Local pickers to be on national TV

By ANDREW MCGINN
a.mcginn@beeherald.com

All it took for Jefferson’s Shawn and Jennie Olson to wind up on TV was to actually leave southern California and take up residence in a so-called flyover state.

The Cali transplants — who make their living as pickers — have never been more ready for their close-up.

The couple, who came to Jefferson and established Roadside Relics, are set to appear on four episodes of DIY Network’s “West End Salvage” beginning Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The series — which moved from HGTV to DIY between its first and second seasons — chronicles West End Architectural Salvage in Des Moines, a business that repurposes salvaged materials from houses, schools and churches into custom pieces.

But where does West End Salvage get all that cool old stuff?

Enter the Olsons.

A good 80 percent of what the Olsons pick — that is, they dig through all manner of junk to find buried antiques — winds up being sold to Don Short, owner of West End Architectural Salvage.

In fact, Short has bought so much from Roadside Relics that the Olsons’ shop on East Lincoln Way is closed for the winter.

“There’s literally like three or four things in the shop right now,” Jennie Olson said this week.

Their episodes of “West End Salvage” were shot this past summer.

“I’m scared and excited,” Shawn Olson said about seeing himself on national TV. “I think we’ll have some really good air time.”

Their episodes are slated to air on Jan. 14, Feb. 4, March 4 and March 14.

Jefferson Telecom cable subscribers can find the DIY Network on channel 61.

For the show, the Olsons took the production crew into the field for a pick at a Guthrie Center farm site.

Could the Olsons soon find themselves starring in a spinoff show of their own?

Well, they’ve already done interviews with production companies.

But, short of that, they’re hoping for good things to come just by appearing on “West End Salvage.”

“Hopefully,” Jennie Olson said, “it will open the door to some fresh and new picks.”