Treasure hunting is the name of the game for Bob and Linda Brown, who launched an antiques business in Atlanta 35 years ago with the fortuitous discovery of some prized stained glass cottage windows. Today, Red Baron’s Antiques is one of the foremost antique dealers in the world, and the Browns’ phenomenal success has proliferated through the independent enterprises of their children. Daughter, Susan, and son, Paul, both operate flourishing auction companies around town. The latest coup: Paul Brown is set to star in his own reality show airing this summer on Discovery Channel, with his auction house, Gallery 63, in the spotlight.
“I never grew up wanting to be an antiques dealer nor went to college to learn how,” said Bob Brown, whose venture into the land of antiquities started with some old stained glass windows. He’d purchased the windows to decorate the couple’s first retail space, slated to be a woman’s dress shop, and found that they were highly coveted “architectural antiques.” When customers clamored for the windows, as well as the store’s interior fixtures and furnishings, at a pre-opening party, the Browns shrewdly dropped clothing for collectibles. A vintage carnival airplane they had hung on the porch – painted like the aircraft flown by the legendary Red Baron of World War I – inspired the business name. “Red Baron’s” took flight.