2020 Retrospect: Finding the Gems in a Rough Year

2020 was undeniably one of the worst years in probably all of our lives, and it’s almost impossible to find any redeeming aspects besides Joe Biden winning the presidency 2,584 times, but a few moments stick out as special in my heart.

2020 was undeniably one of the worst years in probably all of our lives, and it’s almost impossible to find any redeeming aspects besides Joe Biden winning the presidency 2,584 times. It certainly was no bang-up year for me personally. I typed a whole paragraph listing the atrocities of the year on a personal and global scale and then deleted it because, well, I thought it was too dark for a blog post I’m using to try to lift my spirits and document some of the good things that managed to shine through it all. In the spirit of hope and trying to turn lemons into lemonade or at least some sort of off-brand, 10-years-expired fruit barrel sugar water I used to beg my mom to buy me at the Hostess outlet bakery, here is a list of moments that I don’t want to forget from the worst year.

Towards the beginning of the pandemic, I posted these hand-stamped SOCIALLY DISTANT heart necklaces and gave $5 from the sale of each one to a person on our local virtual tip jar list of people who were out of a job or had reduced hours from the shutdowns. I got to give tips to dozens people in the Little Rock community from the necklace sales.

2020 brought the birth of Bang-Up Bingo! During the spring, I hosted several virtual bingo games and gave away handmade jewelry, funny enamel pins, feminist stickers and more at no cost, just for funsies and to bring a little sunshine to our indoor existences. This screenshot really embodies my enthusiasm for my favorite Bingo call.

This year, I created these I DISSENT gavel necklaces as a nod to our most dearly departed RBG and donated proceeds to the Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers’ scholarship fund. Through the sales of this necklace I was able to donate $432 and will continue the donations into the new year.

This year, Arkansas Times readers voted me Best Artisan for handmade jewelry in the Arkansas Times Best of Arkansas, and my favorite little gift shop Stifft Station Gifts got runner-up for Best Gift Shop. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!

In the spring, back before Michelle Obama made it cool as hell to wear a “vote” letter necklace, I taught a virtual workshop on how to make a similar style of necklace. Pet names, feminist sentiments, and funny words were a big hit, but I guess we should have all been making them say VOTE! If you want to stay up to date about my virtual and future in-person workshops, join this group on Facebook.

I guess sitting at home gave me a lot of time to think, because I released four collections of handmade jewelry in 2020, the most dear to me being the Siren Collection of jewelry that was inspired by Greek Mythology. This is my favorite collection of jewelry I’ve ever made in my life, and I hope to make more like it in 2021. Check out the full Siren Collection here.

I, especially as a white person, certainly can’t capture the emotions of this summer in one entry, and I have very mixed emotions about just wanting to throw 2020 in the trash and ring in a new year. 2020 taught us so much and was maybe the closest we’ve gotten to shaking up change over the epidemic of racial injustice within our justice systems, education systems and beyond. We CANNOT forget the summer of 2020. We can’t forget Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and what brought people across the WORLD into the streets during a pandemic to shout BLACK LIVES MATTER. It was uplifting to see so many people come together to help bail out protestors in our city, and I was happy to put my hammer to work where I could to raise money for the Little Rock Freedom Fund. I posted a few rounds of these hand-stamped cuffs to raise funds that went immediately to the bail fund, totaling about $950 with 100% of the funds going straight from donors to the fund in exchange for a cuff. .May we fight just as hard in 2021 as we did in 2020, if not 1,000 times harder.

Never passing on a chance to fuck with Faulkner County’s stinkiest state senator, I made this magical little hand-stamped heart necklace that said JEZEBEL WEAVING A SPELL after one of he-who-must-not-be-named’s little internet tantrums against one of his constituents. Obviously I auctioned this off on Facebook for $125 that went to Arkansas Abortion Support Network. It was the only proper thing to do.

2020 did manage to produce the finest sour ale this city has ever seen (If I do say so myself, and I do), in the form of this partnership with the brewers of East Sixth Brewing Co. (Hey, Becca and Josh!!!) and my good friend Ashlee Nobel of Lee Lee Arts + Design. Together we created this tribute beer to the late, great Betty the boy cat. You can still grab a pack of it at your local liquor store. I grabbed some last night from 107 Liquor in Sherwood.

The year was 2020. The godforsaken election was heating up. A political goddess took the stage opposite a turd in a white toupée, and naturally a fly landed on his head. The next morning I made a necklace to commemorate the hilarious occasion. The necklace said I’M SPEAKING and had a tiny fly charm. I thought, “Tee hee hee hee, what a funny pic to share that no one will really care about buying,” and WOW WAS I WRONG. This fly necklace may be the only thing I make for the rest of my life. Just kidding. Kind of.

And, after stamping approximately 1,543,567,546.67 I’m Speaking fly necklaces, I turned into an actual fly. I blogged my DIY fly costume here in case you want to know how it was made.

2020 was a cruel monster to small businesses, and Bang-Up Betty didn’t come out unscathed. I’ll always remember the two magical months of January and February when we were open for regular shopping and had some really fun creative workshops. You never know when a global pandemic is going to wipe through like a wad of endangered toilet paper and smear you off the map. We had to close Stifft Station Gifts this month, and this beautiful little best-kept-secret gem in Little Rock will be sorely missed. Bang-Up Betty is online as always and will resume pop-ups, craft shows and in-person events as soon as it’s safe and not a moment sooner.

I had to give a shout out to my most loyal virtual students, Girl Scouts! This year I did multiple virtual workshops, from charm necklaces to beaded spiders, with some of the region's brightest young crafters and I hope we have many more Zoom dates in 2021.

I think the biggest gem of 2020 had to be getting a new president elected. The lines of enthusiastic voters across the country was so inspiring to see, and personally it was such a huge motivation to see all of you post photos of yourselves voting while wearing Bang-Up Betty jewelry. From the Vote So Hard enamel pin, to the VOTE necklace, to the I’m Speaking Fly Necklace, it made my heart nearly explode seeing it all. Thank you!

These Kid-Friendly and Grown-Ups Virtual Charm Necklace Classes Teach Beginner Jewelry Making in a Creative Way

Running out of crafts to keep the kids entertained and creative while social distancing? This hands-on beginner jewelry class will virtually teach kids how to make charm necklaces, and it’s interactive so they’ll get their questions answered and extra help if they need.

Get crafty and social while maintaining a safe distance during this kid-friendly virtual workshop where we’ll remotely make charm necklaces together. Participants will receive a package in the mail that contains the tools and supplies before this online workshop with jewelry maker Stacey Bowers of Bang-Up Betty. They’ll be sent enough chain to make about 3 necklaces and 3 charms that you can either make separate necklaces with or add multiple charms to one necklace. You’ll be sent a private link to join a Zoom video call where Stacey will walk everyone through how to make these fun necklaces and be ready to answer questions about beginner jewelry making. This workshop is recommended for ages 10 and up. We’ll be using pliers to open and close jump rings, so if you think your little one might need extra help, we recommend being there to lend a hand.

You will be able to customize the color of your necklace’s chain and submit requests for charms. At checkout, you’ll be asked to give us a list of 5-8 things you’re interested in and we’ll do our best to raid the charm stash and send you something that suits your interests.

If you would like to return the tools after class by dropping them off with Bang-Up Betty in Little Rock/North Little Rock or mailing them back, $4 will be refunded to you after we receive the tools.

This class will be held online Saturday, May 23, from 2-3 p.m. Space is limited, and reservations are required. Invite your friends! Reserve your seats by purchasing this listing. Please, no coupon codes for classes. I’m trying to keep the prices on them as low as possible already :-)

To reserve your seat or find out more information, click here.

Are you a grown-up looking for something creative to do and a great way to safely socialize? Check out our grown-ups interactive virtual Naughty Word Necklace workshop.

Get crafty and social while maintaining a safe distance during this virtual Bead ‘n B*tch workshop where we’ll remotely make “Naughty Word Necklaces” together. Participants will receive a package in the mail that contains the tools and supplies before this online workshop with jewelry maker Stacey Bowers of Bang-Up Betty.

Get crafty and social while maintaining a safe distance during this virtual Bead ‘n B*tch workshop where we’ll remotely make “Naughty Word Necklaces” together. Participants will receive a package in the mail that contains the tools and supplies before this online workshop with jewelry maker Stacey Bowers of Bang-Up Betty. They’ll be sent a private link to join a Zoom video call where Stacey will walk everyone through how to make these funny, clever necklaces and be ready to answer questions. You will be able to customize the color of your necklace and the letters you’d like, up to 8 letters, and they don't have to be naughty! Feel free to put your own name or someone else's name or your pet's name or any word you like that's 8 letters or fewer. You’ll be sent enough chain to make a necklace that is up to 20 inches long. If you would like to return the tools after class by dropping them off with Bang-Up Betty in Little Rock/North Little Rock or mailing them back, $5 will be refunded to you after we receive the tools.

This class will be held online Wednesday, May 13, from 6:30-8 p.m. Space is limited, and reservations are required. Invite your friends! To reserve your seat or get more information, click here.

Want to RSVP on Facebook for updates and invite your pals to join you in this virtual jewelry class? Click here.

Interested in participating in a creative workshop in person once everyone is open for business again? “Like” Bang-Up Betty on Facebook for workshop and class announcements. You can also join our Crafty Betties Facebook group to be in the know. In-person crafty workshops are held inside Stifft Station Gifts in Little Rock, Arkansas. If you haven’t heard of it, Stifft Station Gifts is the cutest little gift shop around that is actually deceptively gigantic inside and filled with Arkansas made goods, clever gifts, amazing bath and body products, the entire Bang-Up Betty handmade jewelry collection, and so, so, so, much more. Shop Stifft Station Gifts online!

Interested in participating in a creative workshop in person once everyone is open for business again? “Like” Bang-Up Betty on Facebook for workshop and class announcements. You can also join our Crafty Betties Facebook group to be in the know. This beaded praying mantis workshop is coming up this summer!