Our Story
French Metro Antiques is a direct importer of French antique furnishings and accessories. Owners Renée and Terry Hunt employ their combined talents to personally select their collection of 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century antiques for their shop in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Renée is a fluent French speaker with a B.A. and M.A. in French language and literature. Her intimate knowledge of French history, art and culture allows her to lead the team to uncover treasures off the beaten track as French Metro travels throughout France. Terry's dual degrees in business management and fine arts as well as his woodworking expertise are keys to their partnership in acquiring authentic, quality pieces for their clients.
The Hunts have been traveling to France together for the last thirty years and have been importing since 1999. Their established long-term relationships with French friends and business associates contribute to their success in finding the rare and unique. Being antique collectors themselves, the leap from traveling to France for pleasure to establishing a French antique import business was a natural extension of their lifestyle.
As our sales and marketing coordinator, Erich Berrett comes armed with a B.A. in Furniture Design and an extensive background in marketing. During a semester in Northern Italy, Erich primarily focused his studies on ancient architecture, furniture design, and regional art history. From his talents in graphics and web management to his natural gift for design, Erich’s creative energy, unique education, and passion for the arts add another dimension to the French Metro entreprise.
Daniel Koob leads the restoration team at French Metro Antiques. Upon arrival of shipments from France, it is Daniel who personally inspects every piece to ensure that it is ready for a smooth transition into the client's home. His hands-on Renaissance approach to each piece includes the tasks of meticulous cleaning, repair, and finish restoration. He also boasts a penchant for hand carving. Daniel’s artistic attention to detail is visible in everything he does. His love of woodworking and the arts makes him an invaluable part of the French Metro team.
The fabric of the French culture is richly woven from a broad appreciation for art, history and style. Our desire at French Metro Antiques is to bring this French heritage home to our clients through our personal selection of antique furnishings, art, and accessories as well as in the ambiance we have created in our Fayetteville shop. Our selection criterion is driven in part by requests from our clients. However, our ultimate selection of a piece must meet our requirements of craftsmanship, style and execution. In the end, it is a matter of taste, discernment and an informed judgment of quality that direct our buying decisions.
French Metro Antiques is the vehicle to share in a concrete way the spirit of France that has been our passion throughout the years. At French Metro Antiques a taste of France is accessible to everyone from the serious collectors of the best in heirloom-quality antique furnishings to the more casual collectors wanting to add a little French flavor to their surroundings.