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Store's 'junque' not too shabby

By JODIE TILLMAN
Published January 22, 2007

PORT RICHEY - Down in a low-lying strip mall, near a vacant, run-down building and Fred's discount store, women gasp.

A pink rocking chair! Antique egg holders! Chenille bedspread! Vintage nursery lamps!

Surprise. Tucked away off busy, not-so-attractive Ridge Road is Junk to Junque, a "shabbily chic shoppe" run by longtime friends Ginnie Logan and Donna Bollman.

Located in a former medical office, Junk to Junque is part artsy boutique, part antique shop and is set up as a series of decorated rooms that feel almost like the inside of an English cottage. The women study home decor magazines to come up with touches like hanging silver forks on the walls to hold photographs.

Their inventory - from decorated bird cages to 1950s kitchen canisters to a pink transistor radio - is aimed at women who like the "shabby chic" look.

"Shabby chic is such a cult," said Bollman. "People who like this look make a commitment to it."

Shabby chic is a design style that uses worn or old items to achieve a look that is subtle and elegant, not gaudy or kitschy. Lots of white furniture and heart-shaped pillows and glass doorknobs and weathered mantles.

Though it has been used informally to describe everything from New York apartments to the fashion style of the Olsen twins, "shabby chic," is also a registered trademark of interior designer Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Inc.

Target carries Ashwell's collection of home decor items that are "vintage-inspired," which means they are manufactured to look old.

Logan and Bollman, who opened their shop nearly two years ago, scour flea markets and antique stores to find actual old stuff. Then they clean it and fix it up - not with a glossy, looks-like-new finish but with a stylish, still-looks-old finish. So an antique wooden wardrobe would keep its chipped-paint look.

The women keep a wide range of prices, from around $20 for an end table to hundreds of dollars for hutches.

Their work requires a certain intuition about what pieces of junk have "junque" potential and what pieces of junk are ... junk.

"It's just a feeling," said Bollman, who drives a pink Ford pickup truck with "Junk to Junque" on the side to drum up business. "It's the thing you can't teach anybody."

Bollman and Logan met through their daughters nearly 15 years ago. Their friendship revolved around the girls, flea markets and bargain hunting.

They finish each other's sentences and trigger each other's memories with obscure references to their teenage daughters' early childhood toys.

Both women decorate their own homes in the shabby chic tradition, though they have some differences. Bollman concerns herself with simple, functional pieces. Logan admits to a love of knickknacks and doilies.

They call themselves the female version of the Odd Couple. Bollman is Oscar. Logan is Felix.

"We were either Siamese twins in a former life, or married," Logan said.

Bollman has worked in furniture design and later ran sports shops. Logan has worked as a travel agent and waitress, and her husband, Bill, ran a golf course in Hudson.

A few years ago, the two friends started talking about opening a business. When Logan's husband sold his business, they decided the time was right.

"We just didn't want to be going on 50," said Logan, "and say 'Why didn't we try?' "

So far, the women say they are breaking even at the Ridge Road location, which they chose for its affordable rent.

By their own account, they need to reach a higher-income market, women who live in places like Dunedin, shop at Talbots and appreciate the look of what Bollman calls "quiet money."

So far they have mainly attracted shoppers who pay $80 for a piece of furniture, for instance, but don't buy much more than that.

But the women say that people who are committed to the look would travel from Dunedin or Palm Harbor if they knew about Junk to Junque. So they're trying to get the word out, starting a Web site and working with area interior decorators.

"If we can survive for two years off Ridge Road in a gully," said Logan, "I think we'll be okay."

Fast Facts:

Junk to Junque

The shop is located at 6910 Ridge Road across from the RaceTrac gas station. Its Web site is www.junktojunque.com.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 23:34:01]