“Both of us in our homes liked to decorate with vintage and antiques,” Holt says. “We went to a small [vintage] market and we were like, ‘We could totally be selling at one of these. Why don’t we do a booth?’ [We thought] it would be a fun time for us to spend together and for us to have some mommy time away from our kids.”
The small market folded before Holt and Arnold could debut their booth. Undeterred, they launched their own pop-up market – cheekily dubbed Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market – which they advertised on Craigslist and held in a friend’s backyard. On market day, more than 600 people showed up to shop. They knew they’d stumbled upon something big. “We didn’t mean to start a business,” Arnold says. “It just happened.”
In the four years since the inaugural smash, JIT has grown exponentially – 20 percent in attendance each market, Arnold’s husband estimates – and is held twice a year at WestWorld of Scottsdale. This spring marks the first time the market will be held over two days, and Holt and Arnold predict they’ll easily top last fall’s record of more than 10,000 shoppers. It’s become a big business, with the ladies and their families (including their self-proclaimed “glorified intern” husbands) working year-round to plan and promote the markets. They do this primarily through Instagram (@junkinthe trunkvintagemarket), where they highlight their 180-plus vendors and let shoppers know about special activities and competitions, like this year’s “Junk Flip,” modeled after HGTV’s Flea Market Flip.
The administrative duties of running the market haven’t robbed Holt and Arnold of the thrill of the hunt. Holt recently scored a vintage card catalog cabinet, a piece she’d been pining for, at JIT. Arnold doesn’t have a dream piece in mind. She says she’ll know it when she sees it.
“I’ve got a lot of stuff from our market, but I don’t know if I have a Holy Grail piece,” Arnold says. “I’ll find one, I’m sure. My poor husband.”
IF YOU GO
MAY 2 – Early entry at 8 a.m. ($10), general admission 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ($5)
MAY 3 – general admission 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ($5)
WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale, junkinthetrunkvintagemarket.com
