From A to Z: Moscow woman's Scrabble tile necklaces offer something for everyoneMoscow woman's Scrabble tile necklaces offer something for everyone. Julene Ewert is one of five generations of Scrabble enthusiasts.
Her grandfather handcrafted his own Scrabble board out of wood when he couldn't afford to buy one in 1955.
More than 50 years later, Ewert has turned her love of the popular board game into a creative art form.
The Moscow resident and former University of Idaho graphic designer creates necklaces and earrings using Scrabble tiles and images she creates out of colorful paper and cuts out of random books and magazines. She scans and manipulates the images with computer programs and applies a clear coating that gives the pieces a glossy finish.
Ewert sells the tiles at the Moscow Food Co-op, Prichard Art Gallery, Wild Ivy and locations in Alaska, Oregon and Montana. She also attends fairs and trade shows across the country, selling her tiles and getting feedback from potential customers. The necklaces are the top seller for Ewert's business, Present by Design. She also sells socks for babies, handmade cards and other creations.
Ewert started the business four years ago after creating a few necklaces to sell online. "We made a few to put on the Web and it really took off," she said.
As sales increased, Ewert quit her job at the UI to pursue her venture on a full-time basis and take care of her 4-year-old son. Ewert has always been drawn to crafts. Her first endeavor came when she was a child, selling her crocheted creations at her grandmother's yard sale. She once dreamed of creating cards for Hallmark.
Today, Ewert creates her handmade cards and jewelry pieces at a studio in her home. She collects Scrabble tiles from old games she finds in thrift stores and online, as well as tiles that have been donated to her. Every product she uses is environmentally friendly, from the clear finish to the recycled cardboard she uses to package the earrings.
The Scrabble tiles depict a wide array of images including flowers, animals and patterns, as well as more quirky and random designs like nuns, a man shaving, a toaster and a brain.
"I didn't realize that a tile I had created was of a carcass beetle until my dad asked me why I had a tile of a carcass beetle," she said with a laugh. "Some of my tiles are so random, and people choose the craziest things. One woman had to have the toaster because she said she loves toast."
She said she gets a lot of ideas for tiles from customers, and she recently returned from a trip to Japan, where she drew inspiration from the unique paper she found.
Ewert is working on an order of necklaces with skull tiles to sell at a specialty shop in Spokane called Boo Radley's.
"I went in and within 10 minutes I had an order," she said.
She is thrilled to see the Scrabble tiles take off the way they have.
"A lot of people love the Scrabble concept, and it's a pieces of art," she said.
"It's great to work from home and create something, and make a living following my passion," she said.
Written by: Omie Drawhorn
Photo Credit: Moscow/Pullman Daily News
