In celebration of Women’s History Month Pick Up Sticks Jewelry Company is featuring a prominent woman and highlighting the impact she had on the world. And, to add a little more fun to the history lesson, we are selecting jewelry charms that embody each woman’s unique personality and accomplishments. Today we are celebrating beloved English author Beatrix Potter.
Born Helen Beatrix Potter in 1866, in London, England, Beatrix Potter is best known as one of the most beloved children’s authors of all time, having penned The Tale of Peter Rabbit and more than 20 other books for young readers.
Nature Lover
As a girl, Potter had numerous pets and spent holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developing a love of landscape, flora, and fauna. Potter demonstrated a talent for sketching as a child, with animals being one of her favorite subjects. She learned to observe plants and insects with an artist’s eye for detail and frequently used her own pets as models for her drawing and storytelling.
At 16, Beatrix was invited to study fungi at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, and she produced hundreds of detailed botanical drawings, investigating their cultivation and growth. Encouraged by Charles McIntosh, a revered Scottish naturalist, to make her fungi drawings more technically accurate, Beatrix not only produced beautiful watercolors but also became an adept scientific illustrator.
Entrepreneur and Conservationist
In addition to writing and illustrating books, Beatrix was keen to license her creations, and it was she, rather than her publishers, who pursued this endeavor. Potter designed and created the first Peter Rabbit doll herself in 1903, registering it at the patent office, thus making Peter Rabbit the world’s oldest licensed literary character. Beatrix went on to explore other merchandise options, including tea sets, bedroom slippers, and board games featuring her beloved characters, all while remaining closely involved in product development.
With the proceeds from her books, Potter bought what was to become her home, Hill Top Farm in the Lake District. Over the following decades, she purchased additional farms in order to preserve the unique hill country landscape she loved and that inspired her life’s work. Potter also was a prize-winning breeder of sheep and a prosperous farmer keenly interested in land preservation. Over time she purchased 15 farms and over 4,000 acres of land, now held by the National Trust, to protect it from development and to preserve it for future generations.
Charming Beatrix
Note: All three of the charms featured in this blog post are currently part of our Spring Jewelry Charm Sale. Get yours for 20% off through April 21.
Sources
https://www.peterrabbit.com/about-beatrix-potter/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Beatrix-Potter