By ZAK WELLERMAN

news@woodcountymonitor.com

An antique furniture market soon will add to the retail sector at Quitman downtown square.

Joe Cameron and his son, Daniel, are set to open Marketplace on Main on July 5 at the space formerly occupied by Wood County Carpet.

For three months, they worked together to bring the building back to life after several years of being vacant.

Joe Cameron has been in the antique and furniture business since 1973. He previously owned a furniture business east of Quitman. He also owned Cameron Realty before recently selling the business to his nephew.

Cameron’s shop has furniture pieces from England, France, all of Europe and America. Over the years, he has made 13 trips to England for furniture purchases since 1975.

“The furniture is so unique. Some of it’s quite old,” he said.

Most of it dates back to the 1940s or earlier, Cameron noted.

For Cameron, furniture collection and selling has always been something he enjoys, and he’s made it into a hobby over the years. He wants to teach his son about the furniture and pass the business on to him.

Some of the items include a French grandfather clock, English school desks, tables, windows, unique one–of-kind items, gifts, antique furniture and a little bit of glassware.

He expects that furniture dealers as well as outside buyers will be among his customers. He and his son also have plans to include online sales.

The inventory will change as Cameron finds new items to bring into the shop.

“It’s changing all the time, but I never know what I’m going to run across,” he said.

One of his favorite parts of the antiques business is meeting new people and getting to know them.

“It’s about building relationships more than anything,” Cameron said. “I just love building good Christian relationships.”

Cameron believes his furniture store will improve downtown Quitman. He noted how empty shop spaces from are starting to fill back up.

Opening a new business in the old carpet store building will benefit Quitman’s efforts to move forward, he believes.

“We really want to keep it (the furniture shop) open to help bring people to the city from the outside,” Cameron said.

Several people have been interested in the store’s products and want to buy items before the opening, he noted. Cameron added that people are welcome to just look around to see the furniture.

Marketplace on Main is located at 105 S. Main St. in Quitman. The hours will be Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.