junkin’ – Hunt & Gather Home

This morning’s crisp and lovely autumn air is just the inspiration we needed to get back to the blog. With the lazy days of summer gone and the new school year’s routines established, our creativity picks up the pace, fueled by a healthy mix of cotton fields ready for harvest, pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, open windows, front porch swings, flannel blankets and football fields.

Saturday mornings in the fall are lovely for antiquing. Snow’s is one of our favorite local spots on Rapides Avenue. You’ll find an eclectic mix of industrial items, fine antiques, popular knick-knacks, and quirky statement pieces.

The shop is owned by Steve Snow, who’s helpful, friendly, and always willing to make you a good deal. Have a question about the provenance of a piece? Looking for something specific? Just ask and Steve will usually share what he knows about the object’s former location and use or dig out just what you’re looking for from the back room. It’s always fun to know the history behind the antique and vintage pieces you bring home, and I’ve found that my guests usually love to know hear the stories behind each piece.

Here are a few pieces that caught my eye when I wandered the shop a few weeks back. Most of them are quirky and would make fun accents in just the right space.

How cool (and heavy) is this rusty iron railroad crossing marker?

These vintage radiators would be fantastic grouped together on top of a shelf or in a store window display.

We snagged this longhorn for one of our clients! Reveal coming soon…

These bulldog andirons would be a perfectly fun addition to a classic living room fireplace.

Scales, scales, scales! All styles and ages. Super fun for decorative kitchen accents or grouped as a display.

This vintage mint green gum ball machine is a personal favorite. It’s solid and sturdy with the original labeling, too. This would be a fun addition to a playroom. Imagine it filled with colorful gum balls! My kids would go crazy!

These old concrete and metal playground pieces are a bit on the quirky side, but would be super fun in a vintage-industrial space.

This stack of trays came from the kitchen of a local eatery that recently closed after over 50 years as a beloved local bar and restaurant. They make a great statement stacked just as they are. All they need is a large, sturdy shelf to call home.

We’re often asked what local antique stores and flea-markets we frequent. Snow’s Antiques is on our short list. Stop by the corner of Rapides Avenue and Prospect and spend some time hunting around inside. The large inventory changes often and you’ll probably find something new to bring home each time you visit!

Happy hunting!

The question we get most often, when new visitors enter our homes or view our photos for the first time, (Well, other than “Will you come decorate MY house?!”) is this: Where do you get all your stuff? So we thought it might be a good idea to feature some of our favorite thrift store/antique shop vendors. The first may well be our favorite.

If you head on down US Highway 165 South, you’ll pass through several little, sleepy towns like Woodworth and Forest Hill. Keep going a few more minutes and you’ll come to Glenmora, where you’ll find one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet, Tina Burnaman, housed at her place of business, Junkin’ on Main. It is always nice to have a great shop where you know new treasures are always circulating, but when that establishment also comes with the added bonus of amazing owners who you always look forward to seeing and chatting with, it doesn’t get much better than that. On our latest visit, we asked Ms. Tina to tell us the story of her little place and this is what she had to say:

I believe it was in 2002 when in full swing with our cafe, Reggie’s, that a sweet friend opened a flea market across the street from us. Twelve of us got booths with her and we all got started by cleaning out our houses…we were all garage sale junkies already! We had a grand time and made a little money for the next two years together. Then the Bill’s Dollar Store building came up for sale and, being connected to our cafe building, my sweet hubby Reg, bought it…after I begged him to…and Gathered Treasures Flea Market was finally a reality and a dream come true! Since it was right next door with adjoining walls to the cafe, we busted through the cinder blocks, installed a door ( I always loved Cracker Barrel’s idea: eat and shop all in one bldg) and the rest is history! We have been open for ten and a half years as of today and have had a ball! We started with seven “fleas” and myself and now, all these years later, we have expanded to all three buildings and have twenty-three “fleas!” Myself, Carla Naron, and Michelle McBride run the shop each weekend and several “fleas” are in and out every week helping us out! We started our Vintage Wedding and Event Rentals in April of 2013, and had rentals a part of twenty weddings, three showers, and several photo shoots. Already this year (2014) we have booked twenty-five weddings so far! We have a great time, have made life-long friends, and will never be rich because we take what we make and buy more…it’s the thrill of the hunt that we really enjoy!!! At times it’s a lot of work, but we love every minute of it – we just don’t move quite as fast as we did ten years ago -but we have followed this dream and Jesus has provided the way!!!

As you can see, Tina’s passion for all things old is right in line with ours! Here are some of our favorite finds from our latest trip: