If you live in and around the Poplarville area and are a fan of the distressed furniture look, handmade furnishings and antiques, you can find a bevy of these items at the Rusty Roosta.
The Rusty Roosta opened on Nov. 5, 2014 and is owned and operated by Sue Ann Ladner and Denise Pierce.
Both women describe their store as an “upscale resale market.”
Ladner was born and raised in West Point and moved to Poplarville about eight years ago.
“I love to pick through junk and repurpose furniture and so does Denise,” Ladner said. “One day we said let’s do this.”
The Rusty Roosta is located inside a Victorian home that has the look and charm the women were looking for, Ladner said.
Pierce was born and raised in Poplarville. She has been working as a secretary and bookkeeper for the Poplarville High School’s Career Development Center for the past nine years.
“My husband, Walter, and I build furniture out of pallets,” Pierce said. “Everything we built, we would sell either online or at the Blueberry Festival. People told us that we needed to open a store.”
The Rusty Roosta provides rental spaces for the different vendors that sell vintage, antique, repurposed and handcrafted items, Ladner said. The designers live in and around the Pearl River County area.
There are many items to choose from in the store including furniture, antique tools, vintage home décor, antiques, handmade birdhouses, shelving and furniture.
The Rusty Roosta is the only Mississippi retailer to offer Dixie Bell Chalk, which is the paint that creates the distressed look on wood furniture, Ladner said.
There are three different rental space options for vendors including wall space, open concept and a ten by ten space, Ladner said.
“Whatever they bring in, we try and pair it with other pieces to display how the furniture will work with other pieces,” Ladner said.
Ladner said the response has been overwhelming and has exceeded expectations.
“The most exciting thing for me is watching the older people come in,” Pierce said. “I enjoy listening to them reminisce about how things used to be.”
Pierce said she and Ladner wanted a unique name for their business.
“We were tossing around some ideas and liked this name,” Pierce said. “We wanted a unique store and didn’t want another consignment shop. Everyone talks about how great our prices are.”
Pierce said a lot of the items are unique, meaning that there’s usually only one of them.
The Rusty Roosta is located at 710 S. Main Street. The store hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Contact them by phone at 601-606-1618 and through email at therustyroosta@gmail.com. Follow the store on Facebook at Rusty Roosta.