....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
CJC@HOME: April 21-23, 2017
CJC@Home launched just over a year ago, as a unique way for our customers to see Carver Junk Company's furniture and decor in a real home setting. Seeing our refinished, antique and vintage furniture in the warehouse setting of our store locations can make it tough to envision them in an actual home. So, we partnered with local builders to bring our stuff into a new construction home, and CJC at HOME was born.
View previous event photos & updates: Spring 2016, Fall 2016
We're excited to announce our Spring 2017 CJC@HOME event, running April 21-23 in the South Metro! The housing market is hot right now [congrats to those of you selling homes!] so the exact location is subject to change up to two weeks before the event [in case one of our Builder's homes sells]. Tickets will be mailed one week before the event, and the exact address will be included on the tickets as well as posted online.
Our inspiration for Spring 2017 is Bohemian Farmhouse. An interesting mix, for sure, and we're excited to show you how to pull it off! The style includes a ton of textures, natural elements like greenery, wood tones, rattan, mixed metals and soft textiles. Antique rugs (turkish, oriental, etc) in bold colors will be featured, along with a mix of mid-century modern, industrial, and antique furniture.
Take a peek at our Inspiration images from Pinterest, and follow us on Instagram at @cjcathome for photos of the actual items heading to the event! Tickets are available for purchase at http://www.cjcathome.com. We hope you'll join us!
Carver Junk Company started out four and a half years ago in a 300-sq ft space with a month-to-month lease. Our goals were to create a store that appealed to people like us, that was open one weekend a month, and to fill our "spare" time with a hobby we could work on together. I wish I could remember how those conversations sounded. "It's 18 hours a month. It'll be fun!" "It's an excuse to go to flea markets! And we'll have a place to sell all the things we find, so we don't turn into hoarders!" We lasted four months in that 300 sq ft space before we outgrew it. We moved a half block up the street into a bigger space, we found some equally-crazy and motivated vendors to join us, and opened our doors. A year later, with a baby on the way, we knew we couldn't keep moving dozens and dozens of furniture pieces up and down treacherous stairways every month. We moved. Again. This time, 2 full blocks up the street, into our current location. In 2014, we heard a demand for a CJC location that was open more often, and closer to many of our customers, so we opened a second location in Mpls. Each time, our business was busting at the seams, and our demand had outgrown the space we had. And this time is no different. Yes, this time...we're moving again! We've loved our time in Carver. The town is charming - it's why we live here, in the same historic downtown area. The members of the community are amazing, and have been incredibly supportive of our small business. We're moving because we need more space, and it's not available in our little downtown Carver. We're looking forward to almost double our square footage and a dedicated workshop space where we can share our passion for DIY with more people via more classes! We're moving because Chaska feels as much like home to us as Carver has been. Chad grew up in this area, living in Chaska from the time he was born through middle school. The building we're moving to is a historic bank in downtown Chaska. It's the same historic main street where he grew up riding his bike with friends. We're moving because the future of downtown Carver feels uncertain, and the focus of the City government is on growing the community far from its center. We're moving to a downtown that's actively working on revitalization and growth, and we know our current customers and our supportive Carver community will love the new space as much as we do! Our beautiful new building features 13-ft ceilings, exposed brick, natural wood work, the original bank vault (which will be a part of our sales floor space!) and a light, bright interior. It's the perfect fit for modern, industrial farmhouse style. We can't wait to show it off to you in May, at our Grand Opening! We still intend to be open one weekend [plus maybe an extra day] each month, along with the other occasional stores in Chaska. We're beyond excited to be joining a group of existing businesses that started this occasional market. They're unique, local shops that support dozens of other local makers. They focus on remaining unique, supporting one another, and ensuring that their products are complementary to one another. It feels like the perfect home for CJC! Thank you all for making this possible, for helping us continue to grow, expand and push our boundaries. Our customers remind us, again and again, when we take on crazy projects that push us far beyond our original goals for this business, that we have so much support and love! Chad, Brandy, and the CJC team! Visit the Carver store for our Grand Finale: March 16th - 19th, 10 am - 4 pm each day. We won't have a "store" location in the SW Metro for April, but our Minneapolis store is open 7 days a week, and our CJC@HOME event is April 21-23rd in Apple Valley!
Before you block me....we're not bringing out the Christmas decorations just yet...
We have launched our Holiday Gift Guide for this year, though! We know it's a bit early, but we really wanted to give a printed gift guide to every CJC@HOME attendee, as a little added bonus for attending our event!
We've been searching, sourcing, and bringing in handmade and gift items for the last few months, and this year we're really excited about sharing them with you in both a printed and online guide. The process was really fun to go through as a team. We worked with our current team of vendors to create some items for us, we brought back a few best-sellers from previous years, and we sought out a ton of new, exciting items from local makers as well!
Here are just a few of the items we're bringing you this holiday season! More available in our online gift guide {and more being added this week!}
In addition to being able to purchase almost all of the gift guide items online {we're not shipping the blanket ladders, sorry...,} you can also find all of the items in both Carver Junk Company stores! Our Minneapolis store is open 7 days a week through the holidays, and our Carver store is occasional - meaning we open around 4-6 days each month. To make it easier, here's a peek at the upcoming events for the Carver location:
Lemonade Event. October 19th, 5 - 6 pm {cjc@home Sunday ticket holders only}. 6 - 8 pm {everyone!}
CJC Fall Vintage & Handmade Market October 20th - 23rd, 10 am - 4 pm each day. Food truck on Saturday, and we restock the store daily! RSVP on Facebook to see photos as we bring in new stock.
CJC November Holiday Market - One Day Only! November 5th, 10 am - 4 pm. Hunting season opener just happens to be our busiest in-store event every year. Probably not a coincidence, but we suggest you line up early {we'll provide the coffee}!
