Review of The Great Junk Hunt [Ventura]

The Great Junk Hunt was held at the Ventura County fairgrounds on Dec 2-3 2022. I tried to gather as much information as possible before going but I never really found a helpful consumer review. I love to fill the gaps, so here's my experience.

I'll start with some background on myself and what I knew about the Great Junk Hunt before going. 

Ardalt, Japan porcelain box

I like to collect vintage items such as old glassware and antique jewelry. I have a few things I look for - depression glass, china made in occupied japan, dragonware, etc. In the jewelry department, my interests are pretty wide. I make jewelry as a hobby and have recently published a book for beginners on wire jewelry making. I tend to really like Victorian era jewelry (mourning jewelry, cameos, lockets, etc) and handmade items such as steel cut beaded purses. 

I love the "finding a needle in a haystack" feeling of discovering something old or of higher value than what I paid. I think that describes most of us junk hunters.

So, the great junk hunt - at least in title - sounds like it's a perfect fit for me.

Antique glass buttons purchased at the Great Junk Hunt - Ventura

Prior to going, I checked out the website and guidelines for vendors for the show. From the pictures, I was really skeptical. It looks really pretty for something that is called a junk hunt. When I think Junk Hunt, I imagine digging through the occasional box and tables crowded with dusty stuff. My favorite place to shop for old stuff is the Topanga Vintage Market and that meets my expectations with a good variety of dusty and curated old stuff. Since I couldn't find a good review of the Junk Hunt, I had to try it for myself.

It was a rainy Friday afternoon and I got suckered into the early bird entrance fee of $20. That is a lot of money just to walk in to a place. Of course, the admission fee was good for both days but I would have had to like it the first day enough to want to go back. Spoiler alert - I didn't. I didn't like it enough and I didn't want to go back. We showed up at opening time, which was 4:00. Had we gone on Saturday afternoon, admission could have been as little as $8. Still higher than I'm used to spending - except for at the Rose Bowl which is HUGE. And the Ventura fairgrounds also charged a $10 parking fee! Ouch.

Here are my thoughts:

First, it should be called a Shabby Chic market, since that is the style and vibe. The show was held in two buildings at the Ventura fairground. The vendor booths were holiday pretty - and it's a requirement to be accepted to the show that you have a booth background and no tents (tents tend to be a standard swap meet/flea market set up). One booth had a vintage third wheel in the background. What?! The point is, there's a lot of effort on the aesthetics for this to be a real junk hunt.

My co-shopper brought a granny cart with her - which is something we always bring on our outings since she bought it at the Rose Bowl swap meet. It's usually pretty important because she likes iron wall decorations and stands. Having a wagon or cart at the Junk Hunt was a big pain in the butt. There were too many people, the aisles were too crowded and there just wasn't enough room to park it close by and shop. I don't even think a large bag or backpack would have been more practical because you would have to worry about bumping into people or stuff.

About the vendors and their wares- ugh, where do I start? I know this is a popular style - but it wasn't really antique or vintage. It's more like weathered crafts. A lot of word signs, old style holiday decorations (not actually old antique decorations), weathered metal, chalk paint, and Boho clothing. To be fair, I don't typically look closely at clothing, but they weren't selected vintage clothes - more like cotton flowy styles in solids and prints. All of the vendor's stuff was very nice, but most of it was not vintage or junk. It's just not what I was looking for based on the name of the event.

There were a few antique dealers of glassware and jewelry, etc - but they were very curated. The antique and vintage vendors knew exactly what they had and charged market prices for their items. My friend and I did buy a few things (the pics are the two items I purchased) - but they're not things that I'll be raving about what a great deal they were. They are, however, quite lovely - but still didn't make up for the $30 I paid in admission and parking.

I'll be honest - I had a good idea what we were going to see from the pictures on their website. I suggest you look at them to get an idea before you go. I hoped that there would be gems hiding among all the 'pretty' junk, but there weren't any great deals. I also thought it would be larger than it was based on the admission fee. It was a lesson to trust my instincts. At least you have my review to help guide you a little more.