Ep. 454: Carson Kressley Mini-Series Pt. 2 - The Junk Gypsies

Summary

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How to Decorate Podcast

Episode 454: Carson Kressley Mini-Series Pt. 2 – The Junk Gypsies
Date: February 24, 2026
Host: Ballard Designs Team with Carson Kressley
Guests: Amy & Jolie Sykes (The Junk Gypsies)

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Episode Overview

This episode of “How to Decorate” continues the Carson Kressley mini-series, welcoming Amy and Jolie Sykes—better known as Texas legends The Junk Gypsies. The conversation explores how the sisters grew their business from humble flea market beginnings into a vibrant, multi-faceted brand (with a serious cult following), and dives into the magic of Round Top, TX: a vintage and antique Mecca. The episode is full of practical tips on hunting for treasures, mixing old and new, and embracing creativity and joy in both business and life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Junk Gypsies Origin Story

• Family Influence & Early Days

  • Amy and Jolie grew up in East Texas, raised by parents who owned a pizza restaurant (in a renovated old building) and took their daughters thrifting and antiquing.
  • Their mom was the primary creative influence, always encouraging them to use their creativity rather than pursue stable (but less inspiring) traditional careers.
  • Quote:
    “Mom wanted us to do something with what she had taught us growing up… She thought that we had creative gifts and that we would be wasting those and we would be unhappy if we were lawyers and doctors.” – Amy (07:12)

• From Pillows to Global Brand

  • The sisters first tried selling homemade, embellished pillows—none sold, but the display furniture (vintage, chippy, peely) got attention instead. They pivoted quickly, selling styled vintage vignettes at flea markets.
  • A commemorative T-shirt (“Well-behaved women rarely make history”) at Round Top became a runaway hit, launching their statement clothing and merchandise line.
  • Business lessons came from direct experience (“no plan but follow your gut and joy”).

2. Building the Junk Gypsy “Experience”

• Their Aesthetic & Philosophy

  • Emphasize mixing high and low, simple and luxe, with creativity valued over price tag.
  • Quote:
    “Simple design… doesn’t have to be fancy or high dollar. We would mix like a flea market treasure with maybe a really beautiful crystal chandelier.” — Jolie (18:19)
  • Empowerment—especially for women—is central, reflected in their events and branding.

• Brand Evolution

  • Gigs with big names (Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley), collaborations (Pottery Barn, QVC), and TV shows followed organically as they “picked up hitchhikers along the business road.”
  • Their Round Top store is described as more an immersive experience than simply a shop (“magical wonderland”).
  • Quote:
    “The business has been dragging us behind it for a long time and we're just doing our best to keep up.” – Amy (17:18)

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3. The Magic of Round Top, Texas

• Why Round Top?

  • A tiny town of ~87, now famous for its massive, twice-yearly antique show spanning thousands of acres and vendors worldwide.
  • Carson’s Perspective:
    “It feels like Christmas morning every time I go there… It is a mecca for designers.” (24:02)

• Round Top Culture & Overview

  • The show, which started as a high-end antiques event for Houston society, is both “minks and manure,” mixing European treasures, Americana, and rustic finds—from $50,000 French wardrobes to “a rusty chicken coop.”
  • The people—vendors and shoppers—create a happy, creative community (“like a theme park for vintage lovers”).

• Advice for Newcomers

  • Fly into Austin, rent a car for the scenic drive (stop at Buc-ee’s on the way), plan at least a few days to allow for exploration and rest.
  • “You pick your own adventure in Round Top. It can be really bougie or it can be hope-floats authentic.” — Amy (50:10)

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4. How to Do the Antique Show

• Shopping Strategies

  • Research ahead—know if you want “fields bargains” or high-end curated antiques. Favorite fields: Excess (eclectic global finds), Marburger (upscale), Market Hill, The Arbors; new venues like The Horseshoe for vintage clothing.
  • Allow the unexpected: Amy and Jolie preach “have a concept, but don’t be rigid—your finds may inspire the whole room or new direction.”
  • Quote:
    “That piece is going to call to you… If you love it, it's going to work.” – Carson (41:12)

• Junk Gypsy Events

  • The infamous “Junk-O-Rama Prom” (spring & fall antique shows) invites everyone to dance in vintage prom gowns under the stars—emphasizing fun and creativity for all ages.
    • “It just became tradition…and now it’s grown. People blow us away with their creativity.” – Jolie (36:14)

• Decorating with Vintage

  • Advice for styling: Let antiques be the “salt and pepper”—seasoning that gives new spaces character and soul. Don’t feel pressure to go all-in on one era or look.
  • Mix new (especially for upholstery) with antique art or accent furniture for rooms that feel collected, not staged.
  • “We always combine both… Never get so tied to one look.” – Amy (40:21)

• Fashion & Ambience

  • Round Top has become a “fashion show” for cowgirl chic—boots, hats, layers of jewelry, quilted jackets—and people-watching is half the fun.
  • Packing tip: Bring boots or tennis shoes for walking on dirt, bandanas, and hats for sun (but you’ll likely want to shop for more as you go!).

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5. The Power of Story and Creativity

• Why Vintage Matters

  • Amy and Jolie see themselves as caretakers and storytellers for found objects:
  • “Sometimes these pieces…are supposed to be with certain people at certain times. Maybe we’re just ushering them through this world.” – Amy (41:53)

• Creativity as a Lifestyle

  • Their immersive displays (“like an Anthropologie window on steroids”) are driven by whimsy and refusal to grow up.
  • “If it makes us smile and makes us happy, then we want it.” — Jolie (61:10)
  • Their dad’s “MacGyver” engineering brings their wildest installation ideas to life.

• Inspiring Others

  • Letters from customers (men and women) credit Junk Gypsy’s example for inspiring bold career and life pivots.
  • Embracing fun, breaking rules, and remembering that joy is the goal.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We never had a business plan. Our business plan was to see what opportunities arose along this path.” – Jolie (11:23)
• “The business has been dragging us behind it for a long time and we’re just doing our best to keep up.” – Amy (17:18)
• “Simple design. It doesn’t have to be fancy or high dollar…if it spoke to us or had a story to tell, then we liked it.” – Jolie (18:19)
• “That piece is going to call to you…if you love it, it’s going to work.” – Carson (41:12)
• “We feel like we’re kind of the freelance Chamber of Commerce for Round Top.” – Jolie (45:49)
• Giant homemade Ding Dongs (51:39) – the unofficial food mascot of Junk Gypsy events!

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:55] – Carson introduces the Junk Gypsy sisters and their story
• [06:58] – The role of their mom and family in launching the business
• [11:10] – The first attempt at selling and pivotal move to selling styled vintage
• [15:44] – How the brand grew into apparel, TV, and collabs
• [24:02] – Carson’s epic description and personal love for Round Top
• [27:34] – Amy’s first epic drive and emotional arrival at Round Top
• [32:54] – Navigating Round Top: when and where to shop, practical travel advice
• [36:08] – The Junk-O-Rama Prom: legend, creativity, and tradition
• [38:20] – How to blend vintage into modern decorating
• [45:44] – Clarification about Round Top show dates and the Chamber of Commerce role
• [47:22] – Small-town Round Top outside show seasons; local events and energy
• [48:46] – Advice on lodging, booking, and maximizing the evening events
• [56:25] – Round Top fashion tips—boots, hats, layers, and people-watching
• [60:19] – Creativity behind their display style and how whimsy drives them

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Where to Find the Junk Gypsies

• Instagram: @junkgypsy
• Pinterest: JGCO
• Website: shopjg.com
• Physical Stores: Main store in Round Top (open year-round); smaller outpost in Wimberley, TX
• Special Collections: Available at Buc-ee’s

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a blend of hilarious stories, heartfelt wisdom, and practical advice for those who love (or yearn to try) vintage decorating and treasure hunting. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or a newbie, Amy and Jolie’s journey will inspire you to follow your own creative instincts… and maybe visit Round Top for a little magic and a giant Ding Dong.

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Transcript

[Host 1]

Welcome to how to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the

[Amy Sykes]

trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team.

[Jolie Sykes]

And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer.

[Amy Sykes]

I'm Liz.

[Carson Kressley]

I head up the creative team.

[Host 1]

We're your hosts. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world.

[Jolie Sykes]

Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at

[Amy Sykes]

the end of each episode.

[Carson Kressley]

We love answering your questions, so don't

[Amy Sykes]

forget to email [e-mail] now, on with the show.

[Host 1]

Okay, we're back with episode two of the Carson Kressley miniseries here on the podcast. Of course, if you haven't listened to episode one, you gotta go back and listen to that because it was so funny. Carson, you and Tom are just. Y' all have the best banter. Uh, so we had a lot of fun there. But today, Carson, why don't you talk to us about our guests and what we'll be hearing about?

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah. Today we're gonna talk with Amy and Jolie Sykes. They are also known by their business handle the Junk Gyps, and they are two sisters. They had a mom who took them around to tag sales and flea markets and antique stores when they were little kids growing up in, I think it was east Texas or maybe even Arkansas. I should know this, but they grew up loving thrifting and doing that with their mom. And they started their own business called the Junk Gypsies. They've had television shows. They have their own design. I'm going to call it an experience in Round Top, Texas. It's more than a store. And they're going to tell us all about, you know, how they got started, how they started out in the corporate world and said, you know what, we're creatives. We need to do something different. How they pivoted, and they've been such a success. And we'll get some inside scoop about some of their favorite clients, like Miranda Lambert and some of the other country stars they work with. And also, which I could talk forever about how to navigate Round Top Texas, which is one of the preeminent places to do vintage shopping in the world. It's one of my favorites. So let's jump in.

[Host 1]

I can't wait, because I. I even remember you talked a little bit about Buc EE's, so you'll have to listen to hear the story.

[Carson Kressley]

Yes, it was big trouble at BUC EE's. And I don't know if I'm allowed back in there, but listen and you'll find out. I'd love to hear what you think. These are my friends, Amy and Jolie Sykes. They are sisters. They are antique and flea market and adventure lovers. They created a worldwide brand called Junk Gypsies, and I think they've been featured on Oprah and amazing shelter magazines everywhere. And they collab with a lot of different companies like Pottery Barn and qvc. I think done something with. I should have. I should be reading a bio. But they really are my friends. Like just phrases. They are fun. They're fabulous. They have fantastic style. They're amazing entrepreneurs, and I'm just thrilled to have you guys here. Amy and Jolie, thank you so much.

[Jolie Sykes]

Thank you. We're so excited about this.

[Amy Sykes]

We are so excited. And Carson, just to hear you call us your friend is really. This is all worth it just for that. So, you know, we love you just as much. You know that.

[Carson Kressley]

Thank you. And I don't know where. Where did we first meet? Was it in Round Top or.

[Jolie Sykes]

I think it was backstage at like a cma. I think they were called the Flame Worthy awards back then. They're like a video music awards in Nashville, I think. Right, Amy?

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah, that's already. So we met in Nashville, back right off of Broadway.

[Jolie Sykes]

This is pre cell phones or pre iPhones.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah, yeah, it was absolutely country music tv. CMT had a show called the Flame Worthies, and I was somehow asked to present an award with Dolly Parton.

[Amy Sykes]

Oh, my God.

[Carson Kressley]

I was terrified. I mean, I. She's, you know, one of my. She's part of my holy trinity of Cher, Madonna, and Dolly. And so getting to work with her. And I love country music. I'm a die hard fan. I grew up with it with my parents, so I was like getting all these, like Porter Wagner references. And we got along very well and we had a fun bit. But I got to meet so many amazing people there in the country music and kind of the western world. And then that's where I got to meet you kids, which is. That's right. So that was probably like 15 or 20 years ago. So we had a long.

[Jolie Sykes]

You know What? More like 25. And Amy, I do remember at those awards, do you remember seeing Dolly walk by in the hall? Yes, because I remember we. We didn't get. We did not meet her at that awards show.

[Amy Sykes]

She waved at us. Do you remember that?

[Jolie Sykes]

I remember Sarah walked by and she was like, I didn't Realize she's like four foot tall. I. I know she's teeny, but she's, like, so teeny. And I just remember this. This but. But this amazing aura, you know, like bigger than life, but. But this big. And she just walking down the hall.

[Carson Kressley]

Her scale is like a very large collectible doll. You know, like when they do those giant dolls on QVC by Marie Osmond that kind of like you can lift her and pick her up, and she's just the most precious, wonderful human ever. So.

[Jolie Sykes]

And you were with Mini Driver for something. Maybe it was just a photo, but we had a picture of you and Mini Driver together and something of ours. I can't remember what, like a Kiss My Grits shirt or something.

[Amy Sykes]

I remember what it was.

[Carson Kressley]

It was definitely that well.

[Amy Sykes]

So Carson had on our Rebel Road Sister cap.

[Carson Kressley]

Do you remember?

[Amy Sykes]

It was the pink Rebel Road Sister cap. And then you wore it to a party out in Nashville or photograph. So it was in a magazine.

[Carson Kressley]

I did. Yeah. That's when I was with Minnie Driver. I don't know how it all happens, but my life is a blur like that. I was just that great. I met Mini Driver. Yes, I did. And you were saying when we started, we didn't have phones and cameras, and people are like, oh, what's your favorite person you've met or favorite experience? I was like, I don't remember all of Blur. And I don't have. I don't have the video or the photographic diary that Instagram allows us to have now. Yeah, it was a different time. But anyway, we digress. Let's move on.

[Jolie Sykes]

Let's do it.

[Host 1]

Y' all are like the queens of Round Top, so. And you know, Carson, your collection is so based on antique. So I would love. Maybe y' all can kind of give our listeners a brief history of the Junk Gypsy brand. But also, you know, maybe we can get in a little bit about Round Top, because I know that that's a big passion of yours, Carson. Go into antiques shows.

[Carson Kressley]

I love it. And I'll kick this off. Amy and Jolie have a fantastic mom who's part of the brand. See her whenever they're doing something at market or at the NFR in Vegas. And I think your mom was really kind of the impetus. Didn't she take you around to flea markets and thrift places all over the countryside, and that kind of fed your interest in antiquing and thrifting, but also helped to create your brand?

[Host 1]

Yes.

[Amy Sykes]

So we always say, like, you know, mom kind of takes a backseat in the business. She doesn't like cameras. She doesn't. Mom wants to be at two places. One or two places. She either wants to be at a flea market or at a casino.

[Carson Kressley]

And so like her even more.

[Amy Sykes]

And so literally, Jolie and I both like, you know, went to college and we're had these, you know, aspirations. I was going to do law school, Jolie was going to do something medical field. Jolie has a master's degree. I mean, we don't know why we don't use it, but we have it. So. But anyway, but mom was so disappointed. She wanted us to do something with what she had taught us growing up because mom and dad had been. They were self employed and they wanted us to do something along that route. They wanted us do something creative. She thought that we had creative gifts and that we would be wasting those and we would be unhappy if we were lawyers and doctors and nothing wrong with those professions. But she, oh my gosh, wanted us to be happy. And I'm sorry, I didn't know how to. I didn't turn off my phone.

[Jolie Sykes]

I did it. Oh, speaking of mom, she's calling on my cell phone and Amy's on my Mac. So Amy, see that? She's calling.

[Amy Sykes]

I was like, how am I seeing this?

[Jolie Sykes]

I thought it's like she knew I thought I had it on. Do not disturb. Okay, continue, Amy.

[Amy Sykes]

So, so anyway, mom wanted us to do something with basically what we'd grown up doing. We, they were self employed, they owned restaurants. She always took us to the flea market and you know, we would, we would like decoupage and paint stuff and, and she just wanted us to be happy. And so she was really the reason why this all, you know, started to happen.

[Carson Kressley]

Wow.

[Jolie Sykes]

Well, and our parents had like, Amy mentioned restaurant growing up and it was just a small local hometown pizza restaurant. And I don't know why dad chose pizza because he is a country boy to the core from Arkansas. But we, it was always an. It was an old building downtown and we renovated. I mean, Amy and I mean, I was like 10, so Amy, you're probably 12. And we, you know, we tore up the floors, tore out the ceiling, put in, you know, fake wall. I mean, it was just went down to the bricks. We were painting and overhauling. And back then we were decorating with old signs, which now it's sign overload. I know, in the world. But this is when we were. Yeah, what, 30 years ago or more? 40 years ago, I guess. I like to think I'm 40, but. But anyway, so we grew up kind of renovating things on a small level, not as. Not knocking out walls necessarily, and with self employed parents. So we did both try the real job thing, but I think it just. When you grew up self employed and we wanted to work together, so that was just the direction that it, it evolved too.

[Carson Kressley]

I love that your mom kind of knew for you though. And I think so many parents kind of do that in the reverse direction where they're like, no, you've got to get a solid job and make sure you have a business degree or become a doctor or a lawyer. And they don't want you to be that creative kind of gypsy, literally. But I, your mom knew that life and knew you so well. She was like, you can do that, but I think you're going to be happier doing this. And look how it's turned out.

[Amy Sykes]

Yes. And it, and it's literally just. I mean, we work really hard, of course, you know, but we've gotten to do something that we love with our family, like our kids help us now too. Mom and dad still work with us every day and they're both 79 and we've gotten to do this magical thing for, you know, over 25 years now. And what a gift it's been now. I mean, you know, if Jolie had become some like world famous, you know, neurosurgeon or something, maybe she would like, you know, overrated.

[Jolie Sykes]

I wouldn't have a corkboard behind me.

[Amy Sykes]

She wouldn't have dirt under her fingernails. You would not get to go to the flea market. All the flea market all the time. And she wouldn't meet people like you, Carson. And I mean, truly, this has been one wild ride that we never could have planned for, you know, so it's. We couldn't ask for a better law.

[Carson Kressley]

I love it. And tell, tell the listeners. Not everybody knows what the Junk Gypsy brand is about, but that kind of entrepreneurial side, when you had all this experience of flea marketing and thrifting and being creative and creating retail environments and restaurants and all that, what is, what is Junk Gypsy do? What is Junk Gypsy all about? Tell, tell our listeners. Because I've been. And it's a magical wonderland.

[Jolie Sykes]

Well, I think Junk Gypsy, I think that's part of our self employment. We did not have a business plan. Our business plan was to see what opportunities arose basically along this path. And as we've said, we've been at this for 25, 28 years at this point, Amy. Something like that. Um, and in the beginning, I guess I was still Finishing school and Amy and mom were ma. They made homemade pillows and we took them to the flea market in Canton, Texas. And I, I went with them every weekend and helped, but I was still like doing school. I was an advisor at A and M and doing. But anyway, so they were made. They thought these pillows were the stick and there was this creative, creative thing they did. Mom actually still loves the pillows. She still has them.

[Amy Sykes]

They weren't just regular pillows.

[Jolie Sykes]

They weren't. They were like knickknack patty whacked. Like they had all these embellishments and like this they had. They attached beads and leather strips and they were really pretty and like one side would be denim and then one side would be tapestry and I mean they were really pretty and they handmade them and we did these photo shoots with them out in our pasture at home in East Texas. And anyway, so we took it to the flea market in Canton, Texas, which is a five day flea market. And they didn't sell one pillow. So we sat there all day every day for five days with people in and out of the booth and didn't sell. Not even one. But what. True. But what we learned at that flea market was that everybody was interested in their display pieces, which was chippy peely furniture. So again, remember almost 30 years ago. So, so instead of packing up at that point, Amy and mom went home and I went back to school. And then we went back was it the very next month with chippy peely furniture. And we took all this furniture and what we did is we started displaying it back then 30 years ago. I can't keep saying that. It was a little bit of a white space for women and young, young women at that. And we would display it like it would be in your home. I mean, and you know, it was like we would do a whole little vignette of a bed and a nightstand, which you didn't see much back then at the flea market. It was really just stuff thrown on

[Amy Sykes]

tables or on card table.

[Jolie Sykes]

Some people were doing it, but not much. And so that's where we started learning. Okay, people are drawn to this. And then we started doing that. We would feed off of that. Well then. And I'll let Amy tell the story of the first time she drove to Round Top, because I know y' all want to hear that, but what we discovered at Round Top was we were like, let's just do a shirt. I mean, just to commemorate this experience, this kind of sisterhood that everybody has at the antique show at this flea market. And so we did one box of shirts, like. And T shirt or T shirts. Yeah. And when we weren't in. So we. I mean, Amy had done, like, it was literally like where you would cut and paste graphic design. And, you know, like, there was no Photoshop really back then. So it was a cut and paste thing. And we printed this one box of shirts with these old cowgirl, vintage cowgirls, because we thought it was so powerful. And this strong women and this whole, like, symbolic of sisterhood and strength and all that. And then I get teary and put this old frame around it. And that was where the quote, well behaved women really make history came from. Or we put it on that shirt because it had always been in Amy's cubicle when she worked in Austin. And anyway, so women went crazy and they're like throwing their shirt out. We didn't even get to set the shirts up. It was just for.

[Host 1]

For fun.

[Jolie Sykes]

We did a shirt. It wasn't supposed to be the thing. And women were like throwing the shirts out of the boxes. Amy sold the one off of her. It was all sweaty and disgusting and they wanted that shirt. So. And that's where the shirt started in the design and the powerful statements, because that was a white space as well 30 years ago. So everything's just kind of evolved with no business plan. But that's led us to. And then along that path, everything else has slowly happened, like the TV show or Miranda Lambert's wedding or Dark Spintly's Airstream or. I mean, everything we've done is just kind of. I've always say it pops up like hitchhikers on the road and we kind of pick it up and then we just see what happens.

[Carson Kressley]

Don't do that in real life, but

[Jolie Sykes]

don't try this at home.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah. So. And now you have a global brand. I know you had an amazing store in Round Top, Texas. And tell people what you all do. I mean, you have apparel, you have antiques, you have bedding, you have. It's. You created a lifestyle brand kind of around the cowgirl esthetic, but also like a vintage cowgirl, I guess.

[Amy Sykes]

So. I mean, like. Like Jolie said, it really started with the vintage. And then because of the vintage, and we were going doing all of these shows, all of these big flea markets in Texas and then other shows as well. But the whole way we were kind of like building our brand more like you would if you were a musician. So we were going to people in their cities. We were setting up these magnificent displays. We were having these. These parties like our junkarama prom that we do, we were having these parties where we invited all the women to come and dress up and, and you know, and really it was like that well behaved women rarely make history was like our rebel cry, you know. And so I felt like we gave, you know, it was like design and, and some clothing, but it was really more about like, you know, female empowerment and, and male empowerment too, because you would not believe the amount of letters. This is once again kind of pre email. We would get letters from, from men who would say like literally looking at what y' all have done, reading your stories because we were getting magazine articles and stuff like that has like inspired me to quit my job and like go pursue what I've always wanted to do with my life. And so, but because of that, because of all the vintage came up, we did the, we've done the clothing and the jewelry and the home goods and. And then, you know, like people like Pottery Barn called and HGTV called and so we started doing all that. So the brand is really multifaceted. And then, you know, because we do all the lifestyle stuff, the clothing, the decor. And then of course a hotel came up for sale right behind our building. So of course we bought that. And then of course they had a herd of longhorn, so. Well, now we have a herd of longhorns. I mean, you know, so we just, like Jolie said, the business has been dragging us behind it for a long time and we're just doing our best to keep up.

[Carson Kressley]

You know what? I think I'm just trying to like process this for people listening, but I think you followed your joy and your heart and I think all of us in the creative fields are doing that. And it's not easy. Like, you know, samples get lost and you have tough business quarters and whatever, but at the end of the day, you're doing what you love and it just, it's your passion and it's, it's just, it has to work because you love it so much.

[Jolie Sykes]

And for us, the big thing for us was always. We never tried. We never looked at another model and said, oh, they're successful, let's do that. It was just kind of stick true to what we believe or what, or what we're drawn to. So we would put quotes on shirts or do something in design. It wasn't necessarily in a rule book. It was just we liked it. And our mom, to your point, Carson, she's always loved the simple things, like the things that, I mean, it could be a $5 trinket. And mom just loves things like that. It could be free, you know, free is even better, you know, but so for us, like simple design. I mean, not that it's simple, but it doesn't have to be fancy or high dollar. We would mix like a flea market treasure with maybe a really beautiful crystal chandelier or whatever. But we, it's never been about what the value of something, if it, if it spoke to us or we thought it had a story to tell, then we liked it and we created our story, our look with that.

[Carson Kressley]

And when did you guys make it to Round Top? And we'll get into like how fabulous Round Top is and what Round Top is and how you should do Round Top. But your headquarters are there now. How long have you been there?

[Amy Sykes]

I think that we really, I mean we, we started doing the Round Top

[Carson Kressley]

show

[Amy Sykes]

probably like two years into the business. And we started the business in 98. So we probably first time was here like was the year 2000, but then we actually decided to put down roots and move here about 15, 16 years ago.

[Jolie Sykes]

I think it was 2010.

[Carson Kressley]

Okay.

[Amy Sykes]

Okay. So, so anyway. But yes, and that was a great decision and that was kind of a spur of the minute decision because the right place came for sale at the right time and we just kind of had to fearlessly jump onto it. But yeah, Round Top's been a wonderful, was a wonderful thing for us to do. And once again, like a lot of things in this business, we follow our gut. We don't necessarily always know if we're making the right decision, but we just follow what our gut's telling us feels right, you know, so this was the right decision for our family and what it was the right decision for Junk Gypsy and the right decision for our family. And those two things always go hand in hand because we always pick what's right for the family first. And then we figure we're going to figure out a way to make it right for Junk Gypsy, you know.

[Jolie Sykes]

Well, and Round Top definitely wasn't then what it is now, the town. But we were like, we've always been drawn to this area. I mean, it's beautiful. It's, it is the country. I mean, not during the antique show. It's just pastures of, of cows, you know. And Amy and I grew up in a small town and at that point I had a five year old, you had like a two year old. And we, we wanted to have our kids ourselves, of course, but our parents back in a small town. And so we were like this Is kind of, are we crazy? We're going to move a business to a town that's population 87. And I mean, that's. That doesn't make much sense in the business scheme of things. But we were like, well, we already have online, and we're doing this and that. We won't be any worse off. I don't know if that's really great business logic, but that was how we looked at it. And then. I just love the fact that this is a true story. So it took us a few years to get the store open, but literally, the first. I don't know if it was the first day or the first weekend the store was open.

[Amy Sykes]

The first day.

[Jolie Sykes]

The first day the store was open. Pottery Barn had no idea who we were. They had been up at Dallas Market, and they drove down because they'd heard about the Round Top Antique Show. And so we didn't have a sign or anything, but there were tons of cars pouring into our store because it's taken us a few years to get open. And I think we had a TV show at that point. And so they. Pottery Barn was like, this must be a really great place to eat or a really great concert. Let's turn in here. So they did, and that's how our. Our whole Pottery Barn collaboration happened. So had we not made the choice to move to a town population 87, we might have never had our Pottery Barn collaboration, which lasted for about three years. And we loved it.

[Carson Kressley]

Again, follow your heart, follow your joy. It always works. So let's tell the listeners, because Round Top, I'm smiling, as you can see, because it's one of my favorite places. And I was thinking about this, like, a couple days ago. Like, it is my passion. Like, I will walk through a flea market no matter where I am. If I'm, like, in the south of France, if I'm in Texas, if I'm in New Jersey, like, I'm always looking for the flea market. And I grew up similarly with entrepreneur parents. My dad was a car dealer. And every time we went out to dinner on a Friday or Saturday night in Allentown, Pennsylvania, we would troll through car lots to see what their inventory was, because that was his passion.

[Jolie Sykes]

I love it.

[Carson Kressley]

I was in the back, like, can we just get to Arby's? And now I'm that person. But with flea markets, I'll be like, hold on, we have to pull over. We have to go see this, like, you know, terrible flea market. Great flea market. But I digress. But Round Top is my happy place. And it's like. Feels like Christmas morning every time I go there. And I didn't. Maybe about 10 years ago, I didn't even know about. And I feel like a lot of even design people, like, I was just in Keswick, Virginia, a fabulous house for a fabulous family's Christmas party. And their designer was there and they had some beautiful antiques. I said, where did you source these? He's like, charlottesville. I said, have you been to Round Top? He was like, what is Round Top? I had to put my two martinis down and say, I'm going, my child. This is very important. I'm going to take you. But Round Top, for those who don't know, is a teeny tiny town, population 87 in, I guess I would say east Central Texas, halfway between Houston and Austin. And it's just, you know, gently rolling, kind of flat meadows with lots of longhorn cattle. When you go for the spring show in March, the bluebonnets are coming up. And it's literally a series of probably thousands of acres of farms that I think, how old is the show? Like, maybe 30 years. Like 30 years ago, someone took their empty barn and said, let's have an antique show in here. And then the neighbors did that, and then the neighbors did that, and now there are literally thousands of vendors. There's a show in March, there's a show in October. It's several weeks long. Different venues open up at staggered dates. So there's always something new happening. And you can find a container railroad car full of chandeliers from Belgium. You can find rusty chickens and cactuses. You can find things from Europe, things from Asia, beautiful rugs. It absolutely has everything. In the last, I would say, five or six years, vintage apparel has become so popular, Western apparel become so popular. So you can get beautiful handcrafted cowboy boots, cowboy hats. There was a Balenciaga pop up, which I feeling about. I'm just like, wait a minute. I know crazy kids, but there is something for everyone. It is a mecca for designers. I went with a Gap of designers. I went with Martin Lawrence, Ballard. I went with a whole group of people that were wonderful, and they bring celebrities there and they shop for really personality pieces. I feel like I'm turning on and on about how great it is, but that's kind of what Round Top is. And since you guys are experts and lived there for so long, just tell us how we should do Round Top. Tell people what they can find there, and maybe just go on about the magic of. Of these discoveries that you make. There and how they can fit into a beautiful design scheme for just about everybody.

[Amy Sykes]

Well, first I need to tell you how we found Round Top. So of course we're from Texas, but we had never been. And we started this business and we started doing Canton, which is another large flea market. But somebody walked into our booth and said, you have to do Round Top the way y' all do your displays, the way you set up, like you have to do it. So I got in our old farm truck and we rented a Penske and we had a Penske and we had the old farm truck hooked up to a flatbed trailer. And Round Top has always been from the very beginning, it was actually started by a lady who wanted to do a high end antique show. And it was a playground of the Houston elite, really is what it was in the beginning. And eccentrics. And so, like in the early days, this cowboy in town imported a red Rolls Royce to haul all the women. This is in the late 60s, to haul the women around town to different cow pastures in a red Rolls Royce. So this town has always been a mixed bag of what you think it is, you know, because it's cowboys, it's. It's denim and diamonds, it's minks and manure, it's junk and it's Balenciaga and you know, it's like high level French antiques. And then literally like an old rusty, like you said, like a chicken coop or whatever. But the first time we came, I will never forget, because we were, and this was. Would have been in the year 2000, rolling into town in this old Dodge truck with a flatbed with a bunch of rusty old crap back there. Seriously, like nothing, no fine antique. And we pulled in at sunset and I am, I swear to you, it was one of those moments where I knew that I would never do anything

[Jolie Sykes]

other than this with my life.

[Amy Sykes]

Because we pulled in, the blue bonnets were blooming, the sun was setting, the rolling hills vintage, as far as you could see, huge circus tents. And I just remember just starting to like, just shake, you know, because I was just the excitement of it. And then we started unloading and you start meeting the vendors and you meet the people and you realize that all these people chose this life. They chose to be junk dealers or antique dealers. And I mean, it was literally, I was like, I felt guilty because my life was so good and I have all these friends who were like lawyers and doctors, you know, and.

[Host 1]

But.

[Amy Sykes]

But Round Top is magic. It really is. And the, it's not just because of the stuff that Gets sold here. But it's because of the types of people that meet up here. It is a mismatch, mishmash of cultures of ages, of different styles. But I feel like it just puts. It's like this wonderful designer vintage stew, you know, cornucopia.

[Jolie Sykes]

Cornucopia, yeah, it's a cornucopia. But what we love is that what we learned to really love in the beginning was not just the junk, which we've always loved. The junk was like Amy said, though, all the vendors were so. Everybody's so different and diverse and everybody's backgrounds. I mean, some were former. Like, one of our good friends was a. Was a dentist, you know, in Houston. And then one's, you know, there could be. I mean, they're.

[Amy Sykes]

They're in jolie. The other one's an ex con.

[Jolie Sykes]

I mean, you know, I was gonna say that. Yes. And then, I mean, and their paths are so colorful and so rich. And some could be professors or whatever it is, but then they've chosen to come do this because love it. And everybody specialize. And it's interesting because everybody would specialize in different things, and you would know each one's look, and you'd be like, oh, you know, Joe, Pete, this is so your look. You need to go look at so and so booth, you know, and things would just kind of evolve. And then. And then we started learning during the show itself. All the shoppers are so happy as well. So the shoppers are here. They're happy, the vendors are happy. And it was just such a happy place to us and so inspirational because the creativity and the knowledge. You know, a lot of places when you work somewhere, maybe everybody's an accountant or everybody's a lawyer or whatever, but here, everybody's something different, and everybody has different interesting stories to share.

[Carson Kressley]

I love that. Totally sums it up. It's magic. It's a. It's a theme park of antique and vintage wonders and the best people you will ever run into. Now, it can be overwhelming. And I went as a newbie, I think, on my own. And, like, I stayed at the wrong place, and it was like 500 degrees and I had the wrong shoes, and I. And I was like, I needed water and like, I was doing everything wrong. And now that I've been there for about 10 years, I feel like I'm a pro. But how would you. If people want to come to Roundup, they're going to come see your store Junk Gypsy. Where do they fly in? What's kind of your game plan? To survive this really wonderful. But I will be honest. Very overwhelming antique and flea market palooza. That is Round Top.

[Jolie Sykes]

It is very overwhelming. Our fate just to your airport. We'll start at the far. At the beginning. Our favorite airport is Austin Airport. We love it. There's. There's often live music. They all, all of the restaurants in there are all Austin based restaurants. You're going to get a real flavor, literally and figuratively for all of Texas and Austin and central Texas in particular. When you fly into Austin and it's only 70 miles from here and you never get into Austin, you land and then you just kind of hit the country roads and then you're here in 70 miles. So that's where we, we fly in and out of Austin and you have

[Amy Sykes]

to rent a car wherever we go.

[Jolie Sykes]

Yeah, yeah, you'll have to rent a car.

[Amy Sykes]

You have to rent a car.

[Carson Kressley]

And that drive 70 miles sounds daunting, but I usually do it when I'm filming a barbecue brawl. So I'm living in Austin at that time and I will go out multiple days because things are always changing. Different farms are opening up their fields. The 70 mile drive is delightful. There is a BUC EE's about halfway in. Oh God, I don't know what Bass dropper. Bass drop Texas. And you must go to BUC EE's. It is a delight and experience. I recently went to one in Florida and I was so delighted by the shopping experience that when I came out after I filled my car with gas, I left with the gas nozzle in my car.

[Jolie Sykes]

You drove off?

[Carson Kressley]

I did gas thing still in the car. And as I pulled out, I heard a clunk, clunk, clunk. And I was like, oh. I was having my armadillo nuggets and I thought what was this? They have a wonderful safety system there. And it disconnected. There was no drama, no problem. It did not turn into a scene from Zoolander. And I can't recommend buckies enough. They're absolute delights. I pulled over, I was like, do I need to stop? Did I just commit a felony? And someone came and reattached it and I was like, thank you, goodbye. So again, I digress. I'm so add by you're going to drive that 70 mile drive. It's delightful, it's scenic, it's picturesque. There's a water parker when you get to the exit and then you make it into Round Top. What's next?

[Amy Sykes]

So of course, you know, we would say make Junk Gypsy your first stop. But but, but really it depends on what you want to hit. If you want to get like in the fields and get like good deals and get old junk and you know, farmhouse finds and you know, all that. Then there's the fields. If you want to get the high end, you want designer, you want, you know, French wardrobes that are, you know, $50,000. I mean you want that kind of. There's a different place for that. So it's good to kind of have done some research up front and figure out what you want to hit the most.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah.

[Amy Sykes]

But then again, remember, you might always find that fifty thousand dollar French wardrobe in the fields before for you know, five thousand before it goes to there, you know. So really the thing is to have a few days if you can. And of course some of our favorite fields are excess. Excess. Have you, I'm sure you shop that Carson. Excess is wonderful.

[Carson Kressley]

Excess is kind of an outdoor like a big giant pole barn and people bring things from like India and Belgium. It's very eclectic of treasures from all over the world.

[Amy Sykes]

Yes.

[Carson Kressley]

A little quirkier.

[Jolie Sykes]

Yeah.

[Amy Sykes]

Yes. And like, so we buy a lot of like weird stuff. Like, like we've bought like one of the things we, I mean things we bought over the years here we bought like a 12 foot tall fiberglass elephant with it had a fountain coming out of his, you know, out of his trunk. We buy circus items. We buy, I mean we buy teller machines, fortune teller machines. So we, most of that kind of stuff we do find out in the fields or like at excess. But then you know, there's the higher end places like Blue Hills, Marburger, Market Hill, all of those. And they're all fantastic. Really.

[Carson Kressley]

Burger is kind of, you know, that's the creme de la creme. I think the most underrated, most beautiful vendors go to Marburger. It's very organized but you pay, you pay the price for that. Like they've done the curated beautiful and lovely, but it's more expensive than the fields to your point. Like I saw a wrought iron bed there. It was white, it was crumbly. It had two saddlebred horses like welded onto the top of it. I was like, I must have this bed. It was $25 or 50.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah.

[Jolie Sykes]

No way.

[Carson Kressley]

So there's the whole gamut. And yes, you can go online, you can research the different vendors. I love a place called the Arbors. They have clothes, they have furniture, they have a lady that makes jackets out of old Hermes blankets. They have a cowboy hat bar, they have a band, they have a bar. They were having A mahjong tournament when I was there. Like, this one. It couldn't get any cooler. What is the name of that vintage place that's mostly clothing and it's called, like, the Horseshoe, I think.

[Amy Sykes]

Oh, yeah. So the horse. The Horseshoe. That's a new field, and it is absolutely fantastic. But you know what, Carson? There's something you've never done when you've come to Round Top. And you know what that is?

[Carson Kressley]

Nude skydiving.

[Amy Sykes]

That. That, too, hopefully.

[Carson Kressley]

But I haven't done that. But what? How? What else?

[Amy Sykes]

You've never been to our prom.

[Carson Kressley]

I have not been to the prom. Guys, they do a prom every year. Is it only at the fall show, or do you do it spring and fall?

[Jolie Sykes]

It's at both. Okay, it's at both. So this. So our Junkarama prom just kind of accidentally started. Oh, my gosh, 22 years ago, 21 years ago. And it's when we used to sit up out in the fields before we. Before we lived here, we had a tent. And we just kind of kept seeing all these old prom dresses and people's booths for, like, five bucks, and people still didn't want them. And it was just. There's something kind. We kind of humanized the dresses, and we were like, we feel so sorry for them. So someone said, let's dress up in them and give them one last hurrah. So that's what we did. And about 20 customers came. We served sangria. We dance under the stars here at the flea market on the dirt, you know, and it just was actually really special. So then we did it again the next show. So then it just became tradition, and now it's grown to be. I mean, so now it's here at our store, because we built a real store here, and it is just magical. We have music and food and drinks, and people just dance. And there's. It's all ages. There's, like, little girls and tutus spinning, and it's so magical. And then we all dance or line dance or whatever it is, all night long, and it is just an amazing time. There's a theme. Yeah, there's a theme every prom now, that's kind of a new thing over the past few years. And the outfits blow us away every show because they're so creative. People just go all out with their hats or their dresses, whatever it is. We've seen so much creativity at the prom, and it's. It's so fun. People of all ages just love it.

[Carson Kressley]

So. So now. Now we know how to navigate Round top a little bit. And this podcast is called how to Decorate. So the question is, how do you find those special pieces? Do you, like, have, like, a list of, like, oh, I'm doing this room, and I need something that is going to give it some gravitas and some soul, so I want a crackly old Danish sideboard. Or how do you go about working antiques and vintage things into more contemporary environments? And how do you kind of source those pieces?

[Amy Sykes]

So, like, we just did a project, a big project for Miranda Lambert. She started her own record label, Big Loud Texas. And so we did her headquarters in Austin in this historic mansion. It's one of the. One of the first mansions in Austin. It's. Next time you're in Austin, we have to take you.

[Carson Kressley]

I want to go.

[Amy Sykes]

But we, you know, we had a plan for that. We, you know, sourced almost everything from there. Now, we did order some stuff from Ballard Designs. We actually did. We ordered some light fixtures and things from Ballard, had those delivered straight to Austin. But we knew what we were searching for here at the show. We knew the top color palettes we were looking for, but it's kind of for that. Like, we knew we were looking for some things that, like. Like this piece behind me, this tufted black vinyl. We knew we wanted some stuff like that that felt kind of like a record label. So we kind of hit up all the usual suspects on that, like excess. The Horseshoe found some things at Market Hill, but for us, it's just about coming up with some sort of a concept. But then, of course, Jolie and I always say we have commitment issues and one of us more than other. The other. But. But we don't ever get so tied into a certain look that that's. That's never going to hold us back because we might find something that we go, oh, this one thing became the whole room for us. And we just ditched all of our plans, like, and we kind of did that Jolie with the bar. You know, that was a completely different direction. And then we decided to do that rose wallpaper and all that.

[Jolie Sykes]

You know, we definitely did. We did art for the spring show that said, I never promised you a rose garden. And then that accidentally inspired the entire bar. So we called the bar the Rose Garden and did giant rose wallpaper and black walls, and it's just super vibey.

[Amy Sykes]

And this was at Miranda's. And we had, like, a neon, a paint, a giant pink rose to go on the wall. But then we sourced, like, a vintage back bar from here during the antique show at Old World Antiques. And. And anyway, you know, so for us, it's a mishmash of the new and the old. We always combine both of those. We don't ever just get, you know, so tied into one certain look that that's what we have to do.

[Carson Kressley]

And I think the overall, when I tell people, and some people are really intimidated by antiques or by vintage, and I just say, you know, listen, they're like the salt and pepper to your look. They're going to bring that seasoning and that flair. I personally like new upholstery. You know, if I'm getting sofas and occasional. I like fresh and new for that. But then, you know, those accent pieces, the artwork, of course, or like a beautiful buffet, I like those pieces because that gives the room a little bit of gravity and soul. And I don't want an antique environment to look. Look like I'm in a museum. Whether it's a no, like some people do that and everything is from that era. I don't want that. I just. I love a layered and a look that looks like somebody lived there for a long time and went collecting and has two new sofas, but they have their grandmother's, you know, china in a beautiful Welsh china cupboard in the background. So I think it's about that mix that makes it so successful. And my number one tip for anybody going to flea markets and antique places, that piece is going to call to you. It's say, I must go home with you. And I think when you find that piece that calls to you, it's going to work no matter where. No matter where you live or what your aesthetic is. Because if you love it, it's going to work. Right?

[Amy Sykes]

You know, I always. I'm talking about that, about things that have a soul and they have a story and all of that. Like, you know, I hear people all the time say, oh, this estate sale. And it was so sad because they were selling all her whole. This lady's whole collection of whatever it is. And I'm like, you know, I don't. After. After 28 years in the antique business, I don't really look at it that way because I feel like there's so many things that I've gotten from estate sales or flea markets that are some of my most cherished possessions. Whereas maybe that family, maybe her descendants would have thrown it in the trash. But then to me, it's like gold, you know, So I just think that sometimes these pieces are just. They're supposed to be with certain people at certain times. And maybe we're just kind of ushering them through this world. I don't think that. I think they do have a soul and a story and. And. And we. We definitely feel that. I mean, there's things that I'm just like, oh, I could never like. I found this vintage seashell, seashell collection that this lady had kept. And it's even like a, like, typed little labels on the bottles. And then inside the seashells, she'd handwritten, like, the genus and the species. And like, you know, it's like, it's beautiful, you know, so I've just got it in one of my cupboards at my house.

[Carson Kressley]

How lovely.

[Jolie Sykes]

And that's the thing with antiques is. And. And flea market stuff. I don't always. Everything we find isn't always. I don't think an antique is just good old stuff, but it's just stuff that maybe people aren't gonna. It's an art. It's a lost art, really. I mean, not many women are quilting anymore, you know, or doing the seashell collection. And we just. I mean, I don't quilt, so, I mean. And our mom does it. Quilt. It's just something that they're gonna. They're dinosaurs, really. So when you find cool old pieces like that, I think it's something really special. And like, Amy's seashell thing, I have a locket I just found maybe the last show. It's just a little, you know, gold locket. I was digging through all this guy's lockets. He had a million. And it was. It had the navy. The navy emblem on the front, whatever. And. And when you open it, the pictures were still in there. And I was like, this is so amazing. So I wear it because I just think it's so special. You. Amy said, I appreciate it.

[Carson Kressley]

I love it. One thing that I always. Anything, like equestrian. If I hit a flea market or an antique show, it's going to stop me in my tracks. And a couple of weeks ago, I just found a box of, like, old pictures and ribbons from somebody in, like, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the Lancaster Horse show from 1937. And pictures of the horses and notes on the back. Like, Tommy showed my mare, and she was so bad, but from, like, the 20s and 30s. And I'm like, I love that. And seeing where they lived and where their beautiful home. And I totally went down the rabbit hole. But that's. That's like a. If you really love it, that's like an extra benefit of the soul and the joy and the story behind an item. It looks great in your home. It's just there, there, there you get a double whammy of joy, which I love. So if you had tips for novice people that are just going out to source antiques, how would you demystify it for them?

[Jolie Sykes]

I have one quick tip this might be talking about. I think you may just be speaking about antiques, but I want to circle back to the Round Top show real quick. I know you kind of mentioned it, but the dates are so confusing to everyone. And there is a website that is. Amy. It's the Big Red Barnes website, which they're only open four or five days, but the. The URL is kind of confusing. It's called the Round Top Antique Show, I think. So everybody Googles Round Top Antique show and they think that's the only dates of the. Because there's no governing body of this show. But the show is actually two, if not three weeks long like you inferred Carson. But I think that really confuses everybody because I have people text me every show and say, I see the show is. And they'll list those. Is it four or five days, Amy?

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah, it's like four days.

[Jolie Sykes]

It. They'll list those four days. I'm like, no, it's. It's for actually this time.

[Amy Sykes]

Jolie the Junk Gypsy. We are the freelance chamber of commerce

[Jolie Sykes]

for the town for the antique show.

[Amy Sykes]

We, we, we feel.

[Jolie Sykes]

Please help us at Junk Gypsy than

[Amy Sykes]

the chamber of commerce does. I promise you, call us. We will help you.

[Jolie Sykes]

I mean, it is confusing.

[Amy Sykes]

We can help you navigate the wild, weird world of Round Top antiques. But basically it goes over three weekends. And anytime during that time is good. Like you Mark. Like we were talking about Marburger. If you want to hit those specific shows, you have to come when they're specifically open. But the fields and most of the shows are open. Open basically for three weeks.

[Carson Kressley]

So yeah. And that'll just call us. It's in March and October. And you're right. The Roundtop TexasAntiques.com would seem like the official site for the whole fair. It is not. It's right. Kind of the one of the people that started the fair at the Big Red Barn. Those are like four days. But there's a month worth of other vendors. So, yes, some shirts run for a couple days. So you have to, you know, see what shows you want to go to and then back into those dates or just come and enjoy whatever's open.

[Amy Sykes]

That's what I just come and hang out.

[Jolie Sykes]

If you go. If you come not during show times.

[Amy Sykes]

How is it?

[Jolie Sykes]

Is it well, like what else is there to see? You definitely you don't want to come on a Monday Capital or Wednesday because most the town is. It is Mayberry and it is closed. But where open? We're open.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah.

[Jolie Sykes]

We're open seven days a week and we would love to have you any day. But if you're coming on weekend, I mean the town is still pretty. I mean there's kind of really great energy in the town which you know, is literally one square almost every weekend. There's always something going on. Whether like we have the winter antique show coming up, which is nothing like the spring and fall, but it's. It's a medium level antique show. It's definitely growing. And there's, you know, Chili Fest and there's Wine fest and I mean there's always these film fests.

[Amy Sykes]

They have a film.

[Jolie Sykes]

There's always.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah, right.

[Jolie Sykes]

There's always something going on, it seems in the town. So it's always good. I always help people come to Round Top during the antique show and not during the antique show because it's a whole different feel. And when the hundred thousand people aren't here, I mean you feel like you are in Mayberry or you're like on a movie set in our little square. It's so cute, like in a little episode of Hope Floats. So we like people to try to visit it. Both experiences because it's really cool.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah. And the little. And the little town also has, you know, they have cute restaurants. They have. Armando's is a famous Houston Mexican outpost. They have their version in Round Top and they've opened a couple different places. Oh, lodging. That's always. People are just like, oh, do I have to back and forth? It. It is tricky to stay in and around actual Round Top proper. How do people navigate that so conveniently?

[Amy Sykes]

We have a hotel here on the property. We have the Wonder Inn. But there's. There's a. All the lodging in Round Top for the most part is really good because you have to think all everyone who has lodging here lives in a town where the biggest antique show in the world is twice a year. So the lodging is really spectacular. Yesterday we were actually over at the Frenchie scouting for a photo shoot. We're doing. The Frenchie is amazing and beautiful. The Round Top Inn, the flop house which is vintage containers, the farmstead. There's just. There's several that are.

[Jolie Sykes]

But on that, on that note, I was gonna say we really do encourage people to stay in Round. In the Round Top area, Round top, Fayetteville, wherever. Stay close to the antique show because if you're driving, you know, 30, 40 miles, whatever, back to Austin, you're missing one of the most fun parts of the antique show, which is the evenings. The evenings are so magical here. It's what really what we fell in love with, how amazing the flea market, we used to call them flea market nights are. So I really, if you can stay as close as you can so you can experience the evenings and you have to stay two or three nights to actually experience the antique show.

[Carson Kressley]

And when you're saying the evenings and I know, but tell people like they have like brisket barbecues and line dancing and dance halls and your prom.

[Jolie Sykes]

How do you find the best. Yeah, where, how do we know where to go?

[Amy Sykes]

Your social calendar while in Round Top is very, very full. You have to pick what you want to do because there will, there's like feasts and fields. Like, there'll be like cow pastures that have these pop up dinners and then like you could come to here to junk gypsy. And we do these dances like, like we, we've done a thing with Kendra Scott where we have like, we'll have a band, a girl band come in. It's all girls and they do like, you know, vintage, like old country music. Like they'll have like, they'll play the Dixie Chicks and Trisha Yearwood and then we, we, you know, have a hat bar and we have roping lessons and all that. So you pick what you, you can pick your own adventure in Round Top. Really. And it can be bougie. It can be really bougie. Or you can do more of like the authentic kind of like Hope Floats kind of vibe, which is normally what we do more of here. But there's so many different options and you just can't hit it all. And the food's amazing. There's so many great like pop up places during the show that are doing spectacular meals. I mean it's not just chef, chef meals.

[Jolie Sykes]

We're not talking, I mean, no offense to the turkey legs out there, but we're not talking turkey legs on a stick. I mean it is like, it's chef type meals and they're, they're really amazing meals here everywhere. I mean there's so many options of good food and drinks and cocktails or whatever and then live music everywhere.

[Amy Sykes]

Carson, have you ever had. We have one of the most famous food trucks and round top sets up in our front yard. And have you had the giant Ding Dongs?

[Jolie Sykes]

Oh, no. You didn't.

[Amy Sykes]

We have.

[Carson Kressley]

I have not.

[Amy Sykes]

So, people, literally, she sells out every day. She does these homemade giant Ding Dongs that'll feed like, four people. And y', all people exit off the highway just to come get them.

[Jolie Sykes]

Amy, look at Taryn's face.

[Amy Sykes]

She sells out every day.

[Carson Kressley]

Okay, well, you had it here, everybody.

[Jolie Sykes]

And what if for nothing else, we have a reason to visit?

[Amy Sykes]

Never be invited back to Ballard's podcast. Ballard Designs podcast.

[Carson Kressley]

No, no. Love us more. I love you more.

[Jolie Sykes]

That's gonna be this family program, people.

[Host 1]

It's a teaser for the episode, Giant Ding Dongs.

[Jolie Sykes]

I think it's perfect.

[Amy Sykes]

You have to do that when you come back. You have to.

[Jolie Sykes]

All right, so. So the food. We talked about where to stay.

[Amy Sykes]

Let me say, as far as where to stay, a really good resource is if you go to the Chamber of Commerce's website, they have a thing on there where you. They have a lodging request form. And if you just fill out that form, tell them what you're looking for, how many people you have, they send it out. And if anybody who has availability on those days will contact you back.

[Host 1]

How far out do we need to be booking lodging now?

[Carson Kressley]

Like, early.

[Host 1]

Like six months?

[Jolie Sykes]

Yeah, very early. We're probably already booked for the spring show. If I had to. I mean, there'll be. There'll be some. Some days open for us during the spring show. It depends on the day.

[Amy Sykes]

Like early. Like super early or super late, which is always fine, too, you know?

[Jolie Sykes]

Yeah, but I mean, you could still definitely get lodging and round top. But I would be working on it, you know, January right now for March.

[Amy Sykes]

Okay.

[Host 1]

So three months would be good. I was thinking maybe it's like six, nine months or a year.

[Jolie Sykes]

Well, some places it is. You know, we're already booked. We're booked for prom probably already for next fall, but. But we would definitely have availability other times of the show.

[Carson Kressley]

And. And here's a fun news flash. It's not set in stone yet, but I'm working with a company to do a curated trip to Round Top that I'm going to host.

[Jolie Sykes]

Oh, fun.

[Carson Kressley]

We'll tell people, you know, handle their lodging, handle their flying nights, have a bus that will drive around and take them to the different venues. So that's coming in October for the October show, and it's our big Round Top experience extravaganza. So you can follow my social media and my Instagram, get more details as we get closer. But March is right around the corner. That's a great one to check out in October also, I kind of like the spring dates better because it's a tad bit cooler.

[Amy Sykes]

Yes, that's the good thing about the spring.

[Carson Kressley]

And it is. Blue bonnets are coming up, and you're just like, you're coming out of that winter funk. You're at this beautiful place. Flowers are blooming and cattle are grazing, and you're finding, you know, your vintage dreams are coming true. But October is also lovely. In October, one thing they do, they have some Christmas stuff. Like Market Hill is a big giant location. This year for the first time, I believe they had a giant tent just for Christmas. Probably a football field. Like everything very big.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We. We are the biggest small town you'll ever come to. You know, I mean, it's. It's everything here. All the. The. The barns, all the fields. You cannot even imagine how much stuff is here during the antique show. I mean, it's. You do have to just come to believe it, really.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah. Yeah. It must be. It must be seen.

[Jolie Sykes]

And the round top fashion is a thing all of its own.

[Amy Sykes]

Oh, Lord,

[Jolie Sykes]

I thought we were missing that. What did we wear? Well, it. It got it. So, I mean, you're in Texas, so cowgirl boots are a must. And a cowgirl hat for the sun. We usually wear bandanas. Like, Amy has one on her neck. We don't always shop in boots all day. I mean, we have work boots that we might wear all day. But you do need to be comfortable because, let's be real, you are shopping. If you. And this is like, this is not always perfect grand. You know, you're not at the mall. You're like on gravel and caliche rock and, you know, dirt and things like that. So. So I bring. We would. We would suggest boots and good tennis shoes. And then like he said, if it's in this in the fall, it's pretty warm, so you might want to. Gonna dress appropriate for that, whether it's shorts or if you. If you do skirts. But then we always wear a hat. I mean, we don't leave. We don't go anywhere without a hat on. And that's for multiple reasons. Maybe we don't want to fix our hair. I don't know. But. But also, son. And it's just. It's just fun. Round top fashion is. It's really fun. I mean, it's kind of a genre all its own.

[Host 1]

It sounds like we could buy a hat, though, if we forget it.

[Jolie Sykes]

Oh, absolutely.

[Carson Kressley]

There are hats everywhere. I just. I got the most beautiful, you know, shantung Panama Stetson something or other. When I was there last time, I went in fall and I wore suede, like, floppy Stetson work boots. I wore white shorts and a white cotton cowboy shirt, and I had some turquoise jewelry and I had a bandana wrapped around my arm in case I needed to dab the sweat. And I had cowboy hat.

[Jolie Sykes]

How this.

[Amy Sykes]

Didn't you get filthy by the end

[Carson Kressley]

of the day in those white shorts?

[Amy Sykes]

No, they looked great.

[Host 1]

White on white.

[Jolie Sykes]

It's good to know.

[Carson Kressley]

And. And it's so fun buying clothes there and finding vintage fashion. The biggest trend, I would say, is that. And you guys have probably seen it and certainly we've seen it at Round Top. Is anything quilted, like jackets made out of old quilts and dusters to the floor made out of old quilt. And you will. If you love fashion, doesn't matter what kind of fashion. You will see a fashion show in Round Top because it's part of gig is like wearing your, you know, your look.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah. Round Top fashion. I think there's people here that are. That you're here to shop and they have on tennis shoes and comfortable clothes or whatever. But then there's people, and we love these girls and. And we're so happy they're all here. But there are girls who are here. They are fashionistas, and they are here to kind of see and be seen.

[Jolie Sykes]

They're getting the gram.

[Amy Sykes]

And they are. And y' all the outfits are off the charts and they are spectacular and we love them. And so you will see. And it is like, you know, what. What's the thing where everybody dresses up is like Comic Con? Is that what.

[Jolie Sykes]

Cosplay. Oh, cosplay.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah. Like, it's like cosplay, but, like for cowgirls, you know. And so it's like, like over the top. Like all your jewelry, your hat with 25 different pins.

[Jolie Sykes]

I mean, some of the hats are like, what, that tall? I mean. I mean, they're giant.

[Amy Sykes]

So it's really, really cool to see, though. It's definitely. There's. It's a great place to people watch.

[Jolie Sykes]

Yes. Do they still have the lady in the square who sells kimonos? Like she was in that main little square.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah, for a while.

[Carson Kressley]

I don't know. That's not rank. Your.

[Jolie Sykes]

So she. She might have been a popup, but she literally was selling kimonos from Japan and that was her thing.

[Amy Sykes]

And I was like, I don't know. I don't think.

[Host 1]

And why.

[Jolie Sykes]

I don't know.

[Carson Kressley]

But to your point, Taryn that is the. That's the magic of Round Top. Because there's. People bring beautiful things of all genres. Like, don't think just like western, wearing cowboy hats. Like, like I said, it's containers from Belgium and Paris and Palm beach and.

[Amy Sykes]

Right.

[Carson Kressley]

Whatever you're into, they will have. You just have to find your people.

[Jolie Sykes]

And.

[Amy Sykes]

And let me tell you, I have three kimonos in my closet that I wear with my cowgirl boots.

[Jolie Sykes]

So perfect. See all the fashion. I love it.

[Carson Kressley]

My Ballard gals. Do you have questions for Amy and Jolie that we didn't get to.

[Host 1]

I wanted to ask y' all about your creativity because you keep. You kept Jolie. You kept talking about your display. It to me is more like an installation. It's like an anthropology window display on steroids. They're. They're so imaginative and creative. I. I guess I'm curious, like, did that grow over time? Like, did you get more and more ambitious as y' all did installations? And also, how do you maintain that creativity to just sort of think outside the box? Because it's such a part of Yalls brand. Like, it's reimagining the junk into something special that requires so much, you know, creative spirit and. And it seems, you know, it's hard. It's easy to get into a funk. So I'm curious how you keep that up.

[Jolie Sykes]

It definitely got more and more ambitious. I mean, it started out small, you know, just. We would just hang things or make a chandelier out of something bizarre, like a pirate ship, you know, from the flea market. And then it just got bigger and bigger. And I think Amy and I, we've always. Because we don't want to grow up maybe, but we've always loved whimsy. And we've always. I mean, truly, we've always kind of refused to be adults as far as in the way we dress, the way we decorate, because. And that's from our mom, you know, because we just think your home should be fun and your style should be fun. It should reflect who you are. And we all want to be fun, so we've never taken any of that too seriously. And so if we see a 12 foot fiberglass elephant or how tall was the cowboy riding the armadillo, Amy? Like, 20 foot? Yeah, yeah, 20 foot neon. Then we. If it makes us smile and makes us happy, then we would want it. And so we've bought the craziest, wildest things and thankfully, most of it's worked out. Right now we have a, what, 30 foot tall, hot air Balloon in our store. So it's just. And part of the challenge, I think, has always been how do we make this work? How do we turn this into display? But thankfully, our dad has got a little bit of MacGyver in him or a whole lot of MacGyver in him. He actually puts MacGyver to shame, probably. And so we've always figured everything out one way or another.

[Carson Kressley]

Well, I think that's what makes your brand so compelling, too. And being a person who worked at Ralph Lauren for almost a decade, we would call that merchantainment. Like, you want to create.

[Amy Sykes]

There you go.

[Carson Kressley]

An environment that when you come in the store, it creates magic. And magic loosens up the purse strings, too. You're just like. Like, they're not playing, like, fun music. When I'm out, like, Jean shopping at Bloomingdale's, I'm like, I can't do it. Like, I have to have the. The mood. So I think that that retail storytelling that you do so well, it just supports the brand and the merchandise. It just gets you into the vibe and makes you want to live that life and ultimately buy that product.

[Amy Sykes]

We. We've had people, you know, say, are y' all gonna run out of ideas? And. Or, you know, we. And we're like, ideas are actually our problem because there's too many. And the more you do it, the more you want to do it's. It is like a drug, you know, so. So. And especially being in the. Doing what we do and being in the vintage world and finding, like, these crazy circus carnival ride pieces or some insane, like, rock and roll concert that you've never, you know, concert poster you've never seen before. Or, like, you know, like, I bought a. A turquoise alligator guitar case recently. Like, a really old one, still had the receipt in it from the 60s where the man bought it.

[Host 1]

It.

[Amy Sykes]

But those things, you'll find you're like, oh, I want to do a whole entire area around this. And I want it to be, you know, whatever, a cowgirl that ran away with a, you know, a 1960s rock and roll star, you know, to join the circus or whatever. And so next thing you know, like, Joe, that painting behind Jolie's desk is going into a display in the store. And, you know, and so we love, like Jolie said, we don't take ourselves too seriously. We will never be a serious designer that you're going to see. And we all know the very serious designers that will never be us. We will never be that person because we always want things to be Fun. And we want kids. And kids walk into our store and are just like, you know, and that's to us that makes us so happy that you've got like a little 10 year old girl that or a 10 year old boy that wants to spend their birthday at Jung Gypsy. And then likewise, you might have an 80 year old that wanted to spend their birthday there too. But it's because it speaks to something innate. We're not following the normal style.

[Carson Kressley]

And it's fun, you know, it's a Willy Wonka moment. You know, when you walk in your store, it's, you know, that anything is possible and it's magic and it's joy and it's smiles and it's laughter and we need that.

[Jolie Sykes]

I love that. Well, I think partly, partly our superpower of this fantastical display is probably also our kryptonite in a way because Amy and I are like all over the place. And we don't just have one style or one look. I mean, we'll have one area that's all overflowing with pink and flowers and bows and you know, swans or whatever. And then we'll have another area that's so badass rock star, you know, Jimi Hendrix vibes. And we just, it's commitment issues, I guess, but, but we just, we, we like something, then we're tired of it and then we change it and then we're so. We're just kind of, we kind of like all the looks and we melt them all together.

[Carson Kressley]

I do too. And it's just like I'm going to have to open a store or like buy another house. Like I, I just, I love, you know, antiques and found items and new things and just any design element I love so much. Like, I was watching, I just watched this movie. It was called the Housemaid with Amanda Seyfried last night.

[Host 1]

Oh gosh.

[Jolie Sykes]

I'm scared to watch it. I read it, so I'm terrified to watch it.

[Carson Kressley]

It's. It's scary. Ish. You'll be fine.

[Jolie Sykes]

Okay.

[Carson Kressley]

The movie's going on. It's like an. I'm, I'm.

[Jolie Sykes]

I'm with you on that.

[Carson Kressley]

Look at that wallpaper in their outer room. Like in the theater. Like, what in can I shoot the screen? And of course people with me are like, you just have a really big problem. But inspiration is everywhere. And you know, we love so much, sometimes you have to like edit it down to like your faves of all time or like lucky like you and you're designing projects from Miranda Lambert and Fabulous, fun people that love that vibe. So I. I need to. To start doing that so I can keep buying because my. My house is overflowing.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah.

[Jolie Sykes]

Or.

[Amy Sykes]

Carson, why don't you just come put in a store in our front yard in Round Top.

[Carson Kressley]

Okay, I'll do. We'll do a. We'll do a Ballard pop up.

[Jolie Sykes]

We'll do a pop up in October.

[Amy Sykes]

That would be so amazing.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah, we'll do a collab.

[Amy Sykes]

Let's do it. Okay. Y' all put it here first.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah. I don't know if Ballard's down with it, but we just said it's happened.

[Jolie Sykes]

It's happening. It's official.

[Carson Kressley]

Okay.

[Jolie Sykes]

Only if. Only if that food is there. Three Ding Dongs all day long. I'll be there.

[Carson Kressley]

Sign us up. We're there.

[Host 1]

I just. I'm just blown away by your. The creativity and the imagination. Like I said, it's like everyone loves, like, a anthropology window. This is like that, but an entire store.

[Carson Kressley]

Dimensional.

[Host 1]

Yeah. Like, it's just so I. I think sometimes when I go to a flea market, I, like, get a little bit pigeonhole. Right? Like, I. Sometimes I'm like, how am I gonna re. I don't necessarily see the potential, so I just am in awe of how you take a old drum and turn it into a coffee table or, you know, like, it's crazy. I'm just so excited to be along

[Amy Sykes]

for the ride for this conversation. This is just so great for Carson

[Jolie Sykes]

for you to invite Amy and Jolie here and to.

[Carson Kressley]

To facilitate this conversation.

[Amy Sykes]

I mean, this has just been so fun.

[Carson Kressley]

They are the experts. I love that they're. We just did an event together at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. And that's like another thing. Like, if you love the western vibe, it is such a fun thing to do. I mean, Vegas is always fun in small doses. The rodeo is really entertaining. They have this thing called Cowboy Christmas, and it's at the convention center, and it's thousands and thousands and thousands of square feet of western wear. Buckles, silver horse equipment side by sides, gators, campers, dualies. I. I was in heaven, you know, and I'm. I'm not even that much of a cowboy as I broadcast from New York City. But that's a really fun thing to do as well. So go to Roundtop first and then go to the rodeo in Vegas and shop Cowboy Christmas.

[Amy Sykes]

So we had a very good time with Carson in Vegas. He graciously agreed to host our. We did a fashion show with Rodeo Quincy.

[Carson Kressley]

I expect them to Host it. Like, I saw it posted, and I was like, I think I should be hosting this. And then, thank you for making it happen.

[Amy Sykes]

And it was so much fun. But, you know, it's funny because people will say, okay, so is Carson really is great in real life, as he seems like he is? And we're like, he's better. No, truly, you're so true. It's true. And, you know, it's. It's good. Things happen to good people. We firmly believe that. And so, anyway, we're just so happy that we've stayed in touch all these years and are back in touch even more now, because we just saw you this last week in Dallas, Us.

[Carson Kressley]

I know. I know. You can't get rid of me. I'll be. I'll be moving into the inn very soon.

[Jolie Sykes]

Please. Can't wait. We'll put you to work.

[Carson Kressley]

You'll be feeding the longhorns my way around. Don't you worry.

[Amy Sykes]

That's true. Hey, and a lot of y' all don't know this, but Carson is a cowboy. I mean, you're an equestrian. You were raised on a farm. You have, like, how many horses do you have right now?

[Carson Kressley]

Now, I don't really know. Officially, I think we have 27 on the farm, but they're not. Definitely not all mine. And. But then babies come, and I'm like, oh, do I own that one? Okay. Yeah, I am. I. I love, you know, a country lifestyle is definitely in my wheelhouse. I have a farm, and I do. I do love that world. And I think. Think, you know, antiques and vintage things fit perfectly into that. So it all. It's all just very authentic for me.

[Host 1]

Amy and Jolie, could y' all tell everyone where they can find you, follow you and see your work?

[Jolie Sykes]

Okay, so our Instagram is Junk gypsy. Pinterest is JGCO. I think it's JGCO. Right. Website is shopjg.com and also, you can find.

[Amy Sykes]

We do have a collection with BUC EE's. So when Carson goes to BUC EE's and pulls the. The gas. Gas can over. The gas tank over, you can go in and get your beaver nuggets.

[Carson Kressley]

Right? Yeah. That's what they're called. Beaver nuggets. Not arm nugget and beaver.

[Jolie Sykes]

Armadillo.

[Amy Sykes]

Who's counting? And. And you can shop your junk gypsy collection there.

[Carson Kressley]

And they should come to your store in Round Top. And like, our store, it doesn't happen during the show. Like, if you're anywhere near Austin or Houston, it's a Beautiful drive out there. Your store is open all the time.

[Amy Sykes]

And.

[Carson Kressley]

And there's.

[Amy Sykes]

We also have a store in Wimberley as well.

[Carson Kressley]

Oh, and that's closer to Austin.

[Amy Sykes]

It's closer, but that's much smaller than the store here. But we do have like a little outpost in Wimberley, so that's much smaller.

[Carson Kressley]

Yeah, that's wine country. Texas wine country.

[Amy Sykes]

Yeah.

[Carson Kressley]

Kind of the rolling hills south of Austin. And there's a great outlet mall out there too, in San Marco.

[Amy Sykes]

True, there is.

[Carson Kressley]

Do you need a little Versace or Gucci in your life? You can pop it there.

[Jolie Sykes]

You should just be the Texas Tourism Council.

[Carson Kressley]

I mean, I do love Texas. I do.

[Amy Sykes]

I know. When are you going to buy a house here?

[Jolie Sykes]

We need you to have a round top ambassador.

[Amy Sykes]

We need to make it official.

[Jolie Sykes]

I'm sure it pays a lot.

[Amy Sykes]

Listen, Jolie and I at our houses, we have almost 80 acres and you could just put a house beside Jolie and I like. Come on.

[Carson Kressley]

An Airstream. That's really fun.

[Jolie Sykes]

I love it.

[Amy Sykes]

Well, and I have one here that we're not using. So we'll just put it beside my

[Carson Kressley]

house and we'll do one of those galvanized aluminum paddle watering trough bathtubs like in the opening of the fall guy.

[Amy Sykes]

It and that. And it has one of those in it. That's what the bath.

[Carson Kressley]

I'm moving.

[Jolie Sykes]

What else do you need, Carson?

[Carson Kressley]

I think we're good.

[Jolie Sykes]

Just send it in your rider. We'll. We'll handle it. And I've got.

[Amy Sykes]

I've got two broken down horses right there in the pasture as well, so.

[Jolie Sykes]

Oh, Lord, Amy, he would.

[Amy Sykes]

You might have to bring some better horses, but we'll.

[Carson Kressley]

I will make it work.

[Amy Sykes]

Okay.

[Carson Kressley]

We'll make it work. Well, that's the show, everybody. I want to say a huge thank you to the junk gypsies, Amy and Jolie for joining us today. And I'll be joining you very, very soon in Round Top. Please check it out, everybody. If you were inspired by anything we talked about today, literally anything at all, you have to check out my exclusive new collection, only with Ballard Designs. We've put links to all my favorite pieces right in the show notes. So go ahead and click away. I'll be back with the mini series on the how to Decorate podcast next week with a very special guest and special friend of mine, Mr. Bobby Flay. It's gonna be delish.

[Host 1]

And that's our show. You can find all of the show notes on our blog, how to Decorate.

[Jolie Sykes]

To send in a decorating dilemma. Email your questions to podcastallarddesigns.net so we

[Amy Sykes]

can help you with your space.

[Jolie Sykes]

And of course, be sure to follow

[Host 1]

us on social media at ballardesigns. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And please leave us a review.

[Carson Kressley]

We'd love to hear your feedback.

[Host 1]

Until next time, happy decorating.