We had the good fortune of connecting with Deb and Jamie Tull and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Deb and Jamie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The beginning of Rust and Crust was more of a fun hobby that paid for itself. Searching for antiques and vintage items isn’t easy. Requires many hours, blood, sweat, and patience!
It’s something my mom has done for many years and I joined her because I also caught the treasure hunting bug! My mom now does the business full time to support herself.

What should our readers know about your business?
Rust and Crust is a business run with my mom. My mom is “Rust” and I am “Crust.”
My mom says she isn’t rusty, but I’m definitely crusty!
We have been selling at Flea Markets for many years and in 2017 we started selling on Etsy as “RustandCrust.”
My mom was taking care of my grandmother at the time who was declining quickly and I thought starting to sell on Etsy would distract my mom and also give her a source of income. After we listed the first item we heard the “Cha-Ching” notification after 5 minutes and already sold our first item! We screamed in excitement!!
Has it all been that easy, definitely NOT! But we have the passion and drive to provide vintage treasure to customers who have the same passion for these vintage treasures that we do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since we are originally from Upstate NY and from spending winters in AZ for many years we would visit places that are the opposite of NY. It sounds simple, but for someone coming from NY just seeing the mountains and saguaros provide such excitement and awe. We truly appreciate the desert and the wildlife in it. Also if we could eat at Wisdoms in Tumacacori everyday, life would be great!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This should be dedicated to my parents. Both have motivated the search for history!

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RUSTandCRUST?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Instagram: @RustandCrust

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.