Re-purposing used decanters and giving them a second life keeps Randi from Gypsy Bottle Boutique a very busy crafter.
With over 60 different items to choose from on her Etsy store you will find a little something for everyone when you browse through her hand crafted items. We were able to correspond with her via e-mail and find out how things are going.
BL – How long have you been creating your bottle lights?
GBB – I have been using bottles for my artistic genre for about 3 years. I started out by melting bottles down in my kiln for trays, spoon rests, candy dishes, etc. After doing this for about a year I decided to look for another way to display the beauty of a glass bottle. There are so many bottles with beautiful labels and designs, these details cannot highlighted when I was melting everything down. Labels have to be scraped off and most times intricate detail of a glass bottle will be lost when heated. This gave me the perfect gateway to bottle lights, I decided to buy a drill and try a new venture, bottle lights.
BL – Do you have fun tidbits about yourself or your business you would like to share with our readers?
GBB – The name of my company is The Gypsies in a Bottle Boutique…. I have been mesmerized my whole life with gypsies. The culture and history has always intrigued me with such a strong allure. My favorite book of all time is Wuthering Heights which I read early in life, I think this is where I contracted the “Gypsy Fever!” The book is about a forbidden love between a lady and a gypsy that surpasses the grave! Such an awesome book! Anyway, I am now married and have settled down and I am not much of a nomad anymore. However, I will always be a gypsy at heart and it’s the perfect name for my business.
My husband and I own a few restaurants so I have a perfect source for my bottle inventory. I have over 5000 bottles in my storage, no joke. I also did this all on my own. I have drilled every single bottle I have ever sold. This is funny to me because I have been asked more than a handful of times, “Does your husband drill them out for you?” I am the bottle maker from start to finish, except the liquor I don’t drink liquor, so I do get assistance there..
I love learning about glass by working with the bottles and getting my own techniques etc. I love making beautiful pieces out of ordinary things. I like how personal a bottle craft can be as a gift. Something so common as a bottle turned into a memory or treasure. I make a lot of wedding invitation bottles, they make a great wedding gift. I take the wedding invite and size it accordingly to the melted bottle and then decorate the neck with the theme or colors of the wedding. I have made bunches of the “bottle trays” like this but I am excited to make a lamp using a wedding invite!
BL – Where can we purchase your crafts?
GBB – I have a shop on Etsy to buy my bottle designs, link is below
www.etsy.com/shop/GypsyBottleBoutique
I also have a Facebook page where orders can be placed and I can be contacted also.
www.facebook.com/thegypsiesinabottleboutique
The endless possibilities that glass bottles offer are truly amazing. You can find decorative items and purposeful dinner ware at the Gypsy Bottle Boutique.
We would like to thank Randi for taking the time to write to us. Be sure to check out her Etsy store or leave her a comment below.
