Anna Agresta is a longtime Dyersburg native and owner of The Rusted Ruby, located at 111 West Market St., in Dyersburg, TN. For Agresta, The Rusted Ruby is a business born from passion, fashioned and curated in a Western style and adorned with cacti, the focal point of Agresta's self-designed logo.
Agresta takes a lot of joy in decorating spaces and has put that skill to work inside her business, creating not only a space for exhibiting her latest finds, but a full experience that welcomes shoppers with a glimpse into her eclectic personality. Items you may find inside the vintage shop include interesting furniture pieces, ornate rugs, handmade pottery, gilded frames, charming plants, and other accent pieces perfect to complete any space.
Agresta says her love of thrifting is what started her entrepreneurial journey.
"I always really liked vintage stuff," she explained. "I liked the fact that I could go shopping and just find unique pieces. Then, my friends and family started wanting to buy it from me, so I thought, 'Hey, you know, let's give it a go!' And I just collected for multiple years and sold a little bit on Facebook Marketplace and Instagram stories. And then, I had three storage units full of just all of these vintage gems."
In November of 2025, Agresta found out that her dream building in downtown Dyersburg was available, creating the perfect opportunity for her to turn her idea into a reality in the heart of her Dyer County home.
"It was a process of about 5 months before I had the key in hand. We just started a collaboration with Wilder Goods, and she has brought her plants into The Rusted Ruby. We are so excited about that. We also have two other vendors, Lois's Little Treasures, providing cottage core vintage-themed items. The Red Daisy is my newest vendor, and he provides a little bit of vintage decor, but his main thing is vintage clothing, which I'm really excited about," she said.
The mission and vision at The Rusted Ruby are to bring fine-curated gems to people's homes. Their homes can also have character, beauty, and personality.
"I take so much pride in being a small business owner because it's something that I created from the ground up," Agresta shared. "It's my passion, and I'm just so proud of myself for taking the plunge, you know, going for the dream that I've had for so many years, and just seeing it grow. I would tell someone who wanted to start a business for themselves to do it because there's always going to be challenges, but if it's your passion, don't let fear hold you back from it."
The Rusted Ruby is open Thursday & Friday from 10-6 PM; Saturday from 9-5 PM. You can also check them out on Facebook under the handle "The Rusted Ruby" or Instagram under the handle "the_rustedruby".
About The Mill Workspace: The Mill Workspace, a DBA of Northwest Tennessee Entrepreneurship, Inc., is a nonprofit 501(c)3 entrepreneur center located in Dyersburg, TN, and focused on serving entrepreneurs in the nine counties of Northwest Tennessee. They help businesses through one-on-one counseling, workshops, and multi-week programs, all designed to help businesses in the region start up and grow.
Programs at The Mill are funded in part by a grant from LaunchTN.
