Ki Nassauer

Tell Ki Nassauer that her career is in the dumpster and she'll deliver a heartfelt "thank you" and an engaging smile. As the original "Junk Lady", Ki has been dubbed the "Martha Stewart of Junk" and "America's most famous junker" in extensive media coverage. Since 2000, Ki has planned and crafted a career out of junk. She has spent the intervening years scouring flea markets, garage sales, surplus stores and the occasional street-side pile of castoffs for raw materials to create her magic, repurposing junk into tastefully inventive and beautiful, functional furniture and household items.

Ki was one of the first to realize the potential revenue possibilities of converting junk into cool stuff. After her "test" garage sale grossed $11,000, she founded JUNKMARKET, operating monthly sales that attracted thousands. With near immediacy, she became a national celebrity with a loyal base of appreciative, like-minded fans.

What followed were a series of successes that included co-authoring Decorating JunkMarket Style and Junk Beautiful, Room by Room Makeovers; a regular column in Country Home magazine; appearances on HGTV's "Country Style" series and the "TODAY" show and hundreds of public appearances nationwide.

In 2008 Ki founded Junk Revolution, a Website with an innovative, grassroots concept brimming with ideas and shared information on the cutting-edge of the junk world. Under the Junk Revolution umbrella, Ki operates Junk Bonanza each September in the rolling countryside outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shopping extravaganza, which attracts more than 10,000 attendees during its three-day run, showcases wares from more than 140 handpicked dealers nationwide who must pass muster for the juried junk show.

Ki is the editor in chief of Flea Market Style, a periodic decorating & lifestyle magazine for Harris Publications that chronicles the beauty and utility of the vintage-inspired life. Each issue of the magazine draws on her deep network of national vintage dealers, artisans, repurposers and junk aficionados to showcase the best in how-to projects, decor and design and shopping for fans of the repurposed.

Ki has also served as a retail consultant to Bachman's, a Minneapolis-based home and garden center, developing a vintage-centric strategy for the retailer and launching its initial Ideas House, a residential showhome featuring vintage and repurposed furniture and decor. Before shifting to a career in junk, Ki owned and operated Ki Clayton, a successful retail clothing store with locations in Florida and Minnesota. She later freelanced in product design for Eddie Bauer Home, Target, and Carter's Kids.

Ki has enjoyed every step along the hike to the top of the junk pile, and preaches the gospel of junk through public appearances and magazine signings. She can be contacted here. She is happily committed to ensuring that repurposing remains sustainable and functional - and always fun.