Learning about antiquing at El Reno's Rustic Rebel Designs

When looking for home decor, a common source of household items can be found while antiquing.

The Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch traveled to El Reno to see Rustic Rebel Designs' collection of antiques and old treasures, as well as to learn more about what goes into antiquing.

What is Rustic Rebel?

Mary Wright, the owner of Rustic Rebel Design, says her business is her idea of being semi-retired.

'Rustic Rebel is my idea of a semi-retired life," Wright said. "We travel the United States, and we bring back all kinds of unique and eclectic items that you're not going to see everywhere, and we put them up for sale four times a year."

Having put on shows for the past two years, Wright said customers say they feel like walking down memory lane.

"The reaction is 'Oh, my grandmother had that,' or 'Oh, I remember that when I went to my grandma's house,'" Wright said. "People can walk down memory lane, they can visit, they can see friends they haven't seen in a while, and it's just a fun family time to come out and see what we have. Each time is different. So you never know what we're going to have."

How does Rustic Rebel acquire its merchandise?

Wright said she and her family will load up a vehicle and travel across the country to find items to sell back in El Reno.

"We load up in the van," Wright said. "We have a transit van that we have taken all the seats out of, and we fill that van up, and then we come back and unload, and then do it again."

Despite travelling across the United States, Wright said Oklahoma will always be her home.

"I just find that Oklahoma is down to earth," Wright said. "We are hometown people, we are strong people, and we're pleasant people. We just love each other, and that's what I like about Oklahoma."

What kinds of items does Rustic Rebel have?

"We've got all kinds of saddles over here, we've got iron, we've got horse tack," Wright said. "We've got feed wagons from Michigan. We've got vendors in our center portion of our barn that have brought their own items to sell. We even have a life-size cow inside. It's pretty cool."

For more information, visit Rustic Rebel Designs' social media page.