Posts from — March 2010

it’s OFFiCIAL. amie’s hyperventilating, my throat is constricting, and JaniE’s still wishing for a CoRONA. PaNIC has moved into GypSYViLLE. 

7 DaYS leFT and here’s what the AiRSTREAm looked like this morning… 

{INTeRIOR shot- mARCH 9, 2010}

it’s time to ShAKE ‘n BaKE, BABY! A few action shots… 

{SaNDING the barstooLS}

{preppin the BaR for the SaLVAGED cirCUS WhEEL top}

{retro-fitting salvaged tin}

{WooD StaiN for BaR...i LoVE old PainT CaNS...it's a sickness}

{yep y'all...it's an air nibbler}

 TuRNING the floor into a RoLLin’ RoCKSTAR, hONKYtoNKin’ HeaVEN right NOW …(here’s a hint…) 

{it's a GaLLon full 'o HaPPinESS!}

then moving in the salvaged BaR, rusty-crusty tables, roadworthy benches, the FuNKY repurposed SoFA (you gotta see this to believe it!), and MoRE! whew! 

{vinTaGE license PLaTES}

 annnnd Mr. Manthei…our old-school sign painter…

{KeN ManTHEI...makin it happen old school-style}

{RiCK unloading the aiRSTREAm shelves}

MiRaNDA’s parents, RiCK & BeV LamBERT, stopped by for a visit…soooo we did what any gypsy on a tight-impossible-never-gonna-make-it-no-time-to-eat-or-sleep-or-take-care-of-personal-hygeine-schedule would do… 

we took ‘em to the DiXIE CHiCKEN (a moment of silence, please) …for an officially un-OFFiCIAL biz meeting… 

{ThE DiXIE ChiCKEN - our 2nd home}

for a lunch with good friends over a CoLD beeR and a pLATE of TiJUANA friES… 

{TiJUANA FriES...did somebody say it's time to eat?}

SoMEBoDY give me a HaLLELUjAH up in hERE! 

We LoVE the DiXIE CHiCKEN. it’s TeXAS. it’s SouTHERN. it’s irreverent and cozy and CLAssiC. it’s LEgENDARY and to all who have walked through those swinging saloon doors, you know there is no other place like it on EaRTH. but that’s a WhOLE ‘nother blog entry of it’s own… 

{DiXIE chiCKEN-tattered and perfect}

and a stroLL down BoTTLECaP ALLEY as we head back to work… 

{BoTTLECaP ALLEY - beside The DixIE ChiCKEN}

BeV came bearing gifts… 

{AmiE & BeV}

WiNE from the ReD 55 WiNERY…MiRANDA’s own private LaBEL…does it get any better? ThE DiXIE ChiCKEN, TijuaNA FrieS, good friends, and eAST teXAS WinE??!!  HALLELuJAH & AMEN! 

and now…BaCK to WoRK! SHAkE ‘n BaKE, bABY! ShAKE ‘n BaKE!!!!! 

and oh yeah…. 

{yep, you got it ..."HoMEMADE cuRTainS, just LikE a gypSY..."}

In tribute to all the ROadside bars, seedy dives, and backROAD dancehalls that have inspired MiRaNda LamBErt along the way, she’s decided it’s time to hit the AmERICAN highways … like a troubadour cowgirl on the run.   

{MiRANDA @ GruENE HALL}

 With an old suitcase filled with her best worn-out jeans, her cleanest dirty shirts (and of course, her JunK GyPSY gear), and her PinK guitar slung over her back she’s going back to her music roots…BaCK to all the beauty, character, and soul those iconic bars hold within their legendary walls and on their old creaky dance floorS.   

{GRuENE HALL - one of MirANDA's & our favorite danceHaLLS}

Soooo before she hits the road, we gypsies are decking out a 1953 FLYinG CLOUD AiRSTREAM!   

{MiRANDA's new tin can on WhEELS}

 WE’vE got 9 days to turn this SiLVER buLLET into a hip-hoppin, honky-tonkin’ happenin ParKIN LoT saLOOn for MiranDa’s new tour, RoADSIDE bARS & PinK GuiTARS!!

{ThE EAgLE is landing.}

 A QUiCK & DiRTY history of how this all came to be…

• sooo, we randomly came up with the tour name for MiRANDA years ago..
• then…MiRANDA wrote ‘THE AirSTREAM SONG’ for us…
• then…we designed the logo for the tour which has an AiRSTREAM front and center on the art
• then…she decided she needed an OFFICIAL airSTREAM on her tour that we aptly named
• then we all decided we needed to deck it out JunK GypsY StyLe

And a little more to get you up to speed on aiRSTREAM renovation progress…here’s a quick glance at a few before shots…

{before shot- gutted}

{another interior- getting ready to paint...}

Annnd some progress shots…

{PainTING the interior}

 So FaR, we’ve painted the inside MeTALLIC turQUOISE. yep, METALLIC…it is sooo rockin’!

we saw it, we loved it, we had to have it.

 Here’S the SoFA…salvaged 1800′s piece from HeCTOR the COLLecTOR years ago.

{before shot-SOFa}

 StAY TunED…we’ve GoT biG pLANS for this baby!

annnnnd other RaNDOM pieces of HaPPINESS filling thE warehouse waiting their turn in the FLyING CLouD…

{PiNK FLaMINGOs-yeah, baby!}

annnd…

{GLiTTER viNYL!}

 a salvaged CiRCUS game WHEEL 

{CiRCUS gaME WHeeL}

…seriously, WHO doesn’t need one of these?  AND a 1960 CaDILLAC grILL

{hello Mr.CaDILLAc grill...you complete me}

  and soooo much more stuff you’re gonna loooove! 

StAY TunED! NeXT, on the AiRSTREAM CHronICLES…

-RiCK & BeV LamBERT, us, the DiXIE ChiCKEN, and TiJUANA FriES

-bar installation, circus wheel, and FLooR!

The way I see it, life is a beautiful adventure. 

a WiLD, MagiCAL, ChaoTIC, madly-beautifully-unplanned adventure.                  

There is something great and inspiring and liberating about hitting the open road…driving with the windows rolled down, Janis Joplin cranked up, letting your hair and all your worries blow in the wind…in search of something new. Something different. Something yet to be discovered out there in the wild blue yonder.                  

{JaNIE, AMiE, & JoLIE at the ArKANSaS farm circa 1980}

That’s how we, my mom-Janie…she’s the relentless, never-say-die fanatic of all things junky, my sister-Amie…the eclectic, wild-at-heart creative soul, and myself-Jolie…the spirited southern girl with a rock n’ roll cornbread soul, got caught up in a business that has taken our lives down a path we never could have planned for. There were no stodgy business plans for this ride . . . just grassroots dreams and starry-eyed faith!       

We set out to find a great business, but instead found a great life.                    

It all started long, long ago in a one-light town – Overton, Texas. OuR little MayBeRRY…where the twang is as thick as the gossip, the folks are friendly, and the football field is a spiritual experience.

{JunKIN at the WaRRENTOn AntiQUES show}

We are THE JUNK GYPSIES and we reside in our junky little town of Gypsyville …The raucous and rowdy home of gypsies, junkers, dreamers, and true-blue rebels across the globe! We believe every man’s trash is truly our treasure, junking is a way of life, and garage sales are our Rodeo Drive. We’d rather be at a fleamarket collecting chippy-peely cast-offs than anywhere else. That’s what we do. We find character and charm in unlikely pieces and then chaotically and beautifully mix them with other found objects and vintage elements to create our own unique JUNK GYPSY style. It’s a little bit hippie, a little bit rock n’ roll, and a whole lot of repurposed Junk Gypsy flair!                   

{AmiE & JoLIE cleanin out the cobwebs!}

 We began in 1998 with $2000, a beat-up pick-up truck, and our share of blood, sweat, and tears, selling vintage fineries, roadside treasures, and custom-designed clothing.      

{OuR fiRST set o' wheels for junkin...}

{AmiE & DaD in the early days...}

 Our journey hasn’t always been easy, we’ve taken a few wrong turns and hit a few roadblocks along the way BUT we have fought from the trenches with our never-say-die attitude and always DREAMED big!      

{LoaDIN trailers in tha mud....}

We believe in loving what you do and doing what you love…in learning something from every pitstop and every path along the way. We believe in the beautiful, wild human spirit and that it only grows richer and stronger day after day, year after year. We believe in big love and big dreams. We believe in family. And above all of this, we believe in BELIEVING.                   

{JaNie takin a midnight ride}

So head on over to Gypsyville – take a Greyhound bus or a midnight train ride. . . just get there some way, somehow cause it just might change your life!                   

And then with a little wanderlust in your soul and a rebellious gleam in your eye. . . take a magic carpet ride through our wild and spirited world!   

To all of you…WELCoME HoME!                

**NeXT on our RaMBLINGS from the RoaD…ThE MiRANDA LAMBERT-JuNK GypSY AiRSTREAM ChRONICLES**

CLiCK here for a viDEO preview!           

{MirANDA LamBERT's AiRSTREAM-gettin' gypsy-fide!}