(page 44) MAY 2015
THE SCOOP BY KINSEY GUSTAFSON
KOU NT RY J U N K I N ’ If you pull up to a Kountry Junkin’ show, you’ll see lines of people, flannel shirts, and plenty of junk ready to be picked. Kountry Junkin’ started out as a semiannual sale in Rapid City and has grown over the past few years into a brick and mortar storefront and a perfectly imperfect way of life. When Amy Gustafson, the founder of Kountry Junkin’, was asked what her specialty is, she thought about it and replied, “It’s making people happy. Honest to god, that’s what it is.” Her plan to make people happy started in Spokane, Wash. when she was inspired by The Farm Chicks Show. She wanted to bring that same feeling to Rapid City that she felt when visiting the vintage market. “I went back to nursing school for the second time, and once I was finished with that lofty goal I decided it was the perfect time to bring Kountry Junkin’ alive,” said Gustafson. “So I searched for the perfect place to have my show because I needed a place that fit within
the feel of Kountry Junkin’. I needed a unique building that had a country vibe to it and that was also convenient.” That “country vibe” she’s talking about includes vintage items ranging from old barn doors pulled from farmsteads around South Dakota to hand-poured soy candles (Cornbread and Honey is the customer favorite). The next step was to get the vendors, so she put out a call for people who sold vintage items and “unique, rusty, funky junk.” Anything repurposed, shabby-chic, and vintage was welcome. Kountry Junkin’ was launched in May 2013 at the Central States Fairgrounds in the Soule Building. A vin-