Junk Bonanza welcomes Parker & West!
Name:
Sarah Hardy
Marcia Hardy (goes by Mrs. Parker)
Business name:
Parker & West
Live in/Business located:
Portland, OR
Your style in three words:
quirky vintage Americana
On your junking bucket list:
Mrs. Parker & Sarah:
An entire summer to drive around the country junking. And perhaps the chance to poke around some of the country houses featured in the British show “Salvage Hunters.”
You knew you were a junker when…
Mrs. Parker:
I was pregnant and I had to tell my doctor that my due date wouldn’t work for me because I was doing a show that weekend. It didn’t go over well. Sarah somehow knew that the original due date was inconvenient because I did the show and she was born 72 hours after the show closed.
Sarah:
I turned twenty-five and realized that it was already time for me to downsize (I haven’t done it yet).
Best all-time junking find:
Mrs. Parker:
Love! Sometimes the best thing at a sale doesn’t come with a price tag.
You wish you would never have parted with…
Mrs. Parker:
…my beat up old Corolla station wagon. I started my junking career in that car. We had a lot of great adventures together and I cried when I traded it in.
Sarah:
…every bit of furniture that I couldn’t transport before I bought my station wagon. Hint: a good old station wagon is obviously the key to successful junking.
Bringing to the Bonanza:
An eclectic mix of primitive and whimsical items. Some practical and others decorative. We like things that look like they’ve had a life and a story. Many of the goods we sell embody the Japanese aesthetic of wabi wabi — old and sometimes primitive items that are imperfect but with an inherent charm and beauty.
You never junk without…
Mrs. Parker:
…my lucky estate sale Dr. Martens boots that Sarah found for me in a thrift shop.
Sarah:
…a screw driver and my 1991 Volvo station wagon named Nancy Drew (I like to think she sleuths out the best junk).
In your garage: cars or junk?
Mrs. Parker:
Fortunately I am not faced with that dilemma because someone converted my garage to living space and now it’s filled with junk.
Sarah:
I live in an apartment, so no garage, but I will say that every square inch of my apartment and storage space is filled with junk. I’m definitely a maximalist.
No one would ever guess you…
Mrs. Parker:
…store junk in my dishwasher.
Sarah:
…don’t own a TV because it interferes with my apartment’s vintage aesthetic.
Your junking holy grail:
Mrs. Parker:
Glass doll eyes. Last summer we found hundreds of pairs of vintage doll eyes and we sold every single one. They were weird, fun, quirky, and functional for doll collectors. People still ask us if we have more.
Junking makes you feel…
Mrs. Parker:
…this question makes me think of a quote I read years ago in Martha Stewart Living magazine: “you go to a flea market to fall in love.” I can’t remember who said it but this quote has helped me understand that junking is all about love. Every time I go junking I feel the pitter patter of my heart.
Sarah:
…competitive! It definitely brings out a different side of my personality, one where I will do whatever it takes to find good junk at a flea market or estate sale.
Find
Email: parkerandwestpdx@gmail.com
Instagram: @parkerandwest, @recordyearforrainfall
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/parkerandwest/
It won’t be long now before we’ll be loving all the junk and junkers at the Clark County Event Center in Ridgefield, WA! We can’t wait to see you there!
Kim
