Pflugerville shop offers frills, food and holiday fare

From Bunco group to business venture: In a nutshell, that's the story of how Diane Anderson, Jill Marsh and Terri Gebbia came to be the owners of a retail shop in Pflugerville called Ruffles & Rust.

About 20 years ago, the women were introduced at a Bunco event. They became best friends who came up with the idea of operating boutiques out of their homes.

The women would take turns wreaking havoc on their family houses—rearranging furniture to accommodate their wares, or wounding their walls by hammering in displays and merchandise for sale. It was a successful venture that would go on until the day their husbands had enough of the home-based venture.

The three found a Realtor and promptly located an available space on West Pecan Street. Now, a year and a half later, the women are enjoying success at the shop they call Ruffles & Rust. Anderson said the name came to her in a dream.

"We do a lot of rust wall hangings," Anderson said. "Plus we have a little clothing line with scarves and such, so we thought that was a cute combination of who we are."

The shop sells an assortment of pictures, knickknacks, curios and trinkets. There's also locally crafted jewelry, special jams and jellies, soup mixes, salad kits and an entire line of steak seasonings with salty names. The first of two words in each of the five seasoning varieties are "Bull," "Hot," "Aw," "Special" and "Good." Customers will have to visit the shop themselves to see the second part of the names. The shop also sells popular candles made by the Tyler Candle Company out of Tyler.

Merchandise at Ruffles & Rust makes for gifts year-round, but it's designed around shopping for the holidays.

"That's really how we started out, as a Christmas show," Anderson said. "And so now we love to concentrate on Christmas."

For now, Ruffles & Rust is a labor of love. Anderson designs home theater systems, Marsh is a Realtor and Gebbia is a retiree. The future of the business includes possible franchising and a traveling trunk show.

"Jumping into a truck pulling a trailer, and going to Mississippi, Virginia and Arkansas—wherever big shows are," Anderson said. "That really appeals to us."

The Blessing Basket Project

When you shop at Ruffles & Rust, your money can go a long way—literally. Through an organization called The Blessing Basket Project, Ruffles & Rust sells colorful baskets hand-woven by artisans in Ghana.

"These are beautiful gifts that have meaning to them," Ruffles & Rust co-owner Diane Anderson said.

Learn more about The Blessing Basket Project by visiting www.blessingbasket.org.

Ruffles & Rust, 101 Pecan St. W., Ste. A, Pflugerville, 512-252-9300, www.rufflesandrusttexas.com

Tue.–Fri. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.