The occasional sales concept is a progressive approach to retail. Open for a limited number of days these sales generate excitement. The concept is to gather and create one-of-a-kind vintage wares and price them to sell over a short period of time (usually a weekend). When the sale is over, restock the store from the ground up with fresh merchandise in time for the next sale.
It's the anticipation of what you will find and the idea to “buy it now because it won’t be there later” that makes the concept work.
I traveled to Long Lake, Minnesota in 2004 to experience my very first occasional sale, “Junk Market”. I followed Ki Nassauer and Sue Whitney, the founders of Junk Market in Country Home magazine for several years before setting out with my husband to meet these two impressive women and experience their sale up close and personal. Since following them in Country Home I was especially impressed with how they repurposed old farm equipment and rusty auto parts that most of us would find of no value and transformed them into cool and unusual accessories for home and garden.
I bubbled over with excitement as our plane touched down in Minneapolis (I can’t really say the same of Mike but he hung in there). We set out in our rental car with directions printed off Google Maps and after a couple wrong turns that led us through some of the most beautiful, lake filled country we had ever seen we crossed over the city limits of Long Lake and found our way to a clunky 1980’s style, single level, white stucco building that matched the address we were looking for. I thought there must be some mistake…Sue and Ki were trendy women and their creations were anything but boring and this building did not say “trendy” or”exciting”. I was apprehensive after traveling all this way but when we returned an hour before the sale was to start we were greeted by men directing traffic in rain slickers and a line of devoted patrons enduring the sprinkling rain that wound around the lackluster building and well into the parking lot. As we approached the door we could see old tin tubs filled with flowers, rusty car fans turned yard decorations and a well adorned blue vintage bike. Yep, I was in the right place!
For as unimpressive as the outside of the building was the inside made up for it a million times over. A vintage iron fence turned chandelier hung over a creatively set dining table with a high end picnic feel, a pink vintage refrigerator held Junk Market t-shirts and accessories, a larger than life check out counter crafted of colorful paint chippy doors and bulky industrial casters anchored the center of the large open space packed with perfectly arranged areas that fooled me into believing I had walked into a magazine. I was overwhelmed with inspiration for my own home and as many accessories as I could pack into my extra empty suitcase I brought along for that very purpose. After hours of gathering and watching merchandise as it was packed into vehicle after vehicle, and Mike’s fear that the friendly sales associates may believe we were stalking them I was thrilled to have gotten a chance to talk to Sue and Ki who had reached celebrity status in my mind. They appreciated the excitement that surrounded the sale, humbly accepted my compliments and encouraged me to pursue my dream of organizing a similar sale in Wyoming but advised me that it requires a group of dedicated and talented individuals to pull it off.
Country Home is no longer a monthly publication and though Sue and Ki remain icons in the occasional sale arena they have since split up but images of their sale and their words of encouragement still echo in my mind.
Are you a talented and motivated individual? Do you have an eye for what’s hot and happening in the vintage/handmade market business. Can you create high quality goods and beautiful displays? Experience isn’t necessary but the right attitude is. If you fit that description I am looking for you.
