Junk Revolution store. Behind the scenes.

The past week has been a whirlwind. I woke up without an alarm at 5 AM each day and before I knew it, the clock announced noon, then supper time...oops had I not eaten yet? I have been in a race against time. It's kinda like having a dinner party. You've known for weeks everyone was coming, but you race around frantically at the end, cooking, folding napkins, arranging flowers, and running the vacuum.

I have learned a few new skills along the way. Photography being the most difficult. All the photos you will see in Junk Revolution's online store were taken by me. Yup. I hope the incredibly talented photographers I have had the privilege to work with over the years will not snicker at my work.

My husband has hung in there through the mess. He wishes I could keep it to just one room. I have to move fast with the cloudy days and shortage of daylight...no time for cleanup. (I must learn to photograph without sunshine.)

My sister has been busily working on the messenger bags. My friend, Cammie and I have been in constant communication while she gathers inventory from some of the most obscure places. All the while, my daughter has been posting away and setting up inventory control.

Remember the tie pillow my sister and I were working on? Well, we never got it up to junk perfection so we designed this wonderful handbag instead. I love it! We are naming it after her horse, Fillip. We named all the bags after our animals. The Rigley bag is made from a vintage Belgian gas mask bag, and it is named after my daughter's dog. She wanted to name it the Rigley has gas bag. I said No!

Brenda, jewelry artist extraordinaire, has designed a necklace exclusive to Junk Revolution...appropriately called Time flies! We rendezvoused in a parking lot close to the screen printers, my next errand of the day.

Her office/vehicle kept us dry, warm, and out of the strong winds and torrential downpour.Once we agreed her creation was good to go, I was off to Winter Company. You see, Junk Revolution tees and swets are exclusive, so we can't just order from a catalogue.

First, Tieran and I create our original junk designs. I pick tee styles and colors and order samples so I can check fit,color, and quality. (My husband gets to play the role of male model, trying on a dozen different tees at a time...not his favorite way to spend an afternoon) Tee's are ordered and shipped to the printers along with final art and ink color choices. Day of printing, I take a hike to the screen printers to proof and tweak inks.


Ink color selection is crucial for a tee to become a best seller.

Oops. The screen needs to be cleaned everytime I change my mind on colors. I just can't help it...the colors look so different when printed on the garment.

Women's garbage can design tee shirts waiting to go to print.


Vintage typewriter shirts hot out of the dryer.

Junk Revolution tee's ready to be folded and packed!

Well, the party is tomorrow! The Junk Revolution store opens! I am not totally ready...but hopefully my guests won't notice the dust on the furniture and that I stuffed a few things under the bed. I would have liked to have opened bright and early, but we need to make sure everything is working properly. (Shipping, credit cards, sales tax...all that fun stuff.) We are shooting for midday Monday November 10 2008! I suspect there will be a few glitches...but I am confident folks will be understanding.

We will be adding lotsa stuff over the next few weeks to be ready for an official Grand Opening. New tee shirt designs, sweat shirts, hats and home accessories will continue to show up daily.

Junk Revolution's message boards, Project Pages and Ad Gallery will be opening soon, as well!

I better go put my lipstick on now...guests are about to arrive!

Enjoy the store!

Ki