Chaska Junk Company

....just kidding! We aren't changing our name, but our new store did open in downtown Chaska today, and we couldn't be more excited! When we've opened previous locations, we've sort of just opened the doors, painted a couple of walls, and moved in. But we've learned a ton over the last 4 years, about what works and doesn't for displays, for checking out, and for storage and organization. So much thought went into this new location, and we're really proud of how it all came together! It's all our Pinterest dreams come true, in our own little store. Those of you who have shopped during our craziest events know that the checkout counter was always a bit [ok, ok....a lot] of a bottleneck at the Carver store. We always had multiple people running the checkout, but usually they were ringing people up on their phones, extra ipads, etc. You'll be happy to hear that the new Chaska store has two full, permanent checkout stations, so we can get you through the lines even faster [which means more time to actually shop, right?]   Beyond that, we've created spaces for all of the apparel and accessories that used to be staged & stacked wherever we had space. Our building is the old Carver County State Bank, and our bigger selection of apparel & accessories is in the old vault! It's such a fun space, and has already been a huge hit this weekend. We're excited to continue bringing in fun new items throughout the year.   The bulk of the store is made of three rooms that are staged with our typical furniture and accessories. We've added some handcrafted metal & wood shelving to the main room to hold more of our handmade & vintage-inspired items, leaving more space on the furniture to showcase ideas on how to set them up & accessorize them like you would in an actual home. Our vendors have outdone themselves with staging, styling, and the incredible furniture and decor items they've brought in for this event: You can see the shiplap wall that Chad added behind the checkout [which was no small feat with the steel studs, uneven walls, and crazy floors in this place]. "Let's put up some shiplap, it'll be quick." Famous last words, my friends....choosing the paint color for that wall took just about as long. The final space in the new store is the dedicated DIY workshop, where we'll be able to hold more painting & crafting classes. We already have a full schedule up for June, and we're excited not only to be doing more of our own classes, but to be partnering with other small, local businesses to offer workshops. Knot & Ivy are doing two macrame workshops on June 18th!   One of our vendors saw the space for the first time last week, and asked me "Is this like a dream come true?" I almost burst out crying. I realized we had been running so hard, for so long with all of our recent events, and trying to get the space ready, that we hadn't stepped back to actually take note of the fact that this store is our dream come true. What a great reminder to slow down a bit, and enjoy all of this. So this weekend, we're taking it all in - we've spent each day in the store ourselves [which doesn't happen as much as we'd like, with the business to run, and furniture to paint]. We're chatting with our loyal customers, and getting to know all of the new people coming through the door. We're sitting back and reminding ourselves how incredibly lucky we are to have such incredible, hard-working, dedicated and talented vendors that fill this beautiful space with all the things we love. We think [and hope] you all will love this new space as much as we do. We'll continue to be open occasionally [one full weekend each month], with special pop-up events most months, as well as workshops throughout each month. You can always find our schedule online, under Visit the Stores. We hope to see you soon! Chad, Brandy & the CJC team