In a small storefront just across the road from the Town Hall in Shubuta, a variety of antiques, collectibles, and oddly unique items are set on display for customers to purchase.
The unique gem of a store, known as Odd and Odder, was recently opened by Nora Nored and her husband.
“We retired a while back and were bored,” explained Nora. “This store gave us something to do and somewhere to go. We bought the building in January and had to put a new roof on it. We’ve been slowly moving things in since then. We’ve been open for about a month now and have our business license.”
The name of the store represents the merchandise that they offer. There is a unique array of items, ranging from antiques, records, record players and turntables, furniture, fishing rods, knick-knacks, and so much more. Some items may be new and never used, and some items are older and may perfectly fit the granny chic vibe that many are leaning towards again. Even different holiday items can be found.
Among the items sold at the store are corner shelves and hat racks that the couple makes and paints using antique doors.
Everything in the store is reasonably priced. Although there are different forms of antique furniture and other antique items available, she does not sell them for traditional antique prices. Instead, they simply want to offer the store as a way to be able to support the community and allow people the opportunity to purchase something unique.
Of course, there are some items that they are having to seek professional opinions on what a reasonable price would be. There are two safes in the store, one large and one smaller, that have a historic significance, and they would like to know just how much they should be sold for. Although many have expressed an interest in the safes, they are extremely heavy, and no one has really been able to move them.
“These safes were already in the building. We had a locksmith from Jackson come and open them up for us,” explained Nora. “The safes are from pre-Confederate War, but I can’t get a price on it. My cousin was a producer for the show American Pickers, so I called them but haven’t heard back from them yet. For the smaller safe, the locksmith called them Civil War deed boxes. He said they would pile them on the cabooses of a train and that it’s where people would put their important papers.”
Since they opened, the community has been extremely supportive of the business and demonstrates a desire to see them succeed. They enjoy the history on display and eclectic nature of the business and have shown so much support to the owners that Nora is truly blown away by the generosity and kindness that everyone has shown. Instead of only purchasing from the store, the community has also made a point to donate different items to the store for them to sell so that they can stay up and running.
“A couple weeks ago, I had mentioned that we would have to be closed that Saturday so that I could attend some rummage sales and stuff to buy some more supplies. The next day, people were lined up outside with boxes of stuff to give me for the store. It doesn’t happen all the time, and they don’t want money for it,” declared Nora. “They just do it to help stock the store and keep Shubuta alive. It just blesses my heart to see where people want to bring stuff just to help keep the store going because people are coming in and buying so much stuff. We have people come by every so often and just wave or give a thumbs up. Pretty much the only things in the store now that we brought are the hat racks and corner shelves we made. Everything else is donated just to help. I just can’t get over the amount of love that people have for Shubuta.”
With the overwhelming support from the community they want to serve, they are excited about the future of the business and the positive impact that it will hopefully continue to have on the community.
For anyone who would like to go and see what different treasures they may find in the store, it is located at 177 Eucutta Street in Shubuta, and they are open on Fridays and Saturdays from 8:00 until.
