Ki Nassauer: artist, business woman, wife, mother, and founder of, first,
Junk Market, and now her new business venture,
Junk Revolution. Branching out on her own after nearly eight years of partnership, Ki
Nassauer is getting back to her roots:
junk and
junking.
One look at Ki's press photos gives one the immediate impression that she is friendly, self-effacing, and lacking in pretension. Well, I had the chance recently to have a telephone chat with Ki, and I soon discovered my first impression was bang on. In fact, she didn't even miss a beat when I mispronounced her name (Saying K
ee, instead of K
iiii)! Oh well, I remembered reading about Ki doing something like this herself a while back... I have long been a fan of Ki and the
JunkMarket brand, so I was perplexed and disappointed to hear of rumblings of change affecting
JunkMarket. Happily, I tracked Ki down again, and she eased my fears that the junk world would be adversely affected by the change.
The scoop: Ki sold her interest in
JunkMarket to
Taunton publishing, after realizing that the partners saw the future direction of
JunkMarket in different ways. Simply put, Ki wished to return to her junking roots, and spend more time "in the field" actually doing what she loves: junking,
repurposing junk, and getting back out there and meeting the people behind the junk.
While Ki loves sharing her passion for junk, she wants to spend a little less time
talking about junk, and more time finding and sharing it with fellow junk lovers. In fact, while any change can be stressful, Ki is actually excited and thrilled with the challenge of venturing solo, once again, and continuing to take the junk world by storm by returning to the roots of her business!
Ki is also unwaveringly modest. When asked why she thinks her business became so successful, so quickly (considering her hot commodity was junk, after all), she is quick to chalk it up to "simply being in the right place at the right time." She had a love of junk and repurposed it in aesthetically pleasing and functional ways - and the decorating world was ready to accept it as the hot, new thing. Ki is also quick to note that without her incredible team's support, talent, passion, and unfailingly hard work, she would not have been able to do it!
Ki also gives great kudos to
Country Home for discovering her and her junking business, and welcoming her into the fold. Ki, in fact, continues to work with Country Home as an editor, and takes Country Home readers along on her junking journeys and then showing them her projects each month. She is, undoubtedly, a much valued member of the Country Home team. Ki is also the co-author of two books about junking, and a magazine.
Ki's new business, Junk Revolution, is up and
almost running and one of the biggest kick-offs is her third annual
Junk Bonanza (September 11-13, at the Medina Entertainment Center 500 Highway 55Medina, MN 55340).
What's a Junk Bonanza, you might ask? Well,
Ki tells it best, but in a nut shell, it is a gathering of "...over one hundred hand-picked vendors toting (and selling) their best
junkin’ goods..." and "...this year’s
shapin’ up to be the best Junk Bonanza yet. More vendors, more junk, and more fun await the keen-eyed junker." And guess who is going to be there? Besides the "Rodeo Queen",
Ki, Joan
Steffend of
HGTV's Decorating Cents is stopping by and...
wait for it...my "hero",
Matthew Mead!! Guess who is not going to be there? You guessed it, (~sob~) me!! It pains my heart, it really does...
I'd add so much to the occasion...they have no idea!! Ki, are you sure you don't need me to cover it for the blogging world?? I'd step up to the plate and do that, you know...! Of course, I'd love for the Junk Bonanza to occur a little closer to me, and Ki tells me it could be a possibility. In fact, Ki is looking for other areas in the U.S. to expand the Bonanza. Here's one, Ki: what about Calais, Maine?? So what if the population is tiny? It's a hop, skip, and a jump to my parents' home!!
After the Bonanza, what's next for Ki? Well, more than you can imagine! Her Junk Revolution website will be up and running by September 11, and will serve to inform you about all things Junk Revolution. Junk Revolution will also soon sponsor oodles of contests with fantastic prizes from big-name sponsors. The site will also offer a gallery of advertisers where small business owners and artists can pay affordable prices for advertising on Ki's well-trafficked website. In October the website will expand to include a "shopping corral" where you can purchase unique junking inspired t-shirts (check out some of the possible contenders here), junk items, small accessories, even jewelry made from junk (who needs diamonds when you can wear junk??). Junk-inspired projects will also be for sale, and of course, Ki's books. Speaking of books, Ki is planning a series of Junking craft books, focusing on smaller projects that anyone can create, using beautiful junk!
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Wait, there's more!! Ki is also in development with a production company for a possible upcoming television show! The details are secret, but I can say this, look for Ki to be on a television near you in the very near future. Exciting!!
Ki's personal blog is also a great place to learn more about her business, the history of JunkMarket (read about it, starting here), and watch for Ki's upcoming posts on the ins and outs of starting a new business.
Still, Ki knows her limits. She does not wish to live a life where little time is left over for the important things like family, hobbies, personal time. Ki's motto is: "Don't take on so much...that you can't enjoy life".
Wise words, from a down-to-earth woman who has made a career out of finding and selling junk!!
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** all photos, courtesy Ki Nassauer and her blog, Junk Camp, and her website. 
