The word ‘junking’ may sound unpleasant, but the definition might surprise you: Taking something that other people might consider junk or garbage and repurposing it and making it useful.
It is something that sisters Tanya Fehr and Leah Faulkner have made a career of. Faulkner puts on the Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market in Maple Ridge B.C. and Fehr owns Vintage Verandah in Cochrane.
“We like to take what other people might think is junk and might end up thrown away in a landfill and repurpose it and use it and make it useful for us or our customers,” explained Fehr. “We love to go on trips and find things like that and repurpose them.”
The sisters are so passionate about junking that they are putting on the first ever Prairie Girls Vintage Market at The Big Red Bard in Cochrane Sept.20.
The market will have 27 vendors from Alberta coming from as far as Edmonton and displaying everything old, vintage, antique, shabby chic, hand made and rustic. The Farm Girls Food Truck – a Calgary food truck that specializes in bringing food directly to customers from the farm – will also be on location.
“Everything is unique and great for treasure hunters,” said Fehr.
Fehr said owning the Vintage Verandah for the last year she has noticed a big push for repurposing, recycling and using what you have – especially with the younger generation.
That is part of what inspired Fehr to do something like the Prairie Girls Vintage Market in Cochrane. She said she has met a lot of people who do the same thing as her but don’t necessarily have the opportunity as she does to have a store to sell their items.
“They need a venue to be able to see their products and it is such a great thing to be involved in,” Fehr said. “They’re just all so happy and proud and love what they do. It is a pretty strong community.”
Besides the positive impact it has on the environment, Fehr explained that part of the fun of junking is the memories it sparks. She said markets like the one they are planning could spark ideas for people about how to refurbish items and could lead to a lot of interesting stories.
“On our junking trips, first off, we like just listening to the story behind it,” said Fehr. “It is pretty amazing. Even when people just walk into my store, look around and all of a sudden say, ‘Oh my grandma or my mom or my dad used to have something like this.’ It leads to stories.”
Although this is just the first year, Fehr said if this event were successful they would love to make it a yearly occurrence. The market runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 43232 Cochrane Lake Road W. Admission is $2; 12 and under gets in free. A portion of the admission will be donated to the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank.
For more information visit facebook.com/theprairiegirls or email [email protected].
