All their lives, the father-daughter team of Darwin Sprong and Jaclyn Anderzhon had a knack of turning trash into treasures.

“It’s a hobby that has gotten out of control,” said Anderzhon, co-owner of Dakota Junktion. “This is what we love to do, and we’re lucky to make it into a business.”

Dakota Junktion is the home of their salvaged creations, such as jewlery, picture frames, old barn doors turned into benches and old beds made into love seats. They will be showcasing their goods in a sale this weekend.

“Sometimes I have no idea what it’ll be when I start out,” Sprong said. “We are taking junk and turning it into functional pieces by resurfacing the old.”

Sprogn added he may find an item and not decide to use it for six months, but he eventually finds the perfect use for it.

Their old barn is filled with treasures, and they have never not had enough for a sale. Often times they have to pick and choose what items to sell.

This is Dakota Junktion’s second year in business. It started in Januaury 2010 and generally has three sales a year, one in the spring and the fall, with a third the week after Thanksgiving. They open the doors of their large shed for antiquers, fellow pickers and the general public to come admire their transformed treasures.

The price range of items found at Dakota Junktion is as diverse as the shop itself.

“Other shops like ours sell most of their items around $40, but they’re also more primitive than we are. They call themselves ‘shabby chic,’ and we are not that,” Sprong said. “Prices of our items can be as much as $1,600 and as little as $1.”

If a customer isn’t able to make one of the three sales, or if they can’t wait until the next sale to satisfy their fix, Dakota Junktion items are still accessable. Their items can also be found at Antique Ames in downtown Ames, Antiques Iowa in Story City, and on Craigslist for bigger items.

However, the sales are worth the wait to attend. Dakota Junktion’s three sales generate a good turnout of customers, and the duo said this is because their occasional sales are an event.

“It’s a store, but because it’s not open all the time customers look forward to it,” Anderzhon said. “People have just got to come and get their fix.”