Junk Market girls: Rubbish renovators take recycling to a new level

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Oct 1, 2006

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and when Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer spot discarded items, such as a camera tripod or an automotive display rack, they see works of art for the home and not simple junk.

Which is how they got the name "JunkMarket Girls."

The JunkMarket Girls, also known as the JunkMasters, recently released their first book, called "Decorating JUNKMARKET Style." Also, their premiere issue of JunkMarket Style magazine hit book stores last spring.

Who would have thought that two moms, who met while watching their sons play hockey, would have shared a common interest -- a passion for junk.

"We discovered that while others went to flea markets to find pretty antiques, we were the ones digging, scraping and crawling on our hands and knees to find what no one else wanted," said Whitney.

"But we didn't see junk. We saw one-of-a-kind furniture, humorous accessories and new uses for recycled nostalgia."

In 2000, the two friends started JUNKMARKET, a successful retail business that sources, transforms and sells good junk.

Together they traveled the country in search of junk to take back to their workshop in Minnesota for repurposing. The workshop soon became a haven for "junkers" from around the United States who wanted to buy JUNKMARKET creations.

Whitney and Nassauer also discovered their customers wanted to learn how to create and style with their own junk decor.

"So many of our customers tell us over and over how liberating it is to think out of the box and decorate with things they love," said Whitney. "In a way we have given them permission to 'break the rules' and unleash their inner junker."

The JunkMarket Girls will teach visitors to the show how to scour salvage yards, garage and yard sales and thrift stores. In addition to these common junk-finding places, the ladies will introduce people to restaurant supply stores, machinery part stores and building re-use sites.

It has been said the rubbish renovators have taken recycling to a whole new level.

The two women will be featuring five different room vignettes at annual Deseret Morning News show.

The first is "Bohemian Bedroom." "Contemporary Dining -- Experience Mixing and Matching Through Dining," "Lighting Section, Candle Section" and "Back by Popular Demand."

"We will give you the tools, but you are the only one who can make it yours. We start with simple projects requiring one or two steps and then move on to more complex ones. You choose what level you want to be at," said Whitney. "Junking is a great family activity. My daughter and I go out and have a great time. Even my son is decorating his home in his own JUNKMARKET style."

In order to be a successful "junker," an individual must know the seven rules of "junking."

1. Enhance your home decor with a healthy dose of vintage finds and one-of-a-kind junk creations.

2. Clean out your garage and maybe Grandma's, too. Before you go shopping for buried treasures, you may just uncover a few forgotten gems in your own home.

3. Form and function are both key design elements.

4. Recycle your collections.

5. If at first you don't succeed, try again.

6. With junk, the possibilities are endless. Keep an open mind while shopping for cast-offs and you will become a creative genius.

7. Start small, think big. Don't tackle jobs that are bigger than you. Start with easy projects and work your way up to the power tools.

In addition to their new book, the two women are also editors-at- large for Country Home Magazine and have been featured in People, Family Circle, Women's Day, the "Today" show, "The Tony Danza Show" and are regular contributors on HGTV's "Country Style."

They also travel around the country teaching design seminars, encouraging others to transform and style junk.

Seminars

The "JunkMarket Girls" seminars will be:

Friday at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Saturday at 1, 4 and 7 p.m.

Sunday at 1 and 3:30 p.m.