Junk Jubilee Iowa State Fairgrounds Des Moines Iowa

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Junkin' in June

Last June, while we were supposed to be at Aunt Shirley's for our annual Fergafun Family Reunion, Cousin Jan, my sister, Shelli, and I snuck off to Boone, IA to check out an occassional sale called The Junk Refunkery!!!

This is who we met...Dori Austin! That's her on the right. Maybe someday she'll tell me who is standing beside her. Do I see a bit of family resemblance??? She has her very own barn and has monthly sales during the summertime.


Here's her barn. It's red, like a barn is supposed to be. A few weeks ago the barn got a new roof! And, get this,....skylights!


Dori had a lot of really cool stuff! But my camera decided to start acting up so my pictures didn't turn out so good. Darn! But here are a few of the pictures that did turn out!






I just love the color of this chair!




Yep, this is where the camera started doin' weird things....



Here I am...grey, galvanized, and grande!!!



Just by accident we stumbled onto this sale driving through Boone. Once Was is an occasional sale held by Traci Waltz. I didn't get any other photos though. Stupid camera!!!
Then we rushed back to Aunt Shirley's, put on our aprons, and had a family feast!!!




Then, in September, at Junk Bonanza in Minneapolis look who we found!!! Let me tell ya, junkin' at Junk Bonanza is well worth the trip!!!



The Junk Refunkery and Once Was will both be at Junk Jubilee, so be sure and tell them "Hi"!!!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

A Dream Becoming A Reality



It started out as idea, which was thrown around, kicked around, and hammered out. It was a "what if?" turning into a "why not?". It was a "if not now, then when?" If not us, then who?  The next step was to hold hands, close our eyes, and jump off the cliff!!!

Thelma and Louise??? Mike and Frank???  No, Jan and Miccia!!! We are cousins...our Mothers are sisters. Jan's Mom, Lois, is no longer with us....my Mom, Audria, is. We were born three weeks apart. What can I say...'57 was a very good year! We complement each other. Jan deals with numbers, while I'm more comfortable with words. Jan is the one who gets things done. I am more of a dreamer. She's the hummingbird and I'm the fat, lazy cat! She makes lists, and I, if I even make one, lose them. She designs patterns. I can barely follow a pattern. She likes to cook. Me? Let's find a restaurant. When I suggested at a family reunion that we all needed to buy vintage campers rather than become "red hat ladies", Jan thought I was nuts and then was the first one to buy a camper. I drug Jan and my sister, Shelli, to Junk Bonanza and now Jan is dumpster diving and checking for treasure left on the curbside. (Ok, I admit it, I stopped along the road and picked up a piece of rusty something or other and, yes, it had manure on it. I did, however, draw the line at plucking tail feathers from the dead pheasant!) We're very different people, who enjoy many of the same things.  So now that we have family, vintage trailers, a love of gardening (hostas, especially) and junkin' in common, we've decided to add a business venture to the mix. We both bring different things to the table. We're like salt and pepper.

So, there it is in a nutshell...the birth of Junk Jubilee.

Has it been easy???  Not always. Interesting?...yes! Fun?...yes! Do we enjoy working for ourselves?..Most definitely!!! Have we met interesting people? Yes, yes, yes!!! Will we be successful? Sure hope so! Are we glad we've chosen this path? I think so!

Is there a moral to this story? Yes! Don't settle for less than you know you can accomplish. Take that risk and run with it. Figure out what you love and do it. Have faith in yourself...call your sister, cousin, or biggest supporter when you don't! Rise to the challenge! Be creative! Surround yourself with people who help you reach for the stars!!!  And remember...you can't jump off a cliff slowly!