Incredible as it may seem, some people have hobbies outside of dogs (gasp!), and button collecting is a hugely popular pastime. Not only that, but it can be lucrative for the collector and trader with a keen eye.

Birchcroft China, a family run business started 30 years ago, is considered by some to be the largest manufacturer of fine china buttons in the world. Most buttons are made in limited editions of less than 250 buttons. They’re hand made and kiln fired, and as you can see in the image below, Birchcroft produces some lovely purebred dog buttons (they’re the two head-shot buttons with the white background). These buttons can be found on Ebay and at button shows (think dog show, but with buttons), and they’re highly collectable. To read more about the unique world of button collecting, read this.