don't hate us 'cause we're beautiful!
Meet
the J
B gals
(Julie and Brenda), who had a desire to earn an income without giving up too
much time with children. They had a love of old things, which led to
the creation of Shabby Bouchique - a once a month sale of antiques, painted
furniture, vintage pieces, and this-and-thats. The first sale was held
August 2001 in a little shop located on the property of Julie Adams.
Furniture and dishes spilled out into the yard under the cottonwood trees.
By September, Brenda Schwager's finding and buying ability doubled the previous inventory. It was
obvious that when colder weather hit, Shabby Bouchique would not be able to
fit into the tiny little shop.
A new plan was born and the October sale was held in the old, falling down
barn on the same property and a following was beginning to develop. Growth
continued through the winter and hearty, determined customers braved the
cold in the un-heated and sometimes
down-right breezy barn.By May of 2002, cars were lined up down the country road and lines formed along the driveway with customers waiting for Shabby's 10:00a.m. open. In July, people were visiting and sharing shopping stories during their wait. The August sale began the funny and dangerous phenomenon of people running to the barn while screaming and laughing. One woman even swung her purse over her head like a lariat while letting out a loud "whoo-hoo." This phenomenon continued through the last of the season sale in November. Brenda and Julie were smarter that year and closed for the winter.
By the following season, a new barn
replaced the old and JB Knacker replaced Shabby Chic. 'J B
Knacker' - a
combination of the friend's first initials and the word "knacker", meaning a
buyer of old structures for their parts
- seemed the perfect choice.
In November, 2005, JB Knacker moved into the old General Store in Gilbert,
Iowa. The gals took possession November 1st and were opened 14 days
later. Remodeling, painting,
stocking and decorating in record time.
