Rust N’ Dust Antiques

Rust n Dust is neat. You’ll rarely ever hear me say anything bad about antique stores, and this place is no exception. It’s one of those antique stores that is set up in such a manner that it’s semi-​controlled chaos. You can pretty much walk everywhere and there’s no fear of tripping over a smörgåsbord of broken crap or a haphazard and confusingly organized plethora of junk. For the most part, there is a logical sense of how things are organized here, which IS better than a lot of other antique stores I’ve been to. It’s the same in that there’s a room where you enter that branches off and spider webs to countless rooms, all with their own sort of theme.
There’s a room full of vintage luggage and bassinets, a room of vintage signs and advertising memorabilia (though this room appears to be a shack that is outside), a nook full of vintage typewriters (Which one of my companions bought. We checked out other prices online, and the one here was a good $ 50 less than any other ones and it was a vintage 1950s one in seafoam green, with its own suitcase container. Absolutely gorgeous.), a setup of military uniforms and hats, a container of (awesomely) old medical supplies, a few bookshelves with leather-​bound books, a case with vintage glasses and guns, a room with furniture that I only gave a passing glacé to, an area with those creepy photographs of unsmiling people from over 100 years ago (yeah, totally bought two of those), an area with tons of vintage yearbooks local to Georgia (I bought a yearbook from 1914 that was still in pretty good condition! I’m a sucker for vintage yearbooks.), a good collection of vintage cameras ranging from point and shoot to the accordion kind, and tons of other odds and ends. We spent a good 1 – 1.5 hours in here, though that was mostly me just flipping through old yearbooks and sighing at how classy and lovely everyone was «back in the day».
The owner was also a super friendly guy. He chatted with us amicably, which is always appreciated. People think someone my age doesn’t have the proper respect for antique or vintage pieces, when in reality I am hugely interested in those types of things, and have the utmost respect! He seemed to know his stuff too, and was pretty aware of the time frame when it came to pieces in his shop. It’s always nice when an owner is obviously so personally vested in his business.
PROS:
I was at the Taste of Chamblee fest, so there were designated areas to park. But there really did seem to be plenty of parking around, and/​or within a block of walking distance.
Super friendly owner, who was really knowledgeable and obviously very passionate about his store.
Tons of merchandise, and a lot of stuff I’ve never seen at other antique places. (Check above for a brief sample of the things I saw.)
CONS:
Limited supply of records.
No vintage clothes (besides military uniforms).
THE VERDICT
A decently sized store, though I’ve seen bigger (I’m looking at you, Highland Row), that nonetheless packs a big bang for its buck. You can get lost in here despite its smaller size, because there really are a ton of interesting things here. It had things from vintage eyeglasses to typewriters and signs and props, to cameras and toys and military uniforms. And if you don’t find what you’re looking here, it’s in the middle of Chamblee Square, so it’s a walk away from half a dozen other stores. The owner was passionate, the selection was varied, and I’ll definitely be coming back.