Carver Junk Company: Dealer Spotlight: White Butterfly Furniture, and Owner Kirsten

So you're wondering how the heck we pull off finding & refinishing & making all those handmade items each month? We don't do it alone, that's for sure. We are so proud to have an amazing, incredible, talented team of people behind the Carver Junk Company brand. They each have a different style, personality, and strength that they bring to the team, and we want to let you get to know them all a little better!

We're writing up a series of Dealer Spotlights. The first few that we share will be focused on our "dealers" -the folks that regularly and religiously fill space in our stores, re-stock new pieces as things sell, support our crazy ideas, expansions, and who have become our friends through the journey that has been CJC. We'll also feature the artisans that bring in a few perfect pieces here and there, and that make all of those one-of-a-kind handmade-in-MN items for which we've become known. There are over 40 different individuals and businesses that come together behind the scenes to create Carver Junk Company.

So let's meet Kirsten {kIRsten, not Kristen. We called her the wrong name the first time we met her, so we're saving you from the same mistake}. We asked her a few questions about herself, but what you really need to know is that she's a blogger extraordinaire, a mom of FOUR BOYS, strong for her size, and our dealer who is least afraid to use color on her pieces. Those teal nightstands you all drooled over recently, that sold within 10 minutes of posting on Facebook? Kirsten. The red ones we posted 10 minutes later and sold that night? Kirsten.

Here is the first piece she ever brought in to CJC. We immediately fell in love with it {and her}:

Tell us about yourself:

I'm a wife and mother of four boys. I love to run and bike and lay on the beach with a cold drink. But I never get to do the last one! With four boys and two dogs we are a very active and busy family! There is no resting around here.

How did White Butterfly Furniture get started:

After we moved to Wisconsin from Minneapolis I needed something to do with my down time after having a new baby and two older kids....ha! There was no down time! I was looking for a piece of furniture to fill a space and I happened upon it at Goodwill. I brought it home, taught myself how to reupholster it and on a whim listed it for sale on Craigslist and it sold within twenty minutes. There wasn't anyone really doing this where I lived, so things that I listed kept selling. Then my neighbors started asking me to paint their stuff and find things for them. Eventually people started leaving their junk in front of my garage door and texting me when they saw things on the side of the road! Since we've moved back to Minnesota, Carver Junk has been the greatest thing for White Butterfly! It has kept me searching and hunting and painting.

Where do you find your inspiration:

Of course I look for color inspiration on the internet and magazines But, generally I like to paint how I feel. I don't always paint in white and gray. Sometimes I look at a piece and know that it absolutely needs to be a certain color. And that's how the bold colors happen on my pieces.

What is your favorite thing to collect:

I don't really have a collection of items, but what I love to do is switch out pieces that I do have. Nothing in our house stays the same. Things come and go and furniture arrangements change constantly. And walls get painted and planked almost weekly {link}. There are a few pieces of furniture that I will never let go of, but for the most part, anything is available in our house! Oooh. I have started a small collection of vintage quilts. The warn and tattered the better!

Do you have a photo/story of a favorite piece you've ever done:

For me, I love the stories that come with pieces. I love to find out about them and then share them with the person that buys it. It makes a piece feel so special to me. Every piece has a story and I love, love, love knowing them.

There are several pieces that I look at and can remember every single thing about it from purchasing to painting to selling. The pieces I love the most are the ones that stressed me out more than anything! They literally have my blood, sweat and tears in them. They usually start out as something completely different than what they are intended for. I love transforming something into something else.

The first one is an ottoman. My husband is still angry that I sold it. It was an old coffee table that I changed into an ottoman.

The next one is the first farm table that my husband and I built together. Since then I've made at least half a dozen more on my own.

The last one is a crazy cabinet I picked up at a sale and took the top off added some wheels, corbels and some pine boards and turned it into an island/craft table. I think it was the fastest sale I have ever had after posting!

Editor's note: I {Brandy} actually went to the person's house who was selling this cabinet, with the intent of purchasing it, saw the condition, and decided it was WAY too big of a project to undertake. Two days later, Kirsten sent me these two photos, and I almost died. Some swear words may have come out of my mouth - it's the SAME cabinet, and somehow she turned it into this?! Amazing.