When you go into The Fortunate Bunny in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, you may want you had a map to navigate its treasure trove of cool art, old game video games, vintage clothes, fine china and furnishings, silly glass wares, traditional vinyl, and uncategorizable curiosities filling every inch of 35,000 square feet. The flea market trades in cherished antiques, keepsakes, and memories.
However if “X” marked the spot and led you straight to some treasure, you ‘d lose out. The treat here is the hunt. And while owners Abby and Brandon Thaxton hope you entrust a crowning achievement baseball card, a 1970s kaftan, or a gaudy set of mid-century modern barware from among the 150 vendors housed within, they actually desire you to discover fun.
Spreading the Luck
” We created The Lucky Rabbit as a place for individuals to escape the madness of the world, to step back in time, and see things that make them smile,” states Abby. Lowering waste by preserving and recycling still-useful (and interesting) items likewise inspired the couple. “I love old things and wanted to make them cool again so they, and their story, might get a 2nd opportunity.”
A previous hardware store downtown was the ideal location to offer their own pre-loved and pre-owned collections, however the Thaxtons didn’t have the cash to take on the enormous area themselves. Abby noticed regional artists and creatives requiring a spot to reveal and sell their work. “The design of leasing and sharing space with suppliers gave us the shop concept: to give folks a possibility to earn money and other folks a location to discover neat things and perhaps conserve some money on them,” Abby states.
Fortunate Finds
When it opened in 2013 on St. Patrick’s Day weekend (a nod the good fortune in its name), visitors tumbled down the bunny hole into a wonderland of amusements, heirlooms, and whatever in between sourced from flea markets, internet websites, and roadsides. “It such an insane mix,” Abby says. “You can find all sort of stuff and all these diverse viewpoints on what’s cool and enjoyable and important, so there’s something for everybody. Plus, it’s always changing.”
Only open on weekends, The Lucky Rabbit invites roughly 15,000 buyers a month who rifle through stacks and racks of retro products loading its 2 structures. “Anytime I see a piece of Pyrex, I have to have it,” Abby says.
A few of The Lucky Rabbit’s most amusing products aren’t for sale; they’re part of sophisticated vignettes handmade by Abby and Brandon and custom-made for social-media-worthy photo ops. Starting as holiday-themed screens, the scenes grew larger and started incorporating popular culture. A reproduction of the Surfer Boy Pizza shipment van from struck program “Stranger Things” waits out front. They consistently recreated Wednesday Adams’ dorm room from “Wednesday.” Last fall, a flip-flop-footed Santa welcomed visitors from a 3-D Hawaiian getaway postcard. A sculpture of stacked tube TVs playing preferred motion pictures currently ignores shoppers (rather of littering a landfill). “With everything we do, we attempt to be fresh and original,” Abby says, “and we want the sets to truly touch people; they restore minutes or concepts that touched us.”
Plan Your Visit
Hop over to The Lucky Rabbit at 217 Mobile Street in downtown Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It’s open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.