Who We Are

My wife Michele and I, are both from small towns.  I am from Nebraska and Michele grew up in Iowa.  My dad worked in a gas station and my mom was a teacher.  Both of Michele’s parents taught.  The one thing that Michele and I both had in common was that we both had to deal with “junk.”  Both of us “disliked” looking at it and for it.  Some of our earliest memories are of going on picks with our parents.  Michele’s parents collected primitives and stoneware, primarily Red Wing.  My parents collected and sold about anything and everything.  As a side job, my dad operated an antique business from 1967-2000 in Chester, Nebraska. I joke with people all the time about my childhood, comparing it to the 1970s sitcom Sanford & Son.  I was Lamont!  Needless to say, we both went off to college, hoping to leave the world of “junk” behind!    

How we got started:

Unfortunately, for me, I had to help pay for my tuition.  The only way to do that in the quantities I needed in the 1980s, was by selling “junk.”  Michele got a brief respite by working instead, at McDonalds.  We both graduated and hoped for a prosperous “junk free” life as teachers…  Of course, that is how we met.  Our first teaching job was in a Lincoln, Nebraska middle school.  After getting married in 1992, we both decided that some extra money would be nice.  Back we dove into the world of “junk.”  This time was different, however.  It actually became fun.  With huge amounts of help from our parents, we began to sell at flea markets in Nebraska, but eventually did shows in Colorado and Iowa.  We also sold our “stuff” in malls locally and Ebay nationally.  However, as our two children got older, it became more and more difficult to devote the time necessary to keep the business running.  In 2006, we withdrew from the market, only selling items periodically on Craigslist, until 2013 when our daughter entered college…  At that time, we jumped back into the market head first, hoping again to help pay for college expenses.  We started out doing a few shows including Junkstock, in Omaha, Nebraska.  Slowly we have worked our way up to being vendors at Good Ju Ju!

How we describe our style:

Trunks and primitives are still our specialty.  However, we have expanded our inventory to include repurposed items as well as vintage, architectural, industrial and any other unique/funky items we can find.  One factor that differentiates our “stuff” from other peoples’ “stuff” is most of our items are “ready for the home,” meaning it has been cleaned up, finished, and literally ready to put in your home.  No worries about paint chips, grease, rust stains, etc.  Generally, it is this “finished” look that most of our customers prefer.  We like to call it “finished junk,” although we’re not sure if there is an actual phrase to cover it. 

Stuff we carry:

Architectural salvage

Corbels

Porch posts/pieces and columns

Advertising/fruit boxes

Wine boxes

Whiskey boxes

Cupboards

Farm fables

Ladders

Trunks