We are very excited to introduce our latest vendors in our spotlight series. Long time shoppers at Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days and also veteran vendors, this couple always bring a large variety of amazing “junk” to pick from. Take it from me, I bought 2 tables from them last year! Meet Cheryl and Woody of Junk Devotion.
Tell us a little bit about Junk Devotion.
It’s funny, sometimes we don’t even remember when this adventure started! It just sort of evolved over the past 12 plus years. Over the years we have inherited and appreciated various pieces of furniture, photos, dishware, etc. from family members. We then started seeing trash to treasure segments on TV and in magazines and suddenly we were hooked. We started picking up miscellaneous pieces that had been discarded by others and suddenly we had a garage full of goodness waiting for transformation. We love to take formerly loved (or trash to some) pieces and transform them to treasures that can be used in the home and garden. We’re particularly drawn to galvanized and industrial pieces once used on farms, since we both have farming in our backgrounds.
You are a husband and wife team correct? Do you have similar style and taste? Tell us a little bit about that dynamic.
We are a husband and wife team, Cheryl and Woody Woodward, from Pine Island, MN. There aren’t many teams like us in the junking world, so we feel fortunate to share our love and hobby of junking. Our tastes are similar, but not always the same. We both appreciate a beautiful piece of wood and great metal pieces. Usually Cheryl can be found painting furniture behind the garage; while Woody can be found in front of the garage building rustic pieces of furniture. Occasionally we collaborate to discuss details and color combinations. Sometimes we agree to disagree on how a piece is put
together!
When you are picking how do you decide what to keep and what to sell?
After all this time we get as much joy out of selling a great piece to someone who really appreciates it as we do in keeping it for ourselves. We’ve realized we can’t keep everything, so sometimes we use a piece in our home for a while, then pass it on. That’s the joy in junking, there are always more great pieces out there!
Where do you get your creative inspiration from?
Our inspiration comes from television, magazines, social media and other junkers. The crazy thing with junking is that we can see someone else’s idea and put our own twist on it because many pieces are one of a kind. Sometimes two pieces just magically fit together and we surprise ourselves!
It looks like you’ve been to a few markets already this season, what seems to be hot right now? What are the trends?
The trends are still the farmhouse look with painted furniture, metals and beautiful woods. Many shoppers are also looking for raw junk to accessorize their decorating.
How many years have you been setting up in Oronoco? What keeps you coming back year after year?
This will be our eighth year at DOGR. We were shoppers there for 20+ years and it’s fun to be on the selling side of it now. The conversations we have with shoppers are priceless! Sometimes we teach people the origin of a piece of junk and other times we learn from the shoppers. Every year we renew old friendships and create new ones. It’s all about the connections and it’s a whole other family for us.
Do you have any favorite food vendors that you look forward to visiting at DOGR each year?
We usually bring our own food so we don’t spend all our profits, but we do treat ourselves to the homemade ice cream sandwiches every day!
What can we look forward to seeing in your booth at Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days this year?
We will have a huge load of farm galvanized junk to decorate the home and garden. We’ll also have plenty of “raw” junk for anyone who wants to do some creating of their own.
We are so excited to have you back in August. Until then, where can we find you and your work?
We have the Rescued Relics Pop-Up Sale scheduled for July 27 at the LTS Brewing Company in Rochester. We’ll join forces with two other vendors for this one day sale, complete with beer tasting and food trucks.
Make sure to stop by and say “HI” to Cheryl and Woody during Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days August 16-18! In the meantime, learn more about them and their work by visiting their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Junk-Devotion-115984551792958/?ref=br_rs