“Sometimes I look like the Clampetts driving down the road,” laughs Gail Helmer, a Brainerd “junker” whose latest mission in life is to save unwanted items from the going to the dump and instead finding new life in a garden, lawn, or whatever space needs a little more decoration and color. She spends her summers sifting through estate sales and flea markets, before loading up an odd assortment of kitchen, barn, industrial, and ladies’ accessories into the back of her pickup and hauling her found treasures home. She does, indeed, look a bit like a woman from Missouri lost in the lanes of Beverly Hills. All she’s missing is Granny, riding in the back on a rocking chair. 

In her workshop, Gail has a pile of dairy stanchions stacked in the corner, waiting for her to weld on legs. There are bits of old tin cans, cut and waiting to be twisted into a one-of-a-kind flower sculptures, and dozens of coffee pots, lined up on a nearby table. “My husband laughs that my hobby pays for itself,” Gail says. “Whatever money I make, I end up spending at the next garage sale or junk auction.” Gail’s recreations turn silver spoons and forks into wind chimes, dairy stanchions become garden sculptures for hanging pots, tools, or lights. She creates “junk jewelry” by taking apart “vintage bling” from old brooches and costume jewelry and attaching the gemstones to valve handles—a necklace like you’ve never seen. Gail’s family also gets in on the action. “One of my daughters does the tin flower sculptures and my oldest granddaughter—now 14—has been bidding at auctions since she was 5.” 

Gail’s daughter also creates Shrink Art. After painting a discarded plastic container, she heats the piece, shrinking it down into a unique, thick, durable shape. “Everything old can be new again,” Gail says. She’s loading up her cargo trailer now, sliding in art, function, form, and rustic beauty—all available at the Starbuck Vintage & Artisan Market in the Starbuck City Park on August 4 & 5.