FLEA, is a collection of fine art, up-cycled furniture, and one of a kind clothing items and other oddities. Not your typical flea market and vintage pieces - but would you expect anything else from Junc? A collection of one-of-a-kind oddities that has been searched for high and low are now at your disposal to covet.
Among the treasured finds that have been unearthed are primitive dolls and puppets; some may call them “creepy,” we prefer to use the time honored term “rad.” There’s vintage and mid-century furniture in all shapes and forms, from chairs of yesteryear to tables that most likely will remind you of the comforts of the past in your present. Plus, Jeffrey Parish is bringing even more of his keen eye for eclectic items with his own handcrafted lamps, re-purposed furniture and other lovelies which are sure to shine the light on his endless creativity and talent. 

Come in and see Flea, a clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous Junc!

Taxidermy is truly an art form, capturing those creatures great and small that have passed over in a state of forever, if you will. And that unique aesthetic is a big reason that I’m so excited that others have expressed a big interest in me carrying this distinctive brand of  art. 
The term  is of Greek origins and means “the arrangement of skin,” which consists of the prepping, stuffing and mounting of animal skins on mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and those that fall under the category of amphibious; the only criteria for this process is that there is a vertebrae intact.
Speaking of that body part, if you've got the spine to forgo a knee jerk reaction to possibly decree this practice as something out of the ordinary, take a moment to consider the exquisiteness of these animals in repose.
There is a reason that so many of these life sculptures are housed in museums and displayed as proud achievements of the hunt; there is beauty in the strange and curious. And that’s why these acquisitions will be  part of my Flea collection, which revels in curiosities. And you come visit the menagerie, including a bob cat, squirrels and a raccoon, at JUNC without the cumbersome price of an annual zoo pass.        

A second chance in life is a sure sign of surviving whatever fate throws your way, via life’s curve balls. 
The same can even be said for furniture that can be given a new repurpose; that  forgotten item that has been collecting dust in your garage can be given a brand new life with a little TLC applied to the inanimate object.
I am always on the lookout for these finds, whether it’s something from my own home or a treasured  discovery in the outside world, which can either be displayed in its natural, distressed glory or by using my creative touch with imagination and a little ingenuity.
There’s a story behind every piece of furniture that is housed at JUNC and they could undoubtedly begin with “once upon a time.”  
One such example is a workbench that was brought to my attention, which was constructed during the fifties, and is now a centerpiece at the store. I made my own changes to it with a few tweaks, such as adding very distinctive brass bird skull draw pulls and the top is resplendent with a hand-painted Doctor Flea’s Curiosities logo by Jon Hall of  Sixty3 Creative. Sorry, it ain’t for sale, but is worth a mention.
And then there are the as is pieces that are perfect in their own way; from a vintage desk to an antique bookcase. And then there are one-of-a-kind items, like a great primitive table and chairs, fashioned out of repurposed wood and iron. 
So come on in and give these furnished orphans another shot at being of purpose in your home.  

At any given time, I may consult with as many design books as there are ideas floating around in my head. Trust me, that is no small feat and could easily fill the New York Public Library with the sheer volume of research that I sometimes like to do. 
But, each book serves its purpose as a template for what could be and where I can take an idea. Plus, there are even some with pictures! No I’m not adding this because I’m not able to read, it just helps give me a visual bead on the target I am trying to score a bullseye with.
And seeing as I like to share my discoveries with customers, here’s a list of the books that are currently on my show and tell list at the store; funnily enough, some have the name junk in their titles, go figure.
You should definitely check out: Junk Genius, Junk Style, Modern Vintage Style, Recycled Home, Creating Your Backyard Farm and my new favorite, A Life Less Ordinary. 

When you first walk into JUNC, you may be inclined to inquire what that delightful scent is. Well, I would be so inclined to inform you that is an Aquiesse candle and that much like Lays potato chips, you can‘t smell just one, since there are a plethora of scents to chose from. 
There are several of these 100 hour burning high end candles currently in the store to choose from the Boardwalk, which encompasses the sweet smells of summer with hints of waffle cones, driftwood and surf and sand. There’s also the woodsy aroma of the Bamboo Teakwood and its blend of green bamboo and Hawaiian violets.
 If you want to feel really fancy then you can take a refined whiff of Embers, which combines English leather, tobacco, saffron, cardamom, musk and olibanum. These are but a few of the scents that I carry from Aquiesse, so come on in and find the one that suits you and your surroundings.
And to insure the longevity of your candle’s life, here’s a tip or two for you. One - forgo the instinct to put the candle out by placing the lid on it; that causes smoke to be trapped and it becomes absorbed into the wax , so it will always smell like smoke. Instead, simply blow it out and let the wax completely harden  before placing the lid on it. Two - trim the lead-free wick to a quarter of an inch before you light it each time and you can enjoy your candle for many days and nights to come. 

Now that the hell that is having to not only set your clocks back, but also losing an hour of sleep – the nerve – due to Daylight Savings Time is over it may be time for a change; as you may have just thrown that sucker right out the window!
Fret not, we have four affordable replacement clocks, which will leave you with plenty of money left over for your anger management classes.
Some of them hang on the wall, the other ones medium and small – sorry, I just recently reread Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham. There’s an early bird clock complete with a bird design, who knows it may help time fly, insert rim shot here. A kitchen clock will tick tock down the minutes you have to slurp down the coffee before work.
If you want to kick it old school, there’s a retro alarm clock, which means it’s not digital. Rounding out your choices is a real conversation piece, a clap-on alarm clock, and you will think your friends are giving you a standing o when you show it to them.

When Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward first toyed with the idea of a terrarium in 1842, he didn’t intend for it to be what it has become. In fact, his intent was for it to be a way to monitor insects in the chrysalis stage of their existence. 
Aside from watching the insects begin their transition, Ward also noticed something else happening in the capped glass bottle. One by one, small plants and grass began to make their presence known among the mold that he had planted. 
What was to be commonly known later as a terrarium was originally christened as a Wardian Cases.
OK, now that you have your history lesson…You can find the perfect “I thrive on neglect” terrarium at 
Junc Life & Style. With just the occasional spritz of water and avoidance of direct sunlight, you too can 
become the proud owner of a world within a glass jar.
Each of these worlds has been created with love by Jeffrey, but you won’t find any other items - think cutesy animals and the like - among the flora and fauna, as that would not be in line with the vision of his  take on the terrarium. 

Come December 31st, you may feel inclined to pledge allegiance to a new way of life, a resolution to amend some perceived defect in your character. Faster than you can say epic fail, just remember that this is merely a trap, a  perfect way to set yourself up for failure.
Where did this need to fix ourselves at the end of the calendar page come about? Why do we put ourselves through this year in and year out? What resolutions rate as the top of the heap? Here’s a look at what’s what.

Histrionics
The practice of making these promises to one’s self actually has its roots in ancient Babylon. The Babylonians would swear to their gods that they would pay their debts by returning objects that they had borrowed.
The Romans followed suit by avowing the practice of praying to the god Janus, for whom January is named after. The “peacock vow” was the way that knights during the Medieval age re-committed their work ethic of remaining chivalrous for the upcoming year.
During watch-night services, a late-night service held by the Christian church service, parishioners would prepare for the upcoming  year in a combination of prayer, song, and confession.
On the other end of the religious spectrum, during Judaism’s New Year Rosh Hashanah that culminates with Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement - members of the religion are asked to reflect upon  the past year and seek  forgiveness and offer up ways to right their wrongs.

The Top 5
Here are some helpful tips in attempting to keep your steely resolve during the cold winter months; the biggest one is to just choose one of these from the list and look at it as a goal. Goals seem to have a better connotation than the dreaded r word.
5. Volunteer to Help Others: Many of us are all about what we can do for ourselves, as charity starts at home as the saying goes. Maybe instead of vegging out in front of the TV, you can, gasp, go outside and volunteer at an animal shelter. Or maybe you are partial to one type of dog, a Labrador, for instance, then check out Labrador Rescuers. The organization rehabilitates the canines and aides in finding them their forever homes.
4. Save Money: Here’s a helpful tip…start saving money! Then you’ll have more mean green to accrue the financial security to blow it on a trip, home improvements, shopping your favorite boutiques (i.e. Junc) or my all-time favorite…gum. Piggybacking off that - no, not Juicy Fruit - you can  manage your debt by actually paying attention to how much is going on versus how much is coming in. Just write in everything you spend into - say it with me - a ledger down to the penny; it really makes things so much easier than wondering where all that money went, unless you have a mouthful of Hubba Bubba, that is.
3. Get A Better Job: It’s called the classifieds section in your local paper, people, or online venues such as Craigslist…just make sure you click on the right section or you may get another kind of job. If you are the creative type, mediabistro.com is a great place to look for gainful employment. 
2. Cutting Back On Bad Habits: For some people, the necessity to get their swerve on can be problematic. The rooms of 12-step programs will invariably fill up with those who will introduce themselves as, “I’m blank and I’m an alcoholic” on New Year’s Day. 
Everyone knows that smoking cigarettes makes you look cool; still some want to knock the Marlboro Man off his horse on January 1st.  There’s a slew of ways to do this, including: going cold turkey and being hypnotized. Be careful in selecting a hypnotist, no one wants to end up clucking like a chicken, rather than not smoking like the proverbial chimney.
1. Getting Healthy: This Number One with a bullet game changer encompasses a number of ways to combat the battle of the bulge. Seeing as Americans are at their heaviest in recent history, the desire to slim down is at an all-time high.
Switching your diet from Big Mac’s and the like to healthier fare will undoubtedly reduce your spare tire. But you will need to employ training wheels in switching gears on how you view food. A really simple trick is to not wolf it down like some feral creature; instead take time to actually taste what is going into your gullet and slow the hell down, then you won’t want seconds, thirds or even fourths.
The number of gym memberships going up at the first part of the year is reflective in the wait time to get on machines that populate said gym. By February you will most likely be able to get your pump on in an environment that is not so crowded.
To quote U2, “nothing changes on New Year’s Day.” This is indicative of a 2007 study by one Richard Wiseman -so you know its true right there - of the University of Bristol. In the study, 88% of the 3,000 people poled coped to the fact that New Year’s resolutions crash and burn in the light of New Year’s Day.
However, 52% of participants were “confident of success at the beginning.” Males were able to achieve their resolutions when they practiced goal setting. This system of setting smaller goals is merely a simple way of changing one’s language. For example, instead of saying, “I’m going to lose weight,” changing it to losing a pound a week works for these fellas.
Women were prone to succeed by 10% more when they made their goals public and receiving  support from their friends. 
Frank Ra summed it up in his New Year’s resolution-centric tome, A Course in Happiness thusly:
“Resolutions are more sustainable when shared, both in terms of with whom you share the benefits of your resolution, and with whom you share the path of maintaining your resolution. Peer-support makes a difference in success rate with New Year’s Resolutions.”
Well, that’s all well and good…unless your resolution is to make more friends.

~Tim Parks