Surprise Mom with a Handmade Gift

Submitted by Sally Shifke: 

On Mom's special day, show your love and appreciation with a homemade gift from the heart. We know that husbands and children everywhere will be looking for that extra special gift idea to surprise Mom or Grandma.

Come to our workshop and create a beaded charm bracelet on Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to noon. The workshop will be held in the Music Room of located on the campus at 401 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Local jewelry maker Joyce Howell will provide charm bracelet making instructions. There will be an assortment of beads and charms for participants to choose from. Price includes bracelet and refreshments. Adults must accompany children during workshop. Admission is $20 for museum members, $30 for non-members and includes museum entrance that day.

Charm bracelets became very popular in the Victorian era. The machine age afforded the growing middle classes the opportunity to own and wear articles of beauty that had financially been out of reach. And when it comes to the charm bracelet, no single person drove that popularity like Queen Victoria (reigning 1837-1901).

Queen Victoria loved to wear and give charm bracelets. She had a series of charms designed and produced to give as gifts to her extended family and circle of friends every New Year. When her beloved Prince Albert died, she even made “mourning” charms popular, such as lockets of hair from the deceased, miniature portraits of the deceased, and charm bracelets carved in jet. In 1889 Tiffany & Co. launched its first charm bracelet at the Paris Exposition- a chain link bracelet with a single dangling heart pendent. It was a huge success. The charm bracelet is a cherished accessory for any occasion.

To make your reservation for the workshop, contact Heather Trubee Brown at htrubee@ut.edu or 813-258-7304.
 
The Henry B. Plant Museum interprets the turn-of-the-century Tampa Bay Hotel and the lifestyles of America’s Gilded Age.  Critical to the success of this mission is the restoration and preservation of this National Historic Landmark, an opulent 1891 railroad resort, and the artifacts significant to its history, and the life and work of Henry Bradley Plant.  The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Closed Monday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is $10 per adult, $7 for seniors (65 yrs.), $7 for students and $5 for children 4 – 12 yrs.