BUTTE - Maize Hutton produces thousands of silver pendants and ships them all over the world from a small Uptown Butte shop that doesn't keep regular hours.

Hutton, 48, is the owner and creator of Mommytags Inc., a successful Internet-based business that she started in 2004.

Mommy tags (and now the offshoot Daddy tags, Tot tags, Wagg tags, Doodle tags and more) are personalized, hand-crafted jewelry made by hand from recycled silver.

Hutton got the idea for the company when she was stricken with Bell's palsy while working as a paralegal in the Seattle area.

She was forced to take six months off work to recover, and while homebound she racked her brain, trying to find a way to make a living without having to leave her house.

"I found eBay," she said.

Hutton cleaned out her closet, all the while learning tricks of the trade through the most ubiquitous avenue of e-commerce.

"It really sparked my imagination," she said. "And I came up with this product almost by accident."

She had no business plan and no "Eureka!" moment while experimenting with Internet-based sales.

Her first Mommy tag she made for a family member, and it was so well-received that friends and family prodded her to sell them commercially.

So she did, and almost immediately the product was picked up by national baby magazines, including American Baby and Pregnancy and Newborn.

Since 2004, her product has been featured in magazines, newspapers and blogs from Germany to Australia.

"It was incredible," she said. "As soon as I got that press, it was a sensation."

The orders started to come in by the thousands. Her workspace, in the basement of her Washington state home, became overrun with equipment, and she traveled across the country peddling the product.

She was even approached by Chinese manufacturers who wanted to make her product abroad. Hutton considered it, but eventually declined their offer, because she felt the quality of the work was not as high.

Hutton said being both an American- and Montana-made product is important to her, and keeping alive the tradition of manufacturing in Butte was one of the reasons she relocated here.

She was born in Helena and moved to Washington after high school, but a brother-in-law who worked off and on in Butte introduced her to the town.

"I got burned out on city life," she said. "I like the pace here. It's great to be back in Montana."

She also likes the wide variety of local metals, and said she wants to start working with copper, which she thinks will appeal to Butte consumers.

Brian Woodford, a Butte artist who owns Woodford Studio and Gallery of Fine Craft, 1 N. Montana St., said while Hutton looks to inject Butte energy into her art, her art has injected energy into Butte.

Woodford said he has worked alongside Hutton on a variety of projects and noted that her creativity and drive have inspired him.

But one of the most important things he has learned from Hutton is that a talented and varied artist can find a way to make a good living in the field.

"Her business is a great example of what can happen for people connected on the Internet," he said. "She is very successful, very talented and highly creative, but she has that great business sense that few artists have."

Woodford said the individualized Mommytags series "connects on some real close levels" and fits a niche that consumers are always aching to fill.

"It's a brilliant product," he said. "Without a doubt she's a great asset for the arts community, and great role model for artists to look to that business model."

Hutton's values are obvious in her manufacturing process.

"I am very green," she said. "I'm huge on recycling, reusing."

The silver used by Hutton is recycled from used film. It is extracted, ground into tiny particles and added to an organic binder, which turns it into the consistency of silly putty.

Hutton then sculpts the pendant by hand and stamps a shape into it, heats it in a kiln and cures it.

It's a pretty straightforward process that allows her to produce many of them in a short period of time, and doesn't call for large or expensive equipment.

Hutton has an assistant and her father to help process requests, but since they are a handmade product, she asks for two to three weeks to fill an order.

She is making Butte her home and getting involved in the community. She is spearheading an effort to start an Uptown community garden, writes songs for local musicians and keeps a blog that often highlights the architecture of Butte.

She said that she hopes to open her storefront, 128 W. Granite, at least a few days a week for a few hours. She said she wants to make Butte the long-term home for her business, but she is taking it one step at a time.

Her creations aren't available locally. To learn more, visit www.mommytags.com or read her blog at http://maizehutton.blog

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