The results of the second annual Junk in the Trunk (JITT) Flip event were on display and for sale on Friday, May 5, during the First Friday Art and Gallery Walk in downtown Gulfport. This year, JITT Flip attracted 14 contestants – six more than last year. Competitors acquired discarded “treasures” at the Junk in the Trunk event on April 22 and then, working in accordance with a design challenge, converted them into a work of art, furniture, or other item useful item. Pictured here, Lauri Zavala – proprietor of Tillie’s Offbeat Bazaar, a shop specializing in vintage furniture and gifts – displays her JITT Flip entry, titled “Pets on the Go.” Zavala transformed an old, beat-up Samsonite suitcase into a carrier for dog toys and grooming items. She repainted and re-sealed the suitcase and stitched new fabric into its interior liner. The carrier doubles as a dog bed, Zavala explained, adding that her three rescue dogs love it. “This is my first year doing JITT Flip,” she said, “but I would do it again.”
