THE BUTTON SHOP, an arresting log cabin on the outskirts of Helena, Montana, has attracted more than 5,000 tourists since Jean Allen put out her shingle in the spring of 1948, providing a classic example of how a hobby, accidentally begun, can develop into a profitable business.

If you visit the shop you will be fascinated by the array of earrings, book ends, hair ornaments, cigarette holders, belts, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, buckles, pins, salt and pepper shakers, modernistic dancing figures, drawer and door pulls and dozens of original buttons which Mrs. Allen fashions from deer, elk and moose antlers and buffalo horns. You'll see samples of her buckskin jackets, which she stitches on a sixty-year-old sewing machine. Many handmade dolls with faces of dried apples or Montana ceramic clay are displayed in the shop.

All items are original with the proprietor. She not only makes all the souvenirs, but she built the shop too!

Each visitor is invited to sign the guest book, which contains the names of residents of every state except Delaware as well as tourists from the Panama Canal Zone, Hungary, Alaska, France, England, Germany, Hawaii and Switzerland. Movie stars, concert artists and diplomats have registered in the book, yet the proprietor insists that one of her most interesting visitors was a garbage collector.

IT ALL started one day in 1945, when Mrs. Allen was strolling along the bank of the Clearwater River in Idaho. She found an elk antler half buried in the sand. Out of curiosity she picked it up, examined it and took it home. That day marked a turning point in her life.

Previously she had gained nationwide attention by riding horseback from Deer Lodge, Montana, to the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago, a journey of 1,500 miles, which she completed in sixty eight days. She was the only woman who had ridden in the fifty-mile Pony Express race from Drummond to Missoula, Montana, and her miniature doll house furniture and dried apple face dolls had been featured in newspaper articles.

Yet that day when her mind started working as she gazed at the antler, Jean Allen was on the way to her greatest achievement. She experimented with it later in her kitchen, using a vise, hacksaw, files and hand drill she had accumulated when she made doll house furniture.

She found beautiful colors and interesting texture as she cut into the material. Why wouldn't this work up into a belt? she asked herself. A necklace could be made of those pieces, perhaps a bracelet to match. Ideas came thick and fast. Soon she had made several belts, bracelets, watch fobs and necklaces.

When friends stopped by, Mrs. Allen showed them her work. She was amazed when they exclaimed with delight and wanted to buy some of the articles.

Considerably heartened by the popularity of her handmade novelties among home folk, she wrote to Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks and asked to be put in touch with souvenir buyers; they sent their regrets, saying they had completed their buying for the summer season.

Undaunted, she wrote to W. P. Rogers, general manager of Sun Valley resort in Idaho. He answered immediately and asked for samples, so Mrs. Allen bundled up some of her choice pieces and sent them out.

Back came an order for more than $100 worth of antler novelties. She was in business, and big business at that! She gathered more antlers and worked day and night for a week to fill the order.

BY THE time the winter of 1946 rolled around, Mrs. Allen was living in Noxon, Montana, and was getting pretty enthusiastic about her hobby. The Allens lived in a small house near a through highway and the kitchen table was always cluttered with bulky antlers, sawdust and parts of whatever she was working on at the time. It was a nuisance to have to clear the table whenever mealtime rolled around.

There was a pile of logs left over from building their house and one day as she was working at the kitchen table she got an idea. Why not, she thought, build a shop with those logs? Most people would have put the project off, at least until spring. It was the dead of winter, below zero and snow covered the area. Jean Allen, however, has never been one to let the elements interfere with her plans. The shop was open in time for spring tourist trade—and business was good!

Her husband's work brought them to Helena in the fall of 1947. They almost outdid the Manhattan Island transaction by purchasing two lots along the highway for $5 each.

"We got such a good deal because it was tax title land," Mrs. Allen explains. "The owner had turned it back shortly before we went to see about buying property. There was only $10 due on the two lots facing the highway, so we bought them at once."

They couldn't afford a house so they pitched a tent and lived in it, winter and summer, for two years. All that time Mrs. Allen was perfecting her antler novelties, trading completed items to ranchers for more antlers and gradually building up her business.

The location along Highway 10 was perfect for a novelty shop, so Mrs. Allen bought and peeled some logs and built an attractive cabin, which she decided to call the Button Shop, a name derived from the antler buttons she started making about that time.

As soon as the shop was completed and customers were stopping regularly, Mrs. Allen turned her attention toward building a house. She drew up the plans, borrowed money on the strength of her novelty business and it wasn't long before she was moving into her dream house, a rustic pumice block and log building, situated just beyond the shop. The house could be the subject of an article by itself, furnished as it is with second-hand furniture, which she renovated and upholstered with buckskin.

[Note: Jean Allen was granted a divorce from Floyd Allen in December of 1951. Floyd was ordered to pay the mortgage on their Euclid Avenue home, which may have led to the 1952 sale of that home and Jean's building of the combination shop/residence on Eleventh Avenue in 1953.]

DURING THE last year Mrs. Allen feels her hobby has finally turned into a profitable business. She has sold novelties to people from coast to coast. A large display at Sun Valley features "Jean Allen Originals." Mrs. Allen has always encouraged stores to display the work of individual artists separately, rather than to show earrings in one display, necklaces in another, and so forth.

Montana shops which handle her souvenirs are Trout Valley Lodge, Cabin City; Sharp's Gift shop, Livingston; Frontier Town, Helena; White Restaurant, Drummond; Helena Agate and Gift Shop, Helena; Buffalo Built Outpost, Missoula; Mrs. Brown's Gift shop, Missoula; E Bar L Dude ranch, Greenough; Flathead Gift shop, Kalispell; Best Leather Creations, West Yellowstone, and Top o' Deep Gift shop, Polson.

Other outlets are Unusual Gift shop, Imlay City, Michigan; Ballet Bookshop, Chicago, Illinois; Sun Valley Gift Shop, Sun Valley, Idaho and Rudy Mudra's Saddle Shop, Sheridan, Wyoming.

Mrs Allen uses various means to procure outlets. The one that requires the least effort and is the most soul-satisfying is word-of-mouth advertising, which is the result of somebody from out of town buying one of the novelties, showing it to a home town dealer and urging the dealer to stock the merchandise. This happened many times.

One of Mrs. Allen's first experiences in merchandising, and the one she recalls as most uncomfortable despite its success, was when she hiked across some mountains in the rain to visit a shop on the other side. The drenching trip resulted in a $25 sale, but she doesn't recommend that particular method. She has since found easier ways.

Now she mails out sample orders to shops which handle similar items. A letter is always attached, introducing the artist, listing prices and explaining that the dealer is welcome to keep what he thinks he will sell and asking that he return the rest with a check or money order. As a matter of record, she hasn't had one unpleasant experience using this method and neither has she ever had the entire order returned.

She usually follows up the solicitation with a personal visit. For instance, when the Sun Valley Gift Shop reordered after accepting the first shipment, Mrs. Allen drove 450 miles to the shop delivering the second order and taking along many new items she felt would be of interest to them. She sold considerably more than the reorder and believes the personal touch was appreciated.

Mrs. Allen frequently takes chances on her outlets and they usually pay off. One shop, after the first contact and sale, ordered $25 worth of novelties, but Mrs. Allen sent a $70 shipment, writing that they could keep what they wanted and return the remainder. They sent her; a check for $63 and returned $7 worth of merchandise.

MRS. ALLEN has added several invaluable tools to her original supply. She now has a six-inch circular saw with quarter horsepower motor, mounted with a mandril, the saw at one side and a four-inch grindstone at the other. Another addition is a quarter-inch electric hand drill, mounted with the handle up and the drill down and a stand which can be raised or lowered under the drill point, leaving both hands free to handle the material. She has also purchased a two-pound electric hand carving tool, used for freehand decorative designs and her signature, which is always found on the base of her work.

For those interested in her hobby, Mrs. Allen advises that antlers from a freshly killed animal contain too much moisture. She allows a period of at least two months for drying. Her best source of antlers, she finds, is the manager of a cold storage locker, where hunters bring their game to be dressed. She has a large supply of antlers on hand and would be happy to fill orders for those who find the material unavailable.

Another source of antlers in Helena is the Fred Jorgenson Locker service at 60 South Main. Mr. Jorgenson recently told the writer that he has antlers in October and November of each year.

An authority on wild life says that deer are more or less prevalent in a majority of our states and it is his suggestion that those interested in trying Mrs. Allen's hobby visit the city dump, where many antlers eventually find their way. Commercial lockers can also be checked during the deer hunting season.

Mrs. Allen has found that managers of locker services happily accept credit cards in exchange for antlers. She allows 25 cents in merchandise for a set of mule deer antlers, 50 cents for white tail deer antlers and from 50 cents to $5 for a set of elk antlers, depending on size and condition. The credit cards are usually redeemed in Mrs. Allen's merchandise at Christmas time.

When first cutting into an antler, Mrs. Allen looks for interesting colors (she has found red, maroon, pink, lavender, blue, yellow, green, ivory, gray, white and black), good texture (the center must not be too porous for buttons) and odd shapes.

She has used two-point mule deer antlers for very popular dancing figures. Two ballet teachers stopped at the shop last summer and purchased several of the figures. When they returned to their homes in Chicago, they showed them to Edna Lucile Baum of the Ballet Bookshop, who promptly sent Jean Allen an order for many figures. They sell for from $5 to $25.

WHEN ASKED how she sets prices on her merchandise, Mrs. Allen will smile and tell you, "Well, that depends first of all on how they turn out. You never know. Other factors are the amount of decoration, texture, color and, of course, the availability of materials."

For instance, her plain buttons, polished and drilled, sell for between 10 and 15 cents each. If the decorations are fancy and the button is large it may bring $2 or $3.

"I set my prices for the shop and when I mail out a shipment, I tell the dealer what I sell them for and give him a discount of from twenty to fifty percent, depending on the article and availability of the material," she says.

Mrs. Allen keeps referring to availability, which may seem rather strange in view of the hundreds of sets of antlers she has stacked near her shop. She explains the term by telling about her "Burl Ives Blue Tail Fly Button," which she makes when she can get the material. Once when Burl Ives, a ballad singer, was performing in Helena, Mrs. Allen had come across an interesting piece of deer ivory with a blue pattern. The material is found in the knob of the skull from which the antler grows. She made eight of the buttons, utilizing the blue shade for the body of the fly, and presented them to Ives, who told her he was going to use them on a homespun shirt. Many button collectors throughout the United States have added the Ives button to their collections, but they are not always available because the blue-tinted deer ivory is generally unavailable, Mrs. Allen says.

WHEN THE Montana artist begins one of her belts, she takes a main branch of an elk antler and slices it with her saw as you would slice bologna. Thickness of the slice depends on whether she plans to make a plain or carved belt. For plain ones, she makes slices 1/8-inch thick; for carving, ¼-inch slices are best.

The next step is to lay the pieces out on a board she has marked for the purpose. There are markings for various length belts. The largest piece goes in the center; others are alternated on each side of it with the smaller pieces at each end, which will be the front of the belt.

If colors and textures are interesting, the belt is left plain, but whether it is to be plain or carved, each piece is placed in the vise and filed smooth so no saw marks show. Mrs. Allen is careful to replace each piece in its original pattern on the board.

Next she marks spots for four holes to be drilled later for lacing, and carves the design with her hand drill. All Mrs. Allen's designs are freehand and often she originates them as the point of the drill is whirring through the material. The process is similar to a dentist drilling into a tooth. The simplest designs are combinations of straight lines or curved markings, which become interesting if some lines are wide and some narrow, some on the surface and others deep into the antler. She has originated a floral pattern, which looks like carved ivory when completed. A circle is drilled in the center and petals are carved with the tool. Ground indentations between the petals add to the effectiveness of the pattern.

The indentations are completed on the grindstone, which Mrs. Allen also uses to grind lightly all edges, making it so smooth it won't harm the finest fabric.

Holes are drilled and the pieces are ready for lacing. Mrs. Allen cuts her own laces from commercial oil tanned buckskin garment leather and she is always careful to use the leather from the back portion of the hide for the main section of the belt. The hide is stronger there and will stand the strain of constant wear. Two laces are required and they should be at least twelve inches longer than the belt, leaving ends for tying. She finishes the ends with tips of deer antler about an inch long, drilling a lengthwise hole through them to allow the lace to be threaded through and knotted.

Mrs. Allen buys her buckskin from a fur and wool house in Helena or from a San Francisco tanning company. The skins cost from $5 to $10 each, depending on size. She has traded some of her completed items to hunters for hides, which she sends to the San Francisco company to be tanned.

MRS. ALLEN'S interesting ballet figures are a combination of a set of two-point mule deer antlers. Mrs. Allen uses one set for the arms and body to the waist and the other set for the remainder of the body and legs. The head is a slice from the base of the antler and the figure is mounted on a piece of elk antler. The pieces are put together with Dupont household cement and escutcheon pins. She grinds the pieces down until the true antler color is reached. The base is left with its natural finish, but Mrs. Allen polishes it with a dry vegetable brush to give it gloss.

Mrs. Allen wraps business cards with each purchase and has a supply of them on her desk. Tourists frequently take one and order an article after they get home. Buttons and earrings are sold on cards bearing her name.

THE BUTTON is the basis of the entire shop, Mrs. Allen says. She uses deer, elk and moose antlers and buffalo horns for making hundreds of various types of buttons, which are suitable for everything from baby clothes to leather coats. Those on each card are carefully matched into sets.

The process for making a button is the same as for a belt, with a few differences. Mrs. Allen slices the antler with her saw and matches pieces of the same size. Those which go together are laid out on another board, which she keeps for this purpose. Among freehand designs she uses on the buttons are floral patterns, combinations of waved, curved and straight lines, miniature shoes, showing the heel and nail holes around the sole, purely imaginary designs and animal tracks.

"There is virtually no end to the possibilities in button designs," Mrs. Allen says.

She drills two holes for lacing buttons and sews them to special cards. Sometimes she laces the larger buttons to the cards with buckskin thongs.

Many people come in with their own ideas of the type of button they would like for some garment and Mrs. Allen spares no effort to fill these special orders.

Among her most interesting items are cribbage sets using ends of elk antlers for the board and deer antler tips for pegs; hair ornaments of a cross section of elk, hollowed out, with split points of deer antler for spears; trimming for leather garments of deer antlers; letter openers of split points of deer antlers; pendants of deer and elk antler with points of deer antler, ground and hollowed out, for beads, and bottle openers and candle snuffers of deer points.

Mrs. Allen decided not long ago that it would be fascinating to decorate some of her novelties with animal tracks native to the northwest. A stickler for detail, she obtained pictures of tracks from the state fish and game department and carefully engraved the back of each piece with the name of the animal represented. They have proved very popular.

MRS. ALLEN attributes her success to the fact that she uses inexpensive and available materials, unusual in the uses she chooses for them.

"To me it's fascinating," she says, "not only to make something someone is proud to wear but to come in contact with such interesting people as those who visit my roadside shop."

Asked if she has any advice for those who hoped to profit from their hobbies, she will tell you, "Keep trying and do your very best. Eventually, if you have something, you'll be recognized.

"Anyone can do what I have done if he has the desire, opportunity and ability, in that order. The desire is most important. That's what makes you sit and work hour after hour when you could, and maybe should, be doing other things."

As a result of her outstanding craft work, Mrs. Allen has gained a new prestige in her community and state. She was invited to become a founding member of the Montana Institute of the Arts and has exhibited her wares at several M. I. A. spring festivals. The Montana Chamber of Commerce invited her to fill one of its downtown windows and the exhibit proved so eye-catching it was held over for three weeks.

The Helena newspaper, the Independent Record, ran a Sunday feature article on her shop as did the Spokesman Review of Spokane, Washington.

She has spoken before many women's groups and displayed samples of her souvenirs. The Helena temple of Daughters of the Nile has featured Jean Allen Originals in its spring style shows.