MEET THE MAKERS
Jenny & Melissa
The JunkGirls was founded in 2009 and was born out of Art Therapy for Jenny, and Melissa’s love for all things handmade. After 18+ years in the corporate world, we decided to put our collective skills together and build a brand that was meaningful to ourselves and make a difference in the world. Both Artists & Designers, we, along with our Team, create over 70% of the items we sell using found, vintage, recycled and antique objects We started our journey in our garage, doing vintage shows and craft fairs and have grown into our retail destination offering Workshops, Corporate Events with more growth on the horizon.
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Meet Jenny
Meet Jenny:
As the Creative Director of the JunkGirls brand, Jenny works with Melissa and the Team to create a unique and meaningful experience – in our retail destination, our workshops, our social media and more. In addition, Jenny creates the art, lighting, sculptures and furniture out of found, recycled, vintage and antique items. In her corporate career, she was the Creative Director for Netflix, in Account Management at eBay in Partner Marketing, Co-Founded Kompolt, a Promotional Agency, which raised over $22 million for Charity during her 10 years at the helm and owned JWK Design Group, a graphic design company. With her corporate & creative experience and her journey with Art Therapy, JunkGirls was born. Here’s her story in her own words:
“In 2008, I was forced to deal with my debilitating Anxiety and Depression, which was brought on by a difficult childhood, multiple traumas and PTSD. I had lost all hope and knew if I didn’t seek help, I wasn’t going to make it. I was very fortunate to find a gifted & safe Therapist who helped me put myself back together using many methods including, her specialty, Art Therapy.. When she asked me what art medium I wanted to use, nothing appealed to me except for my fondness of found & vintage objects, so I thought Assemblage Art might be a good place to start. You see, as a little girl, when things were scary, I would hide in the creek behind my house and search for treasures; a special rock, rusted metal, a beautiful leaf, some tumbled pottery, and then save those treasures in little boxes, which I would carry with me to feel safe. In Art Therapy, my Therapist and I would start with a keyword or theme and I would create art using found and vintage objects that I’d collected at flea markets, salvage yards, estate sales, as a process, one step at a time. Through my therapy, I found the way to see the good in something damaged, old and common and give it new life as something unique & beautiful, much like how I’ve grown to see myself. That process of discovery is what I still do to this day with each piece of art, lamp, sculpture or piece of furniture I make. My journey has not been easy but I am proud of what I’ve become and it has been my greatest reward to work with Melissa and our Team to build the JunkGirls into the brand experience I’m so very proud of.
In addition to the Art, Lighting, Sculpture & Furniture she creates for the JunkGirls store, Jenny’s art is featured in the 49er’s Levi’s Stadium Art Collection, the Green Bay Packer’s Lambeau Field Art Collection, the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, several restaurants and many private homes.
SEE JENNY'S WORK
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Meet Melissa
As the Co-Founder of JunkGirls, Melissa’s works closely with Jenny on brand experience to include teaching several of our Workshops, is responsible for the hugely popular Metal Stamping and is the creative behind the M. E. James watercolor line. Here’s her story in her own words:
“I have always been a “Maker.” I started at an early age learning from my Mother - everything from needlepoint to quilting to soap making, crafting and painting. My mother taught me to appreciate the process, to trust my judgement and think outside of the box. After college at Cal Poly, I worked in merchandising and customer service with Macy’s and GAP which helped prepare me for my first “career” in Graphic Design & Production. I worked in several graphic design firms in Production, ultimately leading to my position in the Marketing Department at eBay as the Production Manager. I worked at eBay at the same time as Jenny and then Co-Founded Kompolt, a Promotional Agency we built that managed high-profile auction campaigns, using eBay as the platform and raising millions of dollars for Non-Profits. I credit my time in corporate to hone my skills and ultimately figure out what I really wanted to do in my life. In 2009, when Jenny asked me if I’d join her in creating JunkGirls, I knew I found what I was looking for. I never thought my metal stamping would turn into such an important part of our business, but with background in design and my ability to typeset using primarily antique and vintage machinist’s punches, it has become a big part of the look and feel of our JunkGirls brand. I’m also a water color artist and we recently launched my line of greeting cards, prints, towels, stickers and more using my favorite designs under my name, M. E. James. Building the JunkGirls with Jenny has been an important part of my journey as a person - I'm so lucky to have the ability to be creative and use my skills to give back to others. “
