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my dreams. Thank you for supporting my little business. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for voting Bang-Up Betty “Best Artisan” for handmade jewelry and Stifft Station Gifts runner-up “Best Gift Shop” in the Arkansas Times Best of Arkansas 2020!
When I started making jewelry for the second time (my first job was at Argenta Bead Company in high school!) on my living room coffee table in 2012, I couldn’t see all the amazing places it would take me. I was just making funny jewelry as gifts for my gal pals because I couldn’t find funny jewelry that I liked anywhere and I like to try to figure things out myself. Other people also had a laugh at my snarky jewelry, which began as bracelets that said things like “STFU", “GTFO,” and other curse-wordy and insinuating phrases, so I started selling them on other people’s websites until I made my own, another thing I just had to figure out how to do myself.
My handmade jewelry has evolved in many different ways over the years, and it will continue to evolve as I keep yearning to improve and expand my craft. What started as hand-stamping evolved to jewelry that included vintage parts and pieces, jewelry with semi-precious birthstones and other stones, and hand-cast bronze and fine silver pendants.
A few years ago, I started designing enamel lapel pins, t-shirts, tote bags, koozies, vinyl bumper stickers, keychains and other gift items as well as jewelry. Along the way, my work was featured in some pretty amazing publications and websites that I’m still completely shocked by. Early on, one of my necklaces was featured in Bust Magazine; I've had jewelry and pin designs mentioned on Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Cosmo UK, Hello Giggles and more; and I was interviewed for Chris Guillebeau’s Side Hustle School podcast twice and featured in his book 100 Side Hustles. One of my enamel pin designs for The Outrage became official merchandise for the Women’s March on Washington in January 2017.
One of my first enamel lapel pin designs, my Smash the Patriarchy Hammer Pin, was among the flair I wore at my local Women's March in 2017.
In 2019, after being interviewed for Chris Guillebeau’s Side Hustle School podcast a few years back, he featured me in his book 100 Side Hustles along with a collection of my enamel pins and a peek inside my jewelry studio.
Some of my most proud and shocked moments of doing my craft were when celebrities showed up wearing it. I saw Julianne Moore wear one of my necklaces and Janelle Monae wear one of my lapel pins, and there were a few more sightings over the years.
I’m grateful every day for the folks who believed in me and believe in me still. My favorite part of this is connecting with people over my work, whether they’re laughing at a middle finger necklace at a craft or trade show, sharing a heartfelt story about someone they love for whom I’m making a custom piece of jewelry, or getting hands on with me at one of my crafty workshops we hold at Stifft Station Gifts. Even though COVID-19 brought me physically apart from my amazing clients, I found so many ways to stay connected through social media bingo games, virtual birthday parties for my business, and virtual jewelry making classes here in Little Rock. Every day I’m thankful to get to wake up and do what I do and keep connecting to incredible people.
Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for believing in me and finding something special in my work.