Just a few pics of the JB Knacker booth at the Bonanza! I wasn't sure it would come together, but at the eleventh hour shop girl, Kate and I pulled it off. When I look at the whole booth from a distance...possibly could have used a better backdrop. But hauling in one more big thing was not in the cards as the rain came down in buckets and the thunder roared on set-up night.
Once again the Bonanza was run professionally and smoothly by all of those involved. The crowds were great, the vendors sweet and the prices fair to say the least! The display in the booths was intimidating...it was soooo good! Thank you to all of the friendly faces from Iowa...and I mean ALL of you because Iowa had a great showing!
No time to rest as JB Knacker will be host to a little flea market out in our side yard on Saturday, October 2nd from 8am - noon during Gilbert's Harvest Fest. We will remain open 'til 3pm on that day...I need a little time to spiff up for my 25th class reunion that evening...at least time to clean the dirt out from under my fingernails and put on a pair of jeans without paint on them!
Brenda
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Turning Over
Time to turn the shop over to a crisp, fresh & maybe a bit of a spooky autumn mood. Favorite items to decorate with: bales of hay, corn stalks, crows, cobwebs, old bottles and pops of color in turquoise, poppy and golden yellow.
Would love to see you at the shop! And remember, JB Knacker will be closed on Wednesday, September 15th as we will need a day to whoosh the shop back into a cohesive look. We are vendors at the 3 day show ~ Junk Bonanza in Skakopee, MN on September 16th, 17th and 18th!! As a thank you for coming by the shop on the days that we are in the northland, you will receive a 20% off coupon to be used on November 6th or 7th toward your total purchase at JB Knacker's Christmas Open House!!
Thank you for supporting the shop!
Brenda
Monday, August 16, 2010
A Studio Night
You are invited to a fun yet relaxing evening at the shop on Monday, August 30th from 6-8pm. A time to enjoy beverages and nibbles, shop a new palette of textures & colors, and then nestle in to share ideas...plan fun workshops, create our studios and just chat about wild dreams.
We have pulled through some historic weather and just plain tough times this year as a community. We have prayed and helped a family or two going through a rough time. At the last event, you donated bags and bags of canned goods, paper goods and baby items to The Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry in Story City. And your response to Kevin's cards at the shop has allowed him to donate even more items to the food pantry!
So on this night, I want you all to relax, mingle w/ friends, glean and share ideas all in a fun creative atmosphere. I also have a selfish request on this night... help me get pumped up for the Junk Bonanza ~ the big show in Minnesota on September 16-18th. Tell me what items you would love to see if you were going (and many of you are!). What colors and items get your heart beating faster and what type of display would make you run to get to it first.
I might even sneak in an entrepreneur or two to talk a bit about how they got started in their venture, their biggest fears and the "thing" that happened that surprised them most.
The shop doors will open at 6 pm. Shopping and wild mingling (or is it wild shopping and mingling) from 6-7pm. Settling in at about 7pm-ish in the front room for swapping of ideas, dreams and plans to keep us going through the next season and beyond!
Drop me a quick line (jbknacker.brenda@gmail.com) and let me know if this is an evening you can't live without...can't wait!
Brenda
Friday, August 6, 2010
Pause
A big "THANK YOU!" to all of JB's customers who came out on July 24th for the last Breakfast Club of the season. And a thank you for those generous customers who brought a donation to the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry in Story City...canned goods, diapers, paper towels and all sorts of food items were donated and will be soooo appreciated! Wonderful vendors in our side yard on that day were Sarah, Kristen, Ted, Nannette, Tracy and my "little girls." They had great booths!! We also had a fun, creative workshop a few days before the Breakfast Club consisting of a little soldering and a little stamping and resulting in some great necklaces!! Thank you to all who participated.
The shop continues to do a brisk business, turning over great old stuff at a fast clip. The Junk Bonanza (you know the big show in Shakopee, MN) is right around the corner for me. It makes me lose sleep at night w/ all of the ideas going through my head for the shop and the show! JB Knacker will be closed on Wednesday, September 15th as we load the truck in the wee hours of the morning and just maybe (quite possibly) leave the shop in shambles. We'll be closed just this one day...so little elves can come in and spruce it up! I would love to see you at the Bonanza. It's not too far away and is the best sort of overwhelming you can imagine!
Just so I don't get too caught up on all that I need to get done, I am planning a little evening get-together at the end of August. A Monday evening...maybe August 30th...just thinking out loud here...an evening about where we create. It will be a mix of entrepreneur stuff and studio stuff. An evening where we can think outside of and around the box. The kids will have settled back into their routine and the smell of autumn will just be creeping into the air. A great time to get a kick start into what we do so well...Nesting. What is your nest going to look like as we head into another Iowa winter. Let's look forward to this time of the year together! I will send out the information very soon...so if you're not on the email list...get on it ASAP!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Blatant Shop Promotion
Seems that is all I've been doing on this old blog lately. In my defense, the days are spinning by and we've just got a lot going on at JB Knacker ~ really!
July's Breakfast Club ~ right around the corner...Saturday, July 24th!
On the docket: 8 am ~ shop doors open to a new look and 20% off the entire shop with your donation of a food item for our local food pantry! What do we mean by a new look? Well, it means we stay up 'til the wee hours shuffling in new old finds like galvanized stuff, old signage, funky painted wood tables and fresh vintage linens. We may be so wicked tired that we leave the cobwebs on farm primitives straight out of the barn and forget to price a few (ok...sometimes a lot of stuff...just ask... as the price I come up w/ on 1/2 hour of sleep is usually lower than if I think on it!!).
A light breakfast is served and a flea market of vendors will be out in the side yard! The vendors will be creative and varied serving up vintage wares, funky and cool jewelry, whimsical and bright accessories for the kiddos, hand-crafted furniture and primitives and whole lot more!! The 20 % off at the shop ends at 10am, so don't be late.
We will have maps to any area occasional sales that are happening and any other hot spots. But do come back to Gilbert as an antique car & tractor show begins at 4pm and Prairie Moon Winery will be next door at Jo's for wine tasting also at 4pm. We will close at 5pm on this day and vendors are encouraged to stay right 'til the end. There will be watermelon slices and cold water and pop sold to quench your thirst as well as other food throughout the day. Join us for a celebration of summer in a fun, small town! I do believe there is a street dance beginning at 8pm...oh, think of the fun to be had all day long!
Brenda
Brenda
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thanks a Bunch!
Wowzers! What a great day Saturday was!! Remember...it was the first Breakfast Club of the season, and boy oh boy, it was a good one! A big thank you to all of the wonderful JB Knacker fans and those just curious about the whole thing that showed up. I'm not sure I should write this, but I really, really figured only about 6-8 of you would take me up on the whole Breakfast Club Junk Tour ~ hitting all 7 stops on the tour (barns, chicken sheds and carriage houses packed w/ the good stuff ~ junk) and then returning to JB Knacker to claim your junk charm prize. I mean, that is a time commitment...but you obviously realized how good all of these places really are. I was prepared w/ 10 junk charm necklaces ready to roll. You blew me away w/ 27 of you returning to JB Knacker w/ smudged, folded and slightly damp maps...signed w/ each occasional sale owner's signature. I was creating charms and stringing them on chain faster than you could stencil a number on a galvanized bucket (and I'm not being sassy...that's about how long it took me to make each necklace). And that makes me so happy! I have already used about 5 exclamation points in this paragraph so far!(6) Best day ever at JB Knacker...yep...and for that, I am grateful. I know times are tough. Many people are choosing to cut back on anything that does not appear to be a necessity. So I will continue to strive to keep the shop fresh, the prices fair and the events fun and creative. Because we all need that fun, wild outlet and cool things at good prices to snazzy up our live and our homes.
With that said, we are in full speed ahead mode...mixing up vignettes, hauling in goodies of the vintage nature and planning the next big event ~ July's Breakfast Club! Now, this is a little confusing, but usually we do this event on the last Saturday of June and July. But the last Saturday in July falls on an important weekend in my family life ...so, July 24th is the next JB Knacker Breakfast club. And we are in luck as this day just happens to be Gilbert's car & tractor show. Not an old car & tractor enthusiast?...well, you haven't seen the Gilbert car & tractor show...I'll let it slip that in year's past, there was a calendar for sale featuring the "boys" of this said club! It's old school plain & simple... vintage, clean fun. It's usually 110 degrees in the shade on this day, so JB Knacker will be hosting a flea market in our beautiful shaded side yard. There will be vendors of all kinds...vintage, hand made and foody. We will bring the junk to you this time around. The shop will be over-the-top impossibly crazy good! We'll have to be with such great competition just out in the yard. And yes, there will be some sort of prize for you. I'm not exactly sure what you have to do to earn this prize so stay tuned...
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We just returned from another very fun and exciting experience this evening! Former shop girl, Tawnya had her "run-through night" at her cupcake emporium ~ Yummie's Cupcake Emporium at 300 Main Street, Ames. Can I use the word "Wowzers" again? The food is fresh and filling...from soups & sandwiches to pasta and fruit. The decor is decidedly 40's-50's vintage diner, and the cupcakes w/ a tall glass of cold milk...yummy! She will be open for business in a few days, so check the place out. You will be coming back for more (I am proud of you, Tawnya)!
Lastly, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love being able to do what I do. Those that returned to JB Knacker after a hot day of junking, were dear enough to give me awesome feedback..."It was soooo much fun"... "Everyone had such good stuff"...."My favorite buy from the day?...it would have to be the antique metal stamping kit"..."Thank you for hosting this!"
You are so welcome...
Brenda
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Breakfast Club ~ Saturday, June 26th
JB Knacker is open the whole day...well at least until 3pm. So, for the truest junkers and antique mavens out there...and I mean those guys and gals that hit each and every hot spot on the map, there is a special prize for you! Return to JB Knacker w/ your map in hand (the proof you will need to collect your prize), and we will present you w/ your "trophy!" OK...I would love to present each and every one of you w/ a beautiful sterling silver loving/trophy cup from 1898, but instead you will be presented a funky stamped metal charm and junk necklace that will remind you of this adventure long after it's over!!
Hope to see a big crowd bright and early! But remember there will be more treasures brought out throughout the day at JB and what's better than a glass of lemonade under a big shady tree after a hard day of junking?! Can't wait!
Brenda
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