By BRAD GASKINS / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – Anita Barber is back in business – again.

Two months after closing Anita’s Creations, Barber opened another store Sept. 5, a few doors down on the opposite side of the street from her old location.

“Everybody says they’re glad I’m back,” Barber said. “They missed me. People have been blowing the horn, waving and screaming. I’ve had more horns blown at me here than I ever did (at my previous location).”

The store, located at the intersection of South Main and East College streets, is the fourth location Barber has had since first opening for business in Columbiana 19 years ago.

Barber’s new store carries antiques, handmade furniture, gifts, baby items, jewelry, purses and hand paintings.

Barber said the new location was ideal because it didn’t require her to remodel before opening. The original ceiling tiles are more than 100 years old, she said.

“This is a great location to be seen,” Barber said.

When Anita’s Creations closed at the end of June, Barber said she planned to “go out and find a job but didn’t find anything I wanted to do.”

“I’m 57 years old,” she added, “and it’s sort of hard to find something else.”

So, Barber went back to what she knows best.

Barber said she prides herself on getting to know her customers and finding items to fit their individual decorative tastes. If there’s something a customer might like that’s not in her store, Barber will find it.

A longtime customer agreed.

“You can have any type of decorative style,” Cindy Rasco said. “You will find something at Anita’s that will work.”

Rasco stopped by Anita’s new store Sept. 9. She said she’s been a customer for more than 14 years.

“She has the most eclectic tastes and finds the most unusual items,” Rasco said.