Jenny Frankart admired spoon rings and had watched an artisan at the Tiffin Flea Market make rings. Instead of going shopping, she ordered a ring making vise from Ukraine and waited six month for it to come to rural Bluffton. Her father-in-law modified it to work with flatware. That was in 2013.
This year, Frankart has opened the Rustic Bendz jewelry shop-workshop at her home, after a sequence of larger and larger vehicles to sell jewelry at shows, and then a walk-in trailer shop. She makes rings as well as necklaces, key chains, money clips, wind chimes, and other accessories that have sparked her imagination.
“The Harvest and Herb Festival [in Ada] was the very first thing I went to. One table, a handful of things. So then I just slowly started making more,” she explains. “A lot of people ask, where can I come and get this?”
In spring 2021, Frankart’s husband Rob offered to convert part of his workshop for this purpose. The shop is filled with Frankart’s creations, as well as related items that she collects--and her workbench.
Custom pieces are also a specialty. Unused silverware or heirlooms sets that will be broken up among family members can be creatively repurposed in Frankart’s designs. Frankart warns her clients that stainless and silver plate flatware can break in the process--and that she can sometimes substitute a duplicate pattern if that happens.
Rustic Bendz is now open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-8:00 p.m. (and by appointment) at 2474 State Route 103, Bluffton. Frankart will also have a holiday open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 27. To contact Rustic Bendz, call 419-721-3827.
