Junk into Gems
Sometimes a hobby can take on a life of its own. If you are lucky, that hobby turns into a viable business opportunity.
What started as a creative outlet for junk mail frustration has now become a line of magnets, beads, wallets and handbags all made from unwanted catalogs, credit card offers and other mailbox invaders. Each piece is hand-made by Junk Mail Gems owner Gretchen Fleener in Minneapolis, Minnesota and guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind (styles and colors all depend on what junk mail comes in).
She even uses shredded junk mail as packing material for orders, and pieces of business reply cards (and other thicker stock junk mail) to make her own business cards and hang tags for products.