One look at the petite building painted in vivid colors, and a shopper knows it is a different place. That’s the idea, said Pok-A-Dots owners Megan Edmonds and Aaron Hennington. &uot;We wanted to offer unique things that you can’t find anywhere else,&uot; Hennington said.

The Natchez sisters, both artistic, create many of the items for sale in their store, located on Carter Street not far from the foot of the Natchez-Vidalia bridge.

What they do not make, they purchase from other artists who make purses, jewelry, candles, soaps and other one-of-a-kind things that hang on the walls and on racks throughout the small store, which opened in early July.

Edmonds said she and her sister searched for two to three months for merchandise that complemented the hand-painted items they like to make.

&uot;What we have are affordable things, available to everyone,&uot; Edmonds said. Starting with the idea of opening a specialty store for baby items, the vision grew to include other things, she said.

&uot;We were so picky about buying for our own children, we said, ‘hey, why not offer what we like to everybody; there may be others as picky as we are,’&uot; Hennington said.

They gave up their jobs &045; Edmonds was a legal supervisor for a collection agency; Hennington was a social worker at a nursing home. And they chose the Vidalia location because they loved the building.

&uot;The owner of the building has been great, letting us do what we wanted,&uot; Edmonds said. &uot;We did all the painting, and laid the wood floor ourselves.&uot;

Expanding beyond baby items has been a good move, as sales have shown customers are interested in the unique purses, picture frames and other handmade gifts.

Still, the baby items are big. And the sisters enjoy customizing things such as toy wooden ponies, which they can decorate to suit the customer.

The sisters’ mother, Charlotte Marshall, makes diaper bags for sale at the store. A cousin in Ashville, N.C., sends pottery to sell at the store. And a number of items are on consignment &045; a practice the owners hope will grow.

&uot;We definitely want people to contact us about putting things on consignment,&uot; Edmonds said. &uot;We want to have people from this area put things in the store.&uot;

For now, the new business owners will continue to settle into their space and look for new products. &uot;Sometime soon we hope to carry unique baby bedding,&uot; Edmonds said. &uot;And eventually we’ll have a line of bath and body products.&uot;

A Web site may come sometime in the near future. However, Edmonds and Hennington want to become established in their new location before taking on that project, they said.

&uot;We’ll go as far as we can take it and still manage to do it well,&uot; Hennington said.

The Pok-A-Dots phone number is 318-336-8383.