Reta Good started out crafting necklaces from paper and then beads in her Midlothian home, but then she found an ingredient that gave her handcrafted wares a whole new life — potatoes.
With her husband, Bill, working as the main peeler and potato cutter, Good found a way to dry, paint, then string pieces of potato (which resemble antique clay beads) between gold or colored beads to produce dressy jewelry.
After Good wore one of her potato creations to the gym, within two weeks she had orders for 10 necklaces. With a laugh, she adds, "One person even asked me, ‘Do you mash them first?' "
The line, From the Ground Up, launched this past summer when, during a vacation to her father's hometown in Prince Edward Island, Canada, the local TV station did a piece on Good's work, after which several stores started carrying the line. "I was flabbergasted," she says.
The necklaces and earrings are being sold out of her home in Midlothian. For more information, call Good at 379-0376.
