Junk Jubilee Iowa State Fairgrounds Des Moines Iowa

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!

4 comments:

  1. Right now I have been dreaming of doing something like this. I have the barn and the land and some ladies interested in being vendors. Whenever I feel all "i can't boo hoo" I catch something like your post to just get started. The blogger world is full of support. Thank you for sharing. I have a secret to "whisper" to you. I would love to come to the show!!!!

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  2. I am soooooooooo excited to see that an event like this is going to happen in central Iowa!! I will "whisper" to all my friends about the event, the time, location, and date! Whoo hoo!!!

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  3. I appreciate all your efforts and am looking forward to being a vendor at the first Junk Jubilee.

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  4. cannot wait! YAY for YOU! ;-)

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