Jewelry

Big joy in tiny teapots: Bedford couple sells special jewelry featuring unique charms - Roanoke Times

For years, Bedford residents Nancy Strachan and her husband, Les, would travel to Scotland — which Les calls home — in search of unique antique jewelry.

It was in Glasgow that she discovered a teapot charm.

Little by little, she grew her collection of teapot charms and jewelry until people began asking her where they also could purchase these little “treasures.”

Even on Strachan’s 72-charm, Scottish-themed necklace complete with bagpipers, a rugby ball and all things that represent her husband’s heritage, one tiny charm stands out.

“Everyone would gravitate to the teapot on the necklace, and I would say, ‘I can’t sell that, it’s the only one I’ve got,’ ” she said.

So she started bringing extra teapot charms back and buying from wholesalers.

Now, for the past 30 years, the couple has worked together to sell their tiny teapot charms all over the world.

She said she has made well over $1 million in sales over the years.

“People just find them so charming, the teapots,” Strachan said. “It’s an irresistible piece of jewelry.”

During the years, the couple has developed a full jewelry line with beads from all over the world in various shapes, colors and sizes. Each Sterling silver piece ordered is custom-made, and the options of designs are endless.

The charms are similar to the popular Pandora bracelets and are miniature versions of teapots made into charms.

“Over time, it developed into one of the most comprehensive collections of teapot charms,” she said.

The couple also attends expos and craft and antique shows to sell their jewelry, which includes charms ranging from snowflakes to horses.

While Les Strachan handles all the packaging, shipping and manages the website, “The Original Tiny Teapots,” now www.teapotjewelry.com, Nancy Strachan works on the creative side of the business, piecing the teapots together to create bracelets, pins, earrings and necklaces.

Joanne O’Brien, an Appomattox resident, has been purchasing teapot jewelry for almost 10 years from Strachan after she discovered a piece in a consignment shop in downtown Bedford.

For a while, Strachan would hold open houses in her own home, and O’Brien said she went each year.

She buys them for friends and family members and has Strachan ship the jewelry to her in Appomattox.

“I’ve gotten more compliments on them,” she said. “I just fell in love with them. I love teapots. That’s all I ever wear is my teapots.”

O’Brien said she is honored to call both Nancy and Les Strachan her friends.

“They are a sweet couple,” she said. “And I love to hear Les talk.”

Some of the tiny teapot jewelry is sold in the gift shop at the Bedford Welcome Center.

Nearing 70 years old, Strachan continues to make the jewelry, but she attends fewer shows.

“We are in the twilight of our business,” she said. “We will do it as long as we can.”

Nancy Strachan is the former director of the Bedford Public Library and founder of the ministry and nonprofit Rwandan HUGS, which provides education and emergency assistance as well as nutrition and labor equipment for people living in Rwanda.

She said she and her husband of 45 years have enjoyed spending double the amount of time together and having a more flexible schedule.

“It’s been the biggest benefit to it,” she said. “Not the financial part. I get to spend time with my husband, and that provides the gift of time together. For some, being in business together may be a disadvantage, but for us it works well. My skill set is balanced by his skill set.”

She said the birth of the business has given the couple a life.

“The income, the freedom, the flexibility has given me the opportunity to travel with him,” she said. “It’s given me the financial freedom to have a whole other dimension to my life. If you do it well, you have the bonus of time.”

She said the business always has been a gift to her.

“I’ve had a very blessed life. I’ve met some of the most amazing people on the planet and have been able to go to some of the most amazing places on the planet, and I can give back in a way I couldn’t in a 9-to-5 job.”