Grab your gal pals for the weekend (September 20-22) and head to Junk Bonanza, one of the Midwest’s premiere vintage markets.
Photo courtesy of Junk Bonanza
Showcasing vintage finds, antiques and repurposed goods from among more than 150 of the nation’s finest handpicked vintage purveyors, Junk Bonanza is the brainchild of junk maven Ki Nassauer, seen here greeting show visitors awaiting admittance.
It’s held twice a year—April and September—at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. Live demos, craft workshops, prize drawings and book signings are scheduled throughout the event. Pose for photos in front of a wall built from more than 50 retro game boards, learn the history of cocktails, get some retro embroidery sewn onto a favorite piece of clothing and lots more. Tickets are available in advance online and at the show.
But the vendors are the stars of the show. They display their wares beautifully and they’re happy to chat about anything and everything. We arrived on a Friday (early bird admission is available on Thursday but vendors restock every day) and later in the morning to miss the lines waiting to get in. The first booth by the door, Found Salvage, was a winner with beautifully styled vignettes guaranteed to catch the eye of any vintage-lover.
I’m a sucker for old educational pull-down charts and maps. We found a large selection at Mustard Moon’s booth. They also have a brick and mortar shop on Xerxes Avenue in Minneapolis.
We hit the jackpot at River Street Traders’ booth. We came looking for vintage wool camp blankets and they had a nice selection.
And lots more besides! We spent quite a while checking out all their wares but my shopping buddy (Narvas—always the voice of reason) kept me focused on my list of must-haves.
The folks from Storehouse Goods bring their pieces all the way from Spokane, WA. Their booth was chock full of wonderful things.
One of the most popular spots—in sheer numbers of people browsing and buying—was the Vintage Parcel booth.
Brimming with the kind of smalls you want to collect in bulk, like skeleton keys, bingo cards, valve handles, type, door knobs and the like, it’s a junker’s delight.
Half the fun was watching what people got excited about and how particular they were about which pieces they chose.
Andrea Stordahl fills her booth, Minnesota Rust, with the kind of decorative salvage that would touch the heart of any shabby chic designer. How cool is that train bulletin board?
Shopping’s thirsty work so we stopped for a signature Bloody Mary—everyone was walking around with these in hand so it seemed like we kinda had to try it. The sangria was yummy, too!
There was so much to see at the Junk to Jardin booth that Narvas had to finally move me along after I’d perused everything at least twice.
I love old scales and this set was calling to me pretty forcefully.
I’m also drawn to old gadgets such as cameras, alarm clocks, typewriters, etc. Fortunately, my collections of these kinds of things are already pretty large, so I can enjoy the display without plucking everything off the shelf.
The folks at Rural Route Rust put on quite a compelling show of camping and outdoor sporting equipment.
And more camp blankets!
The ladies of When Pigs Fly and Linda’s Cellar share a booth and lots of info with shoppers.
Repurposed junk, vintage furnishings and architectural salvage filled their space.
Our last stop was outside at the Wanderlust bus.
Half the fun of shopping this “booth” was getting into the bus to see what was on offer inside.
Don’t miss the fun! Get all the details on the event here. Happy shopping!
Looking for fun vintage venues in your area? Check out our Flea Market Map here.
© Caruth Studio