Hand-painted neon, pastel, or with polka dots and gold leaf, these 16” buttons don’t exactly fit on a coat. But they do capture our city’s past—and future. Though Fort Point was an industrial center in the 1830s, today the waterfront neighborhood is a modern hub of upscale restaurants, condos, galleries and boutiques. Its creative culture attracts people like Ari Hauben—a multimedia artist and high school art teacher—who wanted to open a gallery with his brother Seth, engineer Will Rusin and industrial designer Craig Rubino. Hauben brainstormed the buttons after acquiring an old building to use as an exhibition space. After digging through vintage photographs in the library archives, Hauben realized the building was once the Boston Button Co., a button manufacturer that dismantled in 1872. Hauben paid homage to history by naming the space the Boston Button Factory and making, you guessed it, big button art pieces. His exhibit “Button Up,” which opens April 26, features 100-150 buttons and doubles as the Factory’s first public unveiling. Industry meets art at the Boston Button Factory Thursdays and Saturdays through May 29. / Elissa Bernstein