SANDPOINT — During the course of running her Gypsy Girl Estate Sales business, Julia Kern found that she often had a lot of items left over, which she would end up donating after the sale.

"So I went to auction school in September and became a licensed auctioneer," Kern said.  

Now, her new business, JKern Auction Group, will hold its first live auction this Saturday. 

While the name is new, Kern said Gypsy Girl Estate Sales and JKern Auction Group are still one and the same. Her schooling, though, put her ahead of only being able to run estate sales — she is licensed to sell livestock, hold benefits for charities and more.

"I still do estate sales — some people just want estate sales, and some people just want auctions; some people want an estate sale with an auction element," Kern said.

Kern said she is in the process of getting a permanent commercial building for an auction house, but in the meantime, she rented a space in the Bonner Mall across from J.C. Penney.

Some of the items in this week's auction include a leather massage chair, a solar panel with battery pack, a lot of furniture and a lot of smaller items, such as a collection of model-size classic cars, Kern said. It is an absolute auction, she said, so each item is sold to the highest bidder.

Kern said another auctioneer from Athol is working with her, so the sale will go quickly, but she assured those who are new to auction need not be intimidated.

"We will make it so everyone understands what is going on, we'll explain how it works," Kern said. "... It is sure to be quite lively."

Anyone interested can preview the items in the mall today and Friday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., as well as from 9-10 a.m. the day of the sale. The live auction will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Another auction will be held on Nov. 11, with preview available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 10. Half of the items to be sold in that auction come from Bonner Homeless Transitions, which closed its Trestle Creek home earlier this year. All of the proceeds will go to Bonner Homeless Transitions, Kern said.

JKern Auction Group is a consignment auction, so anyone with items to sell should call Kern at 208-920-3286 or find JKern Auction Group on Facebook.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.