Wednesday's Woman: Diane Rutherford

Twenty four years ago in September, Diane Rutherford opened in Snellville near the intersection of Georgia Highway 124 and U.S. Highway 78. From this vantage point, ensconced in a gift and home decor store that pleases all the senses, Rutherford has seen the changing scenes of the city.

 “I feel so blessed and fortunate that we’ve survived the ups and downs of the economy. This one is the toughest, I’d say,” she acknowledged.

Rutherford, a Tennessee native, established the store with the help of her family. She moved to the area with her husband, Kim, who graduated from l before attending college in Tennessee. Since then, the store has been a family business with Diane and Kim Rutherford, and her mother-in-law, Vera, providing personalized service.

Twenty year old, Austin, Rutherford’s son who “practically grew up in the store until he started preschool,” also plays a very important role. He uses his computer skills to design customer email blasts. A student at Georgia Gwinnett College who co-ops with the Southern Company, he plans to attend Georgia Tech next fall where he will major in mechanical engineering.

Diane Rutherford graduated from Middle Tennessee State University where she majored in home economics and consumer sciences. During college and for four years afterwards, she worked at The Peddler, a gift and home decor store, where she was responsible for store displays, merchandising, and helping customers with accessorizing.

After moving to Gwinnett County, she found that there was not a retail establishment “with the variety of gifts I was used to working with so we decided to give it a try and we’re still here,” she said, smiling.

Customers can find gifts for most occasions – from baby to tabletop for weddings, Rutherford said. Other items include jewelry, seasonal decor, and collectables such as Department 56, paintings, lamps, Vera Bradley items, small pieces of furniture, and home accessories.

She has found that home decor sales have slowed down, while the economy dictates that the store carries a wider range of gifts.

Rutherford primarily sells items found at the Americas Mart in Atlanta. She says she most enjoys “buying for the store and putting the mix together” to create an appealing buying experience for the customer.

Her other passion is the whole food product, Juice Plus, that she promotes as an independent representative. Having lived with fibromyalgia, she finds that since using these products for the past eight years, combined with good nutrition, she feels younger that she did 10 years ago.

Aside from making time for family and work, Rutherford teaches a Bible class for young children at her church, . In addition, she enjoys planting flowers, walking for exercise, and curling up with a good magazine about food and nutrition or home decor, of course!

What keeps her going?

“My faith in the Lord is strong,” she said. “Whatever I do, I do my best because it’s for Him in the end. Hopefully others will see Christ through me,” she said.

One of Rutherford’s favorite quotes is from Colossians 3: 23 - 24, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Another favorite quote is from Jim Rohn – “Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."  

And, who inspires her?

“I get inspiration from different ones from different areas of life,” she said. “From the business standpoint, it would be the two women, Mary Ann Richardson and Jane Jones that I worked for at The Peddler before owning The Gift Gallery.”  

“From the nutritional area, I'm inspired by those that I'm associated with in the Juice Plus community.  We share the same goals for inspiring healthy living around the world.”

“And I'm spiritually motivated by the scriptures and other Christians that I'm associated with,” she added. 

In addition, Rutherford said she is inspired by her mother, “the person who has always been there for me, her mother-in-law who works with her every day, as well as her husband who is always very supportive.”