After successful run in Cambria, Junk Girls moving to pop-up shop in downtown SLO
Junk Girls, a business that salvages discarded items and gives them new life, is moving to downtown San Luis Obispo after 3 1/2 years in Cambria.
The store will occupy the old Muzio's building at 870 Monterey St. with a planned soft opening May 25 under a one-year pop-up agreement with the owner, Jamestown Properties.
Over the past few years, the business owned and operated by Jenny Kompolt and Melissa James set up shop in a section of the Shops at the Garden Shed at 2024 Main St. in Cambria, using indoor and outdoor space at the site.
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"We're giving up a wonderful little backyard, and it’s a lovely setting in a charming location in Cambria," Kompolt said. "But we think it's an incredible opportunity to be able to move to downtown SLO, and we hope to build up enough momentum to be able to stay beyond a year. We're throwing ourselves 100 percent into this new venture."
Kompolt declined to reveal how much the lease price is at the Monterey Street location.
Kompolt said Therese Cron, Jamestown's regional leasing director, approached them with the idea for the pop-up, adding Cron "believes in our brand and what we're doing."
Their last day in Cambria was May 2.
The Junk Girls make art, lighting, jewelry and furniture from items they find at antique and garage sales, junkyards and metal scrapyards, among other places.
James specializes in metal stamping, while Kompolt focuses on repurposing materials for practical use, or art, including salvaging worn-out tables and making key chains out of spark plugs.
After leaving corporate jobs at Netflix and eBay, Kompolt and James started their business in 2009, hitting the vintage trade-show circuit and operating out of a warehouse thereafter.
They cut back on shows once they established their Cambria location. They do some online commerce.
Customers may request personalized jewelry, key chains and art. Slogans on metal stamps have included messages such as "Be You Bravely," "Dream," "Courage" and "F# Cancer!"
Junk Girls art decor has been displayed in professional sports stadiums, including Levi Stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers play, and Lambeau Field, home to the Green Bay Packers, through their association with the Sports and the Arts organization based in Nipomo.
The Junk Girls hope to inspire and promote happiness, drawing on challenges they've overcome in their personal lives.
Kompolt has battled severe anxiety and depression, and art therapy has helped her through tough times; restoration and revitalization has business and personal value.
"One of the things we hear the most is we inspire people and encourage them to do what makes them happy," Kompolt said.
This story was originally published May 14, 2018 at 12:05 PM with the headline "After successful run in Cambria, Junk Girls moving to pop-up shop in downtown SLO."