Jewelry designer Susan Sadler received the shock of a lifetime when she learned that the White House was interested in buying her jewelry for gifts to dignitaries, according to a story in the Tulsa World newspaper.
It wasn’t one of her easier sales. She had to pass a background test to prove she had no criminal record but eventually the Office of the Chief of Protocol had purchased at least one of her Bakelite bracelets and soon it will be an official presidential gift. Apparently, someone from the, protocol office, which procures American-made items for the Obamas to give as gifts, was attracted to Sadler’s bracelets that were on display in storefront in Rehoboth Beach, Del., the newspaper reports.
The Tulsa, Okla.-based jewelry designer, who works with all kinds of jewelry materials and commands significant price points, began working with the Bakelite in 2008 because of its affordability during the economic downturn. The material, the first plastic made from synthetic polymers, was last used widely during the depression.