Hello Junkhounds!

Do you love junk stores? My friend Nancy and I do! We love to take "junk jaunts" together throughout the Triad--so much that we decided to create this blog to share our delight in the odd, the mismatched, the grubby, the castoff, the unexpectedly magical, the sometimes surreal, and always deeply satisfying world of junk. We intend to share our adventures with anyone who's interested; we'll tell you where we go, what we buy, who owns the store, and--when I get my digi camera--we'll post pictures of our stash, as well as items of particular interest. We'll tell you how to get there, too, because we're community-oriented persons. Not like our friend Hans, who, when we told him of our plan to share the location of good junk stores on our blog, commented "that's like giving away the location of a good fishing hole!" Hans is a dear person but he must come to understand that the world of junk is limitless and contains enough for all. Besides, we hope that you'll feel inclined to return the favor and tell us of junk stores yet unknown!

I can't speak for my friend Nancy (she'll do that herself in future postings), but I have a creative interest in junking. (Does anyone know of a verb that describes looking for junk? "Junking" is the best I can do right now, although it reminds me a lot of "Junket"...) I make dolls out of found objects, and junk stores are great places to discover both the inspiration and the--er--amalgamation--of a doll. I've made dolls out of old sieves, tintypes, cans of something called "Clabber Girl", forks--the list is endless. I also like to make mixed-media collages, so dusty old books and ledgers provide me with a lot of product. The problem is keeping it tidy once I bring it all home to my workspace. Neither my dogs nor my husband go in there any more...strange...in any event, I'll show you pictures of the stuff I make out of junk. My most recent creation was a piece Nancy calls "Voodoo Shoe": a petite shoe I found at the Goodwill store that I covered in a bunch of stuff I found at Manning Milling in Bethania just before they closed down--a lot of nails and pointy unfriendly objects! Oh yes, and glitter. My motto is "Everything goes better with glitter, baby."

Nancy will be getting in touch with you soon to give you her perspective. We have plans for photos, hyperlinks, and a more colorful layout in the future; in the meantime, we're getting to know the world of blogging. I'm actually starting this blog on the sly, unbeknownst to Nancy, who's gone to see "Atonement." She knew we'd start this blog soon, just not today!

So hello, all you junkers out there! Tell us of your adventures! What do you do with your junk? Are you junk artists too? Or do you simply savor the ambiance of the thrown away? The gestalt of the mishmash? I, LeeAnna (aka Glittergrl), look forward to hearing from you!