Sep 16, 2009 7:15 pm US/Central
Junk Bonanza: So Big It Moved to Canterbury Park
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Maybe it's old, odd, dusty or dirty. Vendors who come from all over the Midwest find ways to reinvent, reuse and in the process, recycle stuff that may have been thrown out.
CBS
We all know someone who is always putting off cleaning all "the junk" out of their garage or basement. Some crafty entrepreneurs have made junk into big business.
Maybe it's old, odd, dusty or dirty. Vendors who come from all over the Midwest find ways to reinvent, reuse and in the process, recycle stuff that may have been thrown out.
"I make things out of old and reclaimed fabrics," said vendor Nancy Polacek.
The word junk used to be taboo. Now it's trendy. It all started with a Minnesota woman who had a garage sale, and made $10,000.
"My husband looked at me and said, you did 10-thousand dollars. I said, yeah, I had that much junk stored in the basement. So he said, maybe this is a business," said Junk Bonanza founder Ki Naasauer.
"For some of the vendors, this is a new start after a layoff, divorce, or just deciding they no longer want a traditional job.
Jane Hall started when she had kids and wanted to stay home.
"Who knows, you have to come up with your own life because it's not what it used to be. Jobs are not out there," said vendor Jane Hall.
"It's green, people like to buy a used product, it's usually made better and it's cheaper," said Hunt & Gather Owner Kristi Stratton.
"The economy, on top of being trendy, has actually helped all these vendors because you can go in to the booths and buy things that are so far less than in your retail store," said Nassauer.
"The idea is you don't dispose it, you bring it back, you repurpose it, you reinvent it, you refurbish it and junk is beautiful," said Nassauer.
This year, Junk Bonanza is so big, it had to move to Canterbury Park. There are 110 vendors.
Customers can check them out from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
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