N.Y. artist's precious jewelry in Smithsonian museum gift shop
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — For Donna Chambers, getting her work in a Smithsonian museum is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.
But having her work displayed in a prominent space like the Smithsonian didn't involve her pitching or promoting — the usual route for an independent artist. This time, she received a call from the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., to sell her porcelain cameos and antique mother of pearl gambling chips, along with one-of-a-kind pieces, in their gift shop.
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"I’m thrilled; being a crafts person you’re a hunter and have to find the customers," says the Ossining native, who owned That Old Black Magic in White Plains for 20 years and since 1978 has been a professional goldsmith. Her jewelry has been sold in boutique shops and department stores including Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Fortunoff’s from New York to Hawaii.
Chambers says she had actually been slowly winding down her career. "I was enjoying semi-retirement," she says. But now? "I am over the moon."
The pieces visitors will find at the new museum include hand-carved porcelain cameos of African-American women in two styles; Eve, an elegant lady with shorter hair and Jada, a younger woman with braids both cast in black and white.
"I do a line of antique Chinese gambling chips with pearls circa 1720-1840," says Chambers. These gambling chips were custom made with British family crests and initials dating back 250 years. "Everybody loves pearls; we ship them with a certificate of authenticity to the buyer."
The museum chose a collection of 25 pieces from Chambers' collection, including silver earrings, bracelets, and pendants priced from $150 to $1300.
Chambers got the first call from the museum at the end of December 2015 requesting samples of her work. In May, she had an order for delivery by the end of July. "I didn’t have the staff so I had to call in the troops to help on weekends because I knew I had to get them done."
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Her sister Gail Chambers does all the pearl work; a former employee of 30 years returned to help with the production. "My daughter Cori grew up in the shop, answering phones and talking to the customers; she is thrilled about this," says Chambers.
Chambers says she would love a place in their permanent collection. For now, the Elmsford resident is just happy to be a part of this historical moment in American history.
"My pieces are handmade," says Chambers. "I realize that people are coming from all over the world and the gambling chip may be history to a lot of people."
Her unusual jewelry pieces that seemed to speak for themselves garnered her a ticket to the opening weekend of the museum dedicated to African Americans, which she visited with her family.
"Until they placed it (the order) I wasn’t thinking of going down to the museum so early," she says.
"I’m very excited after all these years as a jewelry designer; I didn’t go out looking for this but I got a call from the museum. I was floored. I gotta come out of retirement like Michael Jordan."
"The whole thing is very emotional. I don’t know where to start; black is beautiful again," she says. "I think we are going to go through something really special. Telling a lot of stories that people don’t already know. It is really really something to have this opportunity to be a part of it in a small way."
Follow Karen Roberts on Twitter: @krhudsonvalley