Cold Days and Hot Projects

It has been extremely cold her in the upper Midwest, and winter hasn't even officially started. 

The only way I think we are going to make it through is by keeping busy with our shop and creating new projects! 

Today, Travis is working on our newest additions to our shop, Birch Tree Christmas Ornaments. 

We are having fun coming up with new designs and wood burning or decopauging the ornaments! Take a look:

You can find these on our site starting today!!

Keep warm and make sure to smile today!

www.etsy.com/shop/JUNQUEHIPPY

The Sitting Tree: A Giveaway From Junque Hippy

The Sitting Tree: A Giveaway From Junque Hippy

Happy Glampers

I have always loved camping. The smell of the wood burning in the fire pit, roasting marshmellows and telling ghost stories have always been on my top things to do with the family list. In the past, we have normally just brought our tent and hoped for good weather. Yes, there were many times that we woke up wet, but hey we are roughing it. Isn't that what camping is?

I am writing this post today from the comfort of the indoors, looking out my window at all of the snow and ice outside, daydreaming of the first warm days of summer to return. I know you think it is to early to be thinking of summer, but hey, a girl can dream right?

This past summer we spent the weekend in our tent at one of my favorite spots in northern Minnesota. After we got camp all set up, we were ready to spend some quality time with our kids and enjoy what the outdoors have to offer. Best of all, there is no cell phone service here!





It was that weekend, I saw a younger couple pulling their amazing vintage camper through the park, I must have stared at this beauty for a good 3 minutes as they drove by at 5 miles an hour! I immediately turned to Travis and noticed he too was staring at this amazing camper and I knew we both were thinking the same thing! We had to get one.

We love re-purposing items, finding vintage pieces and giving old things new life again and I was confident we could find a camper with good bones and a lot of potential. The hunt began.











It wasn't to long after we started looking that we were on our way to visit some friends and there on the side of the road was our new weekend warrior! She was exactly what we have been looking for. I cannot wait to get home and get started bringing it back to life!

 It was a lot of work, and there are a few more improvements we will be making over the winter, but our Glamper will be ready to go this Spring!



































Every good Glamper needs a even better name. So let me introduce you to our Glamper, Cheeks!

Happy Glamping!

Junque Hippy Soap

It is that time of the quarter again to whip up a new batch of handmade soaps for the shop!

My favorite new scent is Carribean. Especially now that winter is here, smelling this new soap takes me away to an amazing beach, sun on my face, toes in the sand and listening to the waves hit the beach. 

Check out the new soaps in the shop!!

www.etsy.com/shop/junquehippy

Little Desk, Big Heart

What a great weekend here in the upper Midwest. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the end of October. 

With the nice weather, it has allowed us to be able to get a lot of projects done, and best of all we were able to work outside. 

I spent most of the daylight hours working on a desk for a repeat customer's daughter's bedroom. We had met with them when we picked up the piece and the little girl made sure we knew that she wanted her desk to be blue and white, her favorite colors. It was soon after we headed home, I had already had an idea for this little desk. 

Here are the before photos of this desk. As you can see the desk is the perfect size for a little girl and has a lot of potential. The structure is strong and the colors are bright! 

I immediately got to work on this little desk. Sanding, filing holes, sanding more and fixing the drawers so they slide easily for her.

After the prep work was done, it was time to prime for paint.

After letting the primer set for 24 hours, it was time to make this little desk perfect for her. 

After a couple coats of paint and new hardware, this little desk has a big heart and a new home. 

I hope you are all having a nice night to finish your weekend and here's to a new week. 

Tessa

Junque Hippy

Fun with Tin

Happy Friday! What a challenging and exciting week for Junque Hippy!

I hope all of you had a great week and are ready for the weekend.

Travis has been experimenting with some of the reclaimed corrugated tin we picked a few week ago and I have to say he has real rocked it out this week! 

We were finally able to list our newest additions to our store this morning! 

Check out the progress and final product, Corrugated Tin Christmas Ornaments! 

They said we were crazy! Boy, were they right!

I thought I would write tonight about how Travis and I decided to get started in the business of upcycling, repurposing, and bring the past back to life in our products. 

Before I let you in on what got us into this business, let me back up a bit to where this passionate, hard-working and sometimes crazy couple got started on our personal journey of friendship and marriage that is just as passionate, hard-working and most definitely crazy! 

This past weekend we had attended my 15 year high school reunion and of course it definitely made me stop and take a breath and reflect on how fast time flies by! Someone actually said to me,"Do you realize you have been out of school longer then you attended?" WOW! What an eye opener! It seems like just yesterday we were attending classes, making friends and paving the way for our futures. 

Travis and I had a great time with some friends, old and new that night. It was interesting to hear everyone's stories about work and their families. It did make me realize that we are each here on this earth to make a difference, work hard and love. 

This year Trav and I celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary. We have actually known eachother for about 20 years already! We did lose touch with eachother for about 5 years and ran into eachother through my brother. Morgan (my brother) was working construction and Travis, after trying to remember where he knew Morgan from, finally asked a co-worker who he was. Aftter he found out that it was my brother, Travis asked Morgan to give me a call. 

When the phone rang that day, it was like we hadn't skipped a beat! Travis and I wrote our history a short 10 months after dating by getting married in July. 

Family members and friends from both sides thought we were absolutely crazy! They thought we were moving to fast or we were to young! Yes, we were crazy! Absolutely crazy in love and crazy about eachother.

Needless to say, I am confident those same people who thought we were crazy then know now that on that hot day in July when we said our do's it was going to be forever! 

We started our family and struggled here and there. We've made some good and bad decisions and learned from our mistakes and moved on. 

Working different jobs throughout the years and always thinking about what would make us the most happy and at the same time allow us to support our family we decided to take our passion for design and taking odds and ends or pieces that were ready for the graveyard and restoring them or making them into something fun, funky, innovative, functional or eclectic and make it a business. 

Junque Hippy is a company based on family values, hardwork and each piece we do has our heart and soul in it! 

We have fun everyday, weather we are out pickin' or junkin'. If we are sanding or painting. We do also share frustrations and challenges of working together as a couple sometimes as well but I do think that it keeps us on our toes and at the end of the day I know we share a common goal and know how far we have came and it makes each day worth it! 

So here's to the crazy people! Never change who you are or settle for less! Shoot for the moon. I believe if you never try or take risks you are selling yourself short! 

Travis and Tessa - Junque Hippy