The story of Rusticks is one of mountains, momentum, and serendipity. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the 7,500-square-foot furniture and interior design shop in Cashiers, NC, was launched by husband-and-wife team Ann and Rody Sherrill. Rody had decided it was time to “rewire” after a successful career as an executive for a publicly traded company. Since Ann had a designer’s eye and had always wanted to operate her own retail shop, and both loved the mountains, they eventually launched Rusticks in their favorite resort community.
Serving largely seasonal residents that arrive like clockwork each spring and swell the population until the end of leaf season each Fall, Rusticks is situated in an idyllic setting replete with a small lake. The store takes its name from the hand-crafted hickory furnishings and antiques culled from local makers and artisans of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains that first put it on the map. Fueled by Ann’s talent for designing the area’s largely traditional homes with a chic mountain aesthetic and Rody’s business acumen, the business thrived and grew into a well-loved and iconic local brand.
When the pair decided it was time for yet another phase in their lives some three decades later, they put Rusticks on the market, hoping for a buyer that would ensure its legacy and special place in the community. That’s where the serendipity comes in, because another accomplished corporate executive, himself a fan of the mountains of Western North Carolina, was ready for “re-wirement” and on the hunt for a small business.
His name is Don Gottwald. Very early in his career he’d actually worked in a small, high-end casual furniture store, but he didn’t actually set out to buy a furniture business. Indeed, he was exploring and evaluating any number of different businesses, but on a day that he was scheduled to have an important phone call with Rody, essentially to inform the couple whether he was intending to move forward or not, as he was walking across a parking lot to his car, he saw a vanity plate on another car parked near his own. It read Rustic. “It was spelled differently, but I got goosebumps when I saw it, so much so that I took a picture of it and I still get goosebumps every time I look at it,” he relates. “So, I called Rody and said, ‘I’ll see you at the High Point Market.’”
Since Gottwald had never experienced the Market, Rody and Ann thought it would be a good idea to show him the ropes. And in the you-just-can’t-make-this-stuff-up category, the very first showroom they visited was Sarreid’s. “We met John Reid and Brad Cates and I could tell right away that they and the entire Sarreid team was genuinely interested in helping me. They were fabulous and I can’t say enough positive things about their encouragement and support through the transition.”
At the same time, Ann Sherrill stayed on with Rusticks, assisting in staging the showroom, ordering inventory and design work. “She’s been a terrific champion for the transition,” Gottwald says, “right from the initial introduction to Sarreid which was a very conscious decision on her part.” Rounding out the team is store manager and senior designer Stacie Platt, Joe Tessmer, business manager, and Ash Gordon, warehouse, and delivery manager. “They know more about Rusticks and the community and the furniture space than I do at this point, and if it weren’t for them, I would not own Rusticks. It’s a very strong team, a testament to what Ann and Rody built, and the momentum continues to build. When we open for the season this April, we expect to the have the largest opening day inventory in the history of the business.”
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