Sylvania business relies on its marbles

Cindy Burghardt creates pendants and other jewelry at her store in Sylvania's Historic Village by heating marbles in a frying pan and then tossing them into cold water, causing the inside to shatter. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH Enlarge | Buy This Photo

Cindy Burghardt took a leap of faith when she opened her Sylvania business, Fried Marbles, three weeks ago.

After being laid off from her job in insurance, the timing couldn’t have been better for her to launch her newest project, a business that sells sterling silver and silver-plated interchangeable jewelry as well as pet collars, key chains, and more.

The secret behind the jewelry creations is utilizing marbles.

The marbles are heated on a stove, and then tossed in cold water, which causes them to shatter on the inside, creating an intricate pattern, Ms. Burghardt explained.

She said she stumbled upon the idea to try the art technique when her youngest son left for college last fall.

“I was cleaning up his bedroom and I ran across his bag of marbles in the back of his closet,” she said. “I thought I should make him something fun and send it to him at school.”

She searched for ideas and found a craft magazine article from 1965 which explained how to “fry” marbles.

Soon, she said, she was wearing pieces she made and other people commented how much they liked them. After selling her designs at craft shows around the area, she was asked about opening a store front. She now rents out space in Sylvania’s Historical Village.

Ms. Burghardt's merchandise sells from between $5 and $85. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH Enlarge | Buy This Photo

“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said. “I really feel led to be doing this. When this whole thing just took shape, I said to my husband, ‘This is it.’”

But she’s not all about just selling her creations — she also wants to impart some knowledge, without “being preachy,” to her visitors.

“I really want to impress upon women that our packaging is not the most important thing about us. We have healing that needs to take place in our hearts; whatever it is that makes us shattered and broken, we need to pay attention to that and not just the outside,” Ms. Burghardt said.

Her philosophy extends to the décor she’s set up in her space. She has chosen to decorate with furniture and signage she found at garage sales. Passionate about the power of women, she said coming into her shop should serve as a peaceful and welcoming place.

“We women we think we have to have it all together. You don’t know what people are going through. Sometimes just a hello or thanks for stopping by means a lot for somebody.”

To learn more about Fried Marbles, visit www.friedmarbles.net or visit the store, located at 5727 N. Main Street.

Contact Kelly McLendon at: kmclendon@theblade.com or 419-206-0356 or on Twitter at @MyTownSylvania.