Aces of Trades: Sparkle and Rust roots go back to 2011 and Columbus antique mall

Jeff Barron, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
·2 min read

LANCASTER −The roots of Sparkle and Rust go back to 2011 when owner Sharon Lucus and her daughter, Beth, had two booths at the Heritage Square Antique Mall in Columbus.

Lucus moved the business here in 2015 and it has been a staple of downtown ever since. The store was first on Wheeling Street before moving to its current location at 136 N. Columbus St.

"What you find is repurposed vintage furniture," Lucus said. "Mostly painted furniture because the finish will be bad on what we find. We get everything at estate sales. We don't just buy off of individuals. And there's some vintage home décor, along with some new home décor that we order because people like a mix of both things."

Sharon Lucus, owner, stands inside of the Sparkle and Rust LLC in November 10, 2023, in Lancaster, Ohio.
Sharon Lucus, owner, stands inside of the Sparkle and Rust LLC in November 10, 2023, in Lancaster, Ohio.

Lucus said owning her own store was something she always wanted to do and that her daughter gave her the push to do it. She called moving from the antique mall to downtown a leap of faith.

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But it wasn't always easy, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We made it through COVID, thankfully," Lucus said. "We put everything online and I had some faithful customers that would continue to order from me, and we'd do a curbside pickup. We'd just run stuff out to their car. We were able to keep paying our rent during that whole COVID shutdown. I'm very thankful for my customers."

Lucus still sells online items, but she doesn't ship them. Customers must come to the store to pick them up.

Lucus said moving from her first downtown location on Wheeling Street to the current location made a huge difference in her business.

"It picked up tremendously," she said. "Destination Downtown (Lancaster) really does what it can to keep us in the limelight and with activities to draw people downtown. I'm very thankful for them."

Away from work, Lucus enjoys hunting for vintage merchandise. She also enjoys traveling and going on cruises.

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Aces of Trades: Idea for Sparkle and Rust goes back to 2011