I was so excited when my friend Jennifer Hauck posted the big news that she was opening an occasional sale this month called House of J in Superior, WI.
An occasional sale, for those of you not familiar, is one in which the store is only open a limited number of days per month - usually just one weekend. The other three weekends the shop owner devotes to hitting other sales pulling together new items and new displays for the next open weekend, repurposing items into brand new uses, even painting and reupholstering furniture, so that each time you visit, it is like going into a brand new store.
I am quite fond of occasional sales. I've been a frequent customer at the sales in Buffalo, Carver, and even Lindstrom when we lived up there.
Jennifer is one of those incredibly creative people that makes you wish you could just absorb some of her creativity by being in the same room with her. We met when our girls were just babies, and I was always so impressed that she looked like she came off the cover of the latest fashion magazine, despite having a limited budget at the time.
I loved visiting her and seeing what new ideas she had for making her house a "home." I remember the adorable little valance dancing across her kitchen window that she said she spied on a skirt on a clearance rack, and which she then magically transformed into her window treatment.
Hers was the first home I had ever seen with a room in which one wall was painted dark red. You could see this wall through the front picture window as you drove by, and it just made you want to come inside and see the rest of the room (which was decorated very chic!).
She always had lots of beautiful photographs of her kids framed in all kinds of unusual ways, and her way of repurposing common objects into household art astounded me.
I knew when she announced her newest creative endeavor that she would be putting together a wonderful store. Her pictures here, posted on House of J's Facebook page, teased me regarding what was to come.
I wasn't disappointed. A small crowd had gathered outside the store when it opened, and a flood of shoppers quickly filled the space inside. I was impressed with the variety and quantity of goods in a range of prices (something for every wallet!), and Jennifer's artistic eye could be seen in everything from the chic prints gracing the reupholstered furniture to the local artist's work displayed on the walls.
I found a few items for myself and could have taken a lot more home with me had I not been driving the little Civic.
If you're lucky enough to find yourself in the neighborhood of Superior, WI this summer, I hope that you'll check her calendar (posted on her website - link above) and pop in when her shop is open.
Tell her I sent ya. And give her a big hug from me.
Are you a fan of occasional sales? If so, which ones do you frequent most often?
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