Junk Bonanza Vendor Spotlight: MakeShift Accessories

 Alright, I got a little bit of a late start this week but here's the first of a few Junk Bonanza vendor spotlights I promised!

Today's vendor spotlight is on artist Devin Johnson of Makeshift Accessories! 

Love the signage!

Devin Johnson, the creative engine behind MakeShift Accessories

 Devin turns a very interesting selection of recycled, antique, salvaged, and other found objects into real things of beauty...

I was really drawn to his amazing metal cuffs, which showcase some unique illustrations and typography from various found metal objects:

As an industrial and graphic designer who has both engineered things and illustrated their components and use instructions, these really caught my eye, especially this one above with assembly instructions.  

 These are just way cool...are they gears?  They seem too pretty to be!

Cool money clip embellished with a key...I love the little exposed hardware details.

Rings...super cool...

Colorful array of rings made from street signs!

Cuffs made from street signs...check out the reflecting flash! I think I need some of these, you know, for safety reasons while walking out at night.  Yeah, that's it...good justification!!

Devin makes some awesome leather cuffs too.  I have a thing for keys!

Sweet curly fork and leather cuff

Devin gets the bragging rights of being the one and only vendor at the Junk Bonanza to have inspired me to whip out my wallet and buy something! :-)

Here's the little beauty I picked up at this year's Junk Bonanza from MakeShift Accessories:

Isn't it cool?!  It was the last blue one left...and according to Devin, it is made from an antique metal ruler from Italy, and he hasn't been able to find anymore since.

He had a bunch of silver rulers with black letters, but this one jumped out at me for the contrast.  Some upcycled objects I love for how subtle they are about what they're made of....this one I love for how much it screams "RULER!"  Plus it's one of those tools I use a lot as a designer so it was very "me."

So, be sure to stop on over to Devin's website, as well as his Etsy shop, and check out his Facebook Page!  Thanks for the awesome conversation piece, Devin!  :-)

Junk Bonanza 2011 - a sneak peek

Hey Twin Citians!  Did you know that the 2011 Junk Bonanza is going on as we speak in Shakopee, Minnesota? I didn't, at least not until yesterday when my mom, who saw news coverage of it, reminded me!  So, we made some last second plans, which were set in stone late last night, to attend this morning.

We came...we saw...we left just in time for my boys' naps.  (Which left us with maybe an hour or a little more of actually looking at stuff, after you subtract the time we spent letting them burn energy on the playground.)  But, I did manage to take lots of photos again this year and made my one purchase, which I'll share with you next week! 

In the meantime, here are a few photos to whet your appetites....

I love that this show not only sells really awesome upcycled items, but it also caters to people like me who are looking for interesting found objects to upcycle myself....

...all over the Junk Bonanza are bins and bins of little objects just begging to be used in some cool project...

...vintage and retro and antique, oh my!

Are 'ya drooling yet?  I always have to limit the amount of cash in my pocket at this because it doesn't last long. Next week I'll post some of the cool recycled and upcycled finds as well as my own personal purchase!  Stay tuned!

Welle Designs: Turning Vintage Finds into New Treasures

I am in the process of sharing what I saw at this year's Junk Bonanza in Shakopee, and for today's vendor highlight I would like to share the work of Lauren & Lori Welle of Welle Designs.

I've seen these cool bowls before made from old records, and they had a fun selection of them at a great price.  My mom bought a couple as Christmas gifts.

I've always loved these cool ticket bowls too!! Wouldn't they look great filled with popcorn on movie night?

I just recently shared some message boards made from vintage trays, and they had some as well that had ribbons to hang on the walls (Above). I really like this cute and simple idea of the "message block," shown above in front of the tray.  The little block of wood has chalkboard paint on the front, and a hole drilled in the top to place a piece of chalk!  Love it!

As you can see by the little hand in this picture, Sammy was drawn to this cute record clock with game pieces and a bingo card in the center.  "No touching, Sammy!!"

I really liked this tray on display, covered with bottle caps and a thick, clear resin, which Lori described as "just an experiment."  Sometimes the one-off, experimental items really get a lot of attention.  It reminded me of my last year at the Craftstravaganza when I had a couple junk mail decoupaged TV trays out for display purposes.  They weren't even for sale but people were very interested in them!

If you'd like to see more of Welle Design's work or contact them to purchase, be sure to check out their website!

Simply Vintage by Erin Moxness: "Jerelry, Clothing & Decor with Vintage Flair"

Time to share more of what I saw at this year's Junk Bonanza in Shakopee! For today's vendor highlight I would like to share the work of Erin Moxness of Simply Vintage.  The mini flyer I picked up unfortunately had no web links, except a note to visit their Facebook page, which I was unable to find.  I wanted to share some images of their stuff regardless, but in an effort to give proper credit to the artist, the phone number on the card was 701-388-0134 if you want to find out where she is, if she is, on the internet!

This booth was really fun to look at.  They had all kinds of little charms made from recycled materials.  You could even choose a cord or chain and have them put a necklace together for you right on the spot.

I love the pretty assortment of pendants made from vintage jewelry pieces!

These keychains made from puzzle pieces of the states were such a great idea.  What a fantastic way to repurpose a puzzle, especially if you have missing pieces!

Here are a couple trays of pendants made from sections of vintage yard sticks.  Cool!  This makes me think of our MN state fair, where we always used to get free yard sticks as kids.

These vintage watch pendants were beautiful and fun to look through as well.  These are all metal watch faces....every one unique!

More cute pendants...these ones have letters taken from recycled car nameplates!

Wonderful work, Erin!  And if you see this, please do pass on your web link to me as I'd love to share it!!

XO Handworks: Custom Recycled Pendants, Pins, Magnets & More!

I am still in the process of sharing what I saw at this year's Junk Bonanza in Shakopee, and for today's vendor highlight I would like to share the work of XO Handworks of Osseo, MN.

 I was really drawn in by this great display of jewelry made from recycled maps.  They have buttons, pendants, keychains, you name it.  I love how they displayed the soldered map pendants on a board with the map behind it, so you can find the location you want.  This is such a neat gift idea for someone who wants to show off their home state, country, favorite vacation spot, hometown, or whatever! Be sure to check out their beautiful creations here! They also have some really great items made from Scrabble tiles, bottle caps, and more!

A while back I used to sell pocket mirrors and buttons made from recycled maps, which were really fun.  I'm still hoping to offer more recycled map items in my shop in the future...once I get some better button making equipment that produces less duds!

Karen Heddens Designs: Beautiful Hand-Felted Work Made From Reclaimed Wool Sweaters

I am in the process of sharing what I saw at this year's Junk Bonanza in Shakopee, and for my first vendor highlight I would like to share the work of Karen Heddens Designs. 

This was the only item I brought home from the Junk Bonanza, although I would have bought the whole dang event if I had the cash and storage space! ;-) I have always been drawn to hand felted items and this bracelet really caught my eye.

Karen takes unwanted, old wool sweaters and hand felts them, and then uses the felt to create a variety of beautiful items, including slippers, handbags, and jewelry like this.  These felted beads are securely attached with wire between two buttons with a bead on top, then attached to a bracelet chain.  I just love the color combination in this particular bracelet, and also like that the chain seems nice and sturdy and the clasp really clips nice and tight.

I can't wait to wear it out on the town!  Okay, with two little kids, it'll probably be a while until I have another night out on the town.  But when I do, I'm wearing this! ;-)

Junk Bonanza 2010

I just returned to my studio after an overwhelmingly inspirational visit to the Junk Bonanza in Shakopee, MN! Described as "the best junk roundup in the Midwest," there is nothing junky about it!  I would describe this even as being like a walk through a really cool, antique flea market where everything has already been "upcycled" into quirky, creative gifts.  These are the people who scour thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and antique shops for cool treasures and old "junk," apply their creative juices, and give everything a new life.

As a display designer myself, I found it equally as exciting just looking at the beautifully designed booths.  You can tell that every booth and display was designed for people like me, by people like me, who are easily drawn in by neat old treasures and recycled art. Walking through the aisles of creativity was like a constant struggle between the cool stuff pulling me into the next booth, and the desire to run home to my studio and start making things!  Many of the vendors were not only catering to those who want to purchase their items, but also those of us who like making things ourselves, by offering up bins and bins of little found objects just screaming to be made into something.

I went with my very artistic and creative mom, who so graciously offered to come along and help me maneuver the crowds with my two little boys in strollers.  With two little ones, we were only able to stay for a couple hours.  So, I didn't get to see EVERYTHING, but got a bunch of photos.  So many, in fact, that I can barely digest all of them myself, let alone overwhelm you with one post that covers them all.  So, I am going to post some more photos over the next few days from a couple vendors who caught my eye during the event.  Stay tuned for more photos and links to come!

Until tomorrow, here are a few more photos from the morning...