In an unexpected pivot, the havoc wrought on Hollywood's production processes were a lifeline for Junket in 2020: when WB/HBO decided to film in a quarantine bubble, sourcing props and set dressing became a major issue for folks on location who couldn't leave set, even if there had been accessible prop and vintage shops available nearby.
It was a blast to learn more about the inner workings of an industry I've never adequately appreciated until I found myself in the thick of sending hundreds of wooden hangers, old letters, and kitchen items to Detroit for a film set in 1955. The Junior Shopkeeper/Propkeeper was starry eyed as she learned that David Harbour (a fave by way of having binge-watched Stranger Things) Might Actually Have Touched things that we'd sent to the set from our house.
Spring 2021 brought another film, this one set in 1987, and feet were set to fire as the project's prop master reached out just as I was consulting with an estate heir about what he might possibly do to avoid throwing away several decades of long-expired food and supplies in the pantry of a three generation estate.
A Victorian era project slated for late this year failed to materialize (a bummer for all involved), and while preparing left me up to my ears in antique papers and textiles, it justified saving another truckload of contents from the 100 year estate... items that I'd not have been able to share with our community of creatives if I hadn't been put up to that project at juuust the right time... so there's a certain excitement about knowing that ALL of the 19th century content is old enough to be in the public domain... my scanner is waiting for a shifting of seasons and a chance to sit down and share the good stuff with you.
It's been an interesting tail-over-kettle experience to go from the hyper-locality of running a neighborhood shop for half a decade to an abrupt shift to mostly far-flung strangers: while we had prop stylists and the occasional rock star show up at the shop, I never had a good way to keep tabs on these details or stay in touch, unless someone else clued me in to a visitor of note (almost always after the fact).
I'm intrigued by the idea of being able to channel the detritus of downsized lives into creative industry at scale, and will be curious to nurture this as we collectively reckon with the escalating impacts of failing to prioritize where we spend an increasingly limited global emissions budget.
All of that's to say that if you used to shop Junket for props and set dressing and we've been out of touch since the shop closed, I'd love to talk shop again. Rumor has it I have an uncanny knack for supplying historically accurate life layer. ;)