Few people give any thought to the buttons that are sewn onto their coats or blouses, but avid button collector Gil Biggie certainly does. Biggie has immersed herself in the world of collectable buttons and is the person in charge of the Western Regional Button Association's biennial conference that will be held at John Ascuaga's Nugget today through Sunday.

Members of the association are coming to Sparks from across the country to compete, attend workshops, see exhibits, view presentations, socialize with other collectors and buy for their personal collections.

"The convention is not like an antique show. Dealers are one-third of the show and they provide buttons that can be bought by collectors who seek in improve their collection," Biggie explained.

There are three main motivations behind the convention: educating, socializing and providing a place for people to purchase buttons. Anyone can attend the convention by donating $5 at the door, which is a small price to pay considering the amount of information that can be discovered at the convention — not only about buttons, but also about the historical settings during which the buttons were created.

The focus of the convention is not limited to sewing buttons. There will also be Egyptian revival buckles and a display of mourning jewelry. The mourning jewelry, which was popular during the Victorian period, will give convention attendees insight into this time period.

Dorothy Krugner, along with her husband, Cyril, are responsible for the mourning jewelry display. Cyril explained that during the Victorian era, named for England’s Queen Victoria who ruled from 1837 to 1901, death was discussed openly.

"This was my uncle who passed away when he was a baby,” Cyril said, pointing to a photograph. “During that time, they used to take pictures of people after they had died." The dark display shows the different buttons worn during full and half mourning, as well as dresses and fabrics that existed during the Victorian era.

Nearly every member of the association has a button-collecting specialty. Gloria Skovronsky's specialty lies in livery and heraldry buttons.

"These buttons were worn by servants and other people who worked for the aristocracy in order to show which family they worked for,” Skovronsky explained. “A company called Firman was responsible for producing and registering these types of buttons."

This registry will also be on public display at the convention. There will also be a children's pop culture exhibit featuring cartoon-inspired buttons. One of the cases in the exhibit includes buttons that are based on the 1880s children’s book illustrator Kate Greenway.

Aside from the exhibits, there will be 85 tables covered in buttons, 32 button dealers from all around the nation and a presentation tonight at 7:30 p.m. about mourning buttons and jewelry from the Victorian era.

The convention is not only for adults, as every attendee age 12 or younger will get a "button buck" to be redeemed with any dealer who has a button that grabs their attention.

The showroom will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday and the convention is taking place in the C, D, and E Pavilions at the Nugget.

Details and a full program are available by visiting www.wrba.us or by calling Gil Biggie at (775) 223-0542.