It’s 2012 and its time for me to come out of the closet. Brace yourself, you may think differently of me after you hear this but I sure hope you won’t! Whereas I am a natural decorator and love helping people sell their houses through my home staging efforts, in my heart-of-hearts I’m….a….”junker”. There, I’ve said it. I’m a junker, not an antiquer but a “junker”.
Now, before you get caught up in visions of me upside down scrabbling in a Dumpster like this….which I seldom ever do and always restrict immersion to no more than an arm, a shoulder at most, let me tell you why I see myself more like this….
First of all, I thi
nk an antiquer and a junker are two separate entities. In my opinion, an antiquer has an appreciation for the “whole original” whereas a junker is someone who retrieves ordinarily discarded things and redefines or re-envisions its use or finds ways to give parts of the original material new life. In addition, I find the junk hunt a little bit more gritty and Indiana Jones-esque thrilling than your average Antique Mall. And believe me, when I find what I didn’t even know I was looking for, my find glints just as brightly in my hand as any rare treasure.
An item I recently salvaged – a 1970s recipe book in an abandoned old home – really brought home for me what the ultimate attraction in junking is for me. My junk items are so much more personal, meaningful than things I buy retail – they’re about finding heritage/heirlooms that don’t even belong to my own family. Each item I find, I wonder where it came from, who used it, why they used it, what can I use it for to maintain it’s dignity after someone else either throws it away or sells it out! I see beauty in portions of an object and don’t necessarily need the “whole original” to appreciate its worth.
So that’s my deep, dark secret. I’m a junker and I’m blowing the doors off the closet to bring forth the Rusty Magpie Studio – my Canadian on-line and travelling sales venue for thrifted, junked and otherwise re-envisioned finds that I know will have you dreaming Indiana dreams too. Stay tuned for more details as they’re unearthed…
But wait, I wanted to ask – what do you think? Are you a junker or an antiquer? Or do you even agree that there’s a difference?
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Welcome to my website! My name is Lisa Paquette Yee – I’m mom to 3 and the daughter of a long line of resourceful people (on both sides of the family tree!). On my site, you’ll find my take on clever decorating and home staging that rely on imagination and style rather than deep pockets. Drop by often because like a magpie feathering its nest, you never know what design and decor adventures will catch my eye next! 
