She Repurposes Old Farm Stuff For Her “Barn Store”
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“There are a lot of things that people would normally throw away that I can turn into beautiful, and often functional, pieces of art for a home or garden,” says Jamie Steffl, who used her artistic skill to create a part-time business in 2012 that she calls The Barn Store. It’s located in a cleaned and renovated building on her family’s farm near Clements, Minn.
“Doing this is where I can fulfill my dream of artistry, beyond my regular job as a high school art instructor,” Steffl says. During spring and summer months her days are filled attending auctions, visiting antique shows, and rummaging through old farm yards with neighbors. She takes her treasures back to her studio, located in a cleaned and converted hog shed. There she polishes them up and adds her special artistic charm to make something new and useful again.
When asked how she describes what she does, Steffl fittingly uses the acronym F.A.R.M. That stands for Find, Alter, Repurpose and Make. Her store has a wide range of vintage home décor made from re-purposed furniture, tools, mirrors, metal containers, baskets and an assortment of other items. She also offers handmade signs, jewelry, vintage aprons and bags, goat milk lotion, alpaca fur, pillows and original paintings. Jams, pumpkins, gourds and many other items are available in September.
Steffl prepares several months for her early summer and fall sales events, and business has been brisk. Regular customers are quick to line up when the doors open to see what she’s created. Her June, 2016 “Back to Business” sale marks the 5-year anniversary of The Barn Store.
Although The Barn Store is Steffl’s pride and joy, she doesn’t do all the work alone. She invites other rural artists to bring in their own creations as well. Her 3 older children enjoy going to auctions and antiquing with her, and one of her teenage girls even takes after her mom with some of her own hand made signs to sell. In 2016 a new baby is also part of her busy schedule.
Steffl says her farmer husband and the three older children are all supportive of The Barn Store and the time it takes to prepare items for sale. “We all work together to meet each other’s goals. Farming is a family business, and so is The Barn Store.” Steffl is proud to say “The Barn Store sells things made by people, not by machine. And I always look forward to people visiting the farm and checking out what we have!”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jamie Steffl, The Barn Store, 37479 State Highway 68, Clements, Minn. 56224 (ph 320 491-3702; www.farmfabulosity.com; jamiesteffl@gmail.com)
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She Repurposes Old Farm Stuff For Her “Barn Store” FARM HOME Miscellaneous “There are a lot of things that people would normally throw away that I can turn into beautiful and often functional pieces of art for a home or garden ” says Jamie Steffl who used her artistic skill to create a part-time business in 2012 that she calls The Barn Store It’s located in a cleaned and renovated building on her family’s farm near Clements Minn “Doing this is where I can fulfill my dream of artistry beyond my regular job as a high school art instructor ” Steffl says During spring and summer months her days are filled attending auctions visiting antique shows and rummaging through old farm yards with neighbors She takes her treasures back to her studio located in a cleaned and converted hog shed There she polishes them up and adds her special artistic charm to make something new and useful again When asked how she describes what she does Steffl fittingly uses the acronym F A R M That stands for Find Alter Repurpose and Make Her store has a wide range of vintage home décor made from re-purposed furniture tools mirrors metal containers baskets and an assortment of other items She also offers handmade signs jewelry vintage aprons and bags goat milk lotion alpaca fur pillows and original paintings Jams pumpkins gourds and many other items are available in September Steffl prepares several months for her early summer and fall sales events and business has been brisk Regular customers are quick to line up when the doors open to see what she’s created Her June 2016 “Back to Business” sale marks the 5-year anniversary of The Barn Store Although The Barn Store is Steffl’s pride and joy she doesn’t do all the work alone She invites other rural artists to bring in their own creations as well Her 3 older children enjoy going to auctions and antiquing with her and one of her teenage girls even takes after her mom with some of her own hand made signs to sell In 2016 a new baby is also part of her busy schedule Steffl says her farmer husband and the three older children are all supportive of The Barn Store and the time it takes to prepare items for sale “We all work together to meet each other’s goals Farming is a family business and so is The Barn Store ” Steffl is proud to say “The Barn Store sells things made by people not by machine And I always look forward to people visiting the farm and checking out what we have!” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jamie Steffl The Barn Store 37479 State Highway 68 Clements Minn 56224 ph 320 491-3702; www farmfabulosity com; jamiesteffl@gmail com
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