Jami Ray Vintage Grand Opening Shop Tour

Week one of demo is in the books!! We started Tuesday when we got back from California and worked on it every second we weren’t working or with our kiddos. We filled two giant roll off containers and saved a huge pile of 2x4’s trim and spindles. We still have to remove the framing on the stage and we’re taking down the lathe and plaster ceiling to open it up to the beams above. But demo is so close to being done. To see what the space looked like before and how we took it all down be sure to watch our next video on Monday! We’re sharing all the demo details . Thanks to everyone who has supported, shopped our website and watched our videos. We’re exhausted but oh so thankful to be able to live our dream and work side by side. And we’re so excited to be headed to England next week for our 20th wedding anniversary. Can’t wait to film and share all we learn about junkin in the UK.  

This is the stage facing the front door. We still have so long to go before we open. But a couple of the huge projects are done and cleaned up. The old giant flagstone fireplace is out (I’m excited to build a prettier smaller fireplace), and the old ceiling tiles and lath and plaster are gone. So much shoveling and sifting through the demo. We saved a huge pile of lathe that we will wash and process and use for projects. I don’t want to talk about all the rat poop we hauled out. Let’s just say I am glad that I was wearing an N95. This church is super old and poop just comes with the territory. I’m starting to see what a beautiful store this will be. It’s not a fancy cathedral type church. From its very beginning it’s been a simple house of God. I hope that we can honor this building. I also hope that it can be a place that brings comfort to all who enter. I’m excited to teach classes here and bring my love of creation in. We are planning on using the land to grow a huge garden, raise our chickens and sheep and maybe even plant some fruit trees. When I come here I feel the peace of all the pioneers who worked hard to build it, who worshiped here and who loved this land. It’s a special place. And even though we are in the middle of the hard work phase, I can’t help but give thanks for this work. It just feels good. I love it!  

We are making progress!!  Lighting is up and working in the chapel. And the floor is stripped. We still have to do the finish sand and a million other little things. But oh my I love it all.  Slowly this place is turning into our shop. It’s all so exciting and also exhausting 

I took this picture last night. Zeb wanted dinner, so I went home and made a gluten free pizza. When I brought it back for him to eat this is how he ate it. It’s an accurate representation of how we feel. But even though we’re exhausted we’re so close and it’s looking so good. I told him I feel like we were more energetic when we did our house, we worked longer hours. Zeb told me, he was in his 30’s then. I told him we have 10 years of these types of projects, I’m not doing this in my 50’s. If you’re still here in 10 years you can remind me I said this when we are still doing projects together in our 50’s. We joke a lot about how hard this is. And the truth is, it’s exhausting. But also it’s rewarding and such an amazing way to work together. In the end we pray a lot and it’s a huge faith builder. To trust that we do all we can and the Lord makes up the rest. Yesterday there were three miracles, first one was that I had enough thread to finish the curtains I was sewing for the office I thought for sure I would run out and I really didn’t have time to buy more so I prayed. The second was that we don’t have to add light up exit signs, aside from ruining the beautiful old window and entrance to the church, it would have been an entire day project and we don’t have time. And third there was the most beautiful sunset, a reminder that the best beauty isn’t man made. Today we were up before the sun with the youth at the temple and we drove home to see the sunrise. 

I scored this mantle on FB Marketplace for $100. I am so excited to start doing some of the pretty finishing work on the church. We tore out a huge 80’s flagstone fireplace and I’m so happy to put something a little slimmer and prettier up. I can’t wait to style it for the holidays. 

Are you scared of Dark Waxing your furniture? I was! We show you how to use dark wax on a mantle for the new shop renovation and we get some paint on the walls with our new paint sprayer! 

We did it! We cut the ribbon and had our grand opening weekend. I can’t even express my thank you to everyone who came to help and everyone who came to shop. We’re exhausted, but our hearts are full.