Brandy Estrada
Staff Writer
Rain or shine, shoppers made their way to collect vintage items at The Great Junk Hunt event located at the Fairplex in Pomona on Friday and Saturday.
The Great Junk Hunt is an event for vendors to sell their repurposed, one-of-a-kind, collective, vintage and handmade items such as jewelry, furniture, clothing, art, decorations, antiques and more.
Many of the vintage finds at the event were lamp fixtures made of different vintage pieces such as cameras, autographed Dodger seats, reupholstered dressers, vintage trailers, handmade farm-style signs and cow skulls.
Georgette Lopez, owner of Rusty Roots Antiques, sells vintage and handmade items with a rustic flare.
“I promote my ethnicity through the items I sell, such as the wood bowls and the one-of-a-kind cow skulls I make,” Lopez said. “I (have) been doing this for many years, and I got involved with vintage markets in 2014, it is my passion.”
Lopez’s handmade specialty items are her rustic wreaths and cow skulls covered in dried pampas plants and flowers.
The Great Junk Hunt is Lopez’s favorite vintage market to sell her items. Her items can be found on Instagram at @rustyrootsantiques.
Besides antiques and homemade items, Wanderlust Vintage Trailer is a vintage fiberglass trailer restoration business.
Rita Lynn, owner of Wanderlust Vintage Trailer, restores and designs the trailers in different vintage themes for customers. Inside the trailers includes a bed, sink, cabinets and lounge area.
“I started this business for myself as a camper because I was a teacher at the time, and I wanted to budget my travel options that were easier and safer than camping in a tent for a single woman,” Lynn said. “I found that this allowed me to have the freedom to travel.”
Lynn’s business took off when she was invited to showcase her trailer at the largest recreational vehicle show in the country. Lynn has sold her trailers in 25 states and plans to sell more trailers in different sizes.
“We travel all around the country and even out of the country looking for (trailers), and people who have fiberglass trailers already know me, so they have a way of finding me as well,” Lynn said.
Each trailer is designed with the care and creativity of Lynn. Wanderlust Trailers can be found on Instagram at @wanderlustvintagetrailers.
Bryan and Linda Behran, owners of Flip Off Furniture, took vintage to a whole new level with their furniture.
Flip Off Furniture displayed reupholstered vintage dressers with a modern look using light and dark colors.
“What differentiates us from other people is (we are) not just pickers we go with things that have solid quality wood and can be brought back to life,” Bryan Behran said.
The Behran’s find their items at auctions and the side of the road. They put their love into bringing the pieces back to life.
“He likes bringing the furniture to its natural state, and I like to refinish it and customize it,” Linda Behran said about how she and her husband work as a team.
The furniture pieces the Behrans take on are as old as the 1930s, making their furniture timeless and high quality.
With almost three years of experience, the couple started their business during the pandemic and have grown to work full-time with their business. More information and furniture pieces can be found on their Instagram page at @flipofffurniture.
Other than shopping, the event had snacks, refreshments and live music for the guests to enjoy.
Ashley Holtom, Whittier resident, traveled in the rain to enjoy the event with her family even though she still had not bought something just yet.
“I seen lots of rustic (items) that are vintage, and I really liked the rustic decorations for Easter,” Holtom said. “I (will) go back and get stuff, but I like to look around first, then make my final decision.”
The Great Junk Hunt is a two-day event held all over the country. The next hunt will be located in Del Mar Friday and Saturday. For more information on tickets and dates, visit their website at thegreatjunkhunt.com.
Brandy Estrada can be reached at brandy.estrada@laverne.edu.
Brandy Estrada is a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Abelina J. Nuñez, senior journalism major, is a photography editor for Campus Times and staff photographer for La Verne Magazine. She previously served as LV Life editor, arts editor social media editor and staff writer. In Fall 2023, Nuñez was La Verne Magazine's editor-in-chief and was previously a staff writer as well. Her work can be found on Instagram @abelinajnunezphoto.
