Business & Tech

PHOTOS: Hundreds (Politely) Mob 'Young House Love' Stars at Edina's West Elm

The two celebrity bloggers, Sherry and John Petersik, dazzled a huge turnout of fans at the Edina home furnishings store on their national book tour.

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Judging by the line of more than 1,000 fans—predominantly women—you'd have thought rock stars were in the house at West Elm store in Edina tonight.

In the world of home DIY projects, you'd be right.

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Megawatt-famous bloggers Sherry and John Petersik, authors of the blog Young House Love, and the new book "Young House Love," were signing copies of their book as part of their book launch at the home furnishings and accessories store Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. (Well, actually later than 8 p.m., they pledged).

With a line snaking throughout the store and then streaming out the door for more than the length of a city block, hundreds of fans literally (and quite politely) lined up to meet the famous couple.

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Patty Petermeier of Anoka waited nearly four hours in line to have the couple sign her copy of their book.

"They're worth it," said Petermeier, who drove straight to Edina after leaving her job in St. Paul early Wednesday afternoon. Petermeier has been a fan of the home fixit couple for nearly two years.

"They're just so gracious."

West Elm General Manager Jennie Eshoo said the West Elm team was expecting a large turnout—there were 700 RSVPs. Still, the crowds made for quite a spectacle.

"We warned our friends at Pinstripes [across the parking lot] that it was going to be crazy," Eshoo said. "And it is."

Fans learned about the event through the couple's blog as well as through a massive Facebook invitation from West Elm. To accommodate the wait, West Elm carted in cookies and hot chocolate from Common Roots Bakery in Minneapolis.

"We wanted to make a warm event for our guests," Eshoo said.

Eshoo planned to keep the store open as long as the fans were lined up to meet the self-described "DIY dork" authors.

"It's an amazing book—they do really great work," Eshoo said. "They are amazing."


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