From left, Greg Lundy and Steve Funsten, operating 425 Market Place since 2016, stand with Loco the golden retriever in front of a model train layout. Funsten said the name of his golden retriever is short for locomotive, referencing the model trains sold at the consignment and antiques store.
From left, Greg Lundy rings up a customer, Peachtree Corners resident Allison Kummerfeldt, April 2 at 425 Market Place. Lundy said some customers come into the store for very specific items, like the uranium glass that Kummerfeldt bought.
A look from the staircase inside of 425 Market Place April 2 shows jewelry, painting and antiques on display at the front of the store.
Two model trains approach one another on parallel tracks. Steve Funsten, who owns and operates Blue Ox Trains at 425 Market Place, said people from across the Southeast come to the antique store to shop for their model railroads.
A look from the parking lot at 425 Market Place shows the loft-style building and active tenants. Steve Funsten said he took over the location in 2016 after a local businessman parted ways with the location.
Staff Reporter
From left, Greg Lundy and Steve Funsten, operating 425 Market Place since 2016, stand with Loco the golden retriever in front of a model train layout. Funsten said the name of his golden retriever is short for locomotive, referencing the model trains sold at the consignment and antiques store.
From left, Greg Lundy rings up a customer, Peachtree Corners resident Allison Kummerfeldt, April 2 at 425 Market Place. Lundy said some customers come into the store for very specific items, like the uranium glass that Kummerfeldt bought.
A look from the staircase inside of 425 Market Place April 2 shows jewelry, painting and antiques on display at the front of the store.
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ROSWELL, Ga. — With classic rock playing in the background and Loco the golden retriever hanging out with customers, 425 Market Place embodies the historic Roswell feel.
It only took a Allison Kummerfeldt of Peachtree Corners a few minutes to find a piece of uranium glass she was looking for. Sometimes called Vaseline glass for its pale yellowish-green color, uranium glass fell out of widespread use during the Cold War.
Kummerfeldt said there are only so many places in Metro Atlanta with such treasures available for purchase.
Because it glows under ultraviolet light, the glass is sought after today.
With around 7,000 square feet of retail space filled with collectibles, antiques, jewelry and consignments, Steve Funsten and Greg Lundy have something for everyone.
A look from the parking lot at 425 Market Place shows the loft-style building and active tenants. Steve Funsten said he took over the location in 2016 after a local businessman parted ways with the location.
Lundy warned, because the pieces contain radioactive materials, do not breath in if your uranium glass breaks.
The store at 425 Market Place has three components: dealers who have rented booths and have a permanent presence; artists who re-create old things into new treasures; and consignors who sell items because they are redecorating or no longer have a need for the item.
Blue Ox Tains, which handles over 50 percent of the business at the store, took over half of the first floor after Funsten purchased the business in 2016.
The remainder of the first floor and upstairs features various booths where customers can find anything from a March 1918 picture of the Atlanta Police Department’s Bicycle Division to hand-painted porcelain vases of unknown origins.
Funsten started his journey at 425 Market Place as a vendor with one case at the front of the store with just a few model trains on display.
“Then things spread, and I got a little bit more space and a little bit more space,” Funsten said.
Located in historic Roswell, 425 Market Place is housed in a lodge-looking building that began life as the retail store, Call of the Wild. Built by the Watford family some 60 years ago, it served the needs of area outdoorsman until it closed in 2005.
Funsten said a Woodstock resident, Jerry Blackledge, took over operations from the Watfords for a few years after the couple took a step back from the business.
Chris and Julia Watford still own the building and lease out space to Funsten and Lundy. Since the pair took over in 2016, Anna Lee’s Café and Swiss Watch & Clock Shop have moved into separated retail space in the wings of the lodge.
“I basically bought over the whole business, instead of just being a vendor here with the trains,” Funsten said.
Today, half of the first floor of the antique shop is dedicated to building model railroads and educating customers along their own journey through the complexities of the miniature train hobby.
Blue Ox Trains, owned and operated by Funsten, draws model train enthusiasts from around the Southeast for the store’s extensive selection of HO and N scale locomotives, rolling stock, structures and scenery.
The HO scale, or 3.5 millimeters to 1 foot, is the most popular modeling proportion worldwide.
The HO scale’s middle-of-the-road status provides a balance between the detail of larger model railroads and the smaller space requirements for indoor tracks.
Two model trains approach one another on parallel tracks. Steve Funsten, who owns and operates Blue Ox Trains at 425 Market Place, said people from across the Southeast come to the antique store to shop for their model railroads.
“We do a lot of model train sales,” Funsten said. “We have good variety for everybody with all the consignment items, antiques, collectibles and artwork.”
Funsten said he knows why people from Tennessee and south Georgia drive to his shop.
“In a lot of places, there are not any train stores left,” Funsten. “They’re all closed down and everything has gone online, that’s kinda why I started the business.”
A lot of nearby North Fulton residents, like a New Jersey woman and her 3-year-old Roswell grandson, just like to come in to see the model railroading displays.
“Some folks like to test run things and get advice,” Funsten said. “That is the biggest thing, you order something online, and you can’t get advice.”
It should be no surprise that Funsten named his golden retriever Loco, short for locomotive.
“He’s come to work ever since he was 8 weeks old,” he said. “He’s almost 6 now and has never missed a day of work.”
Besides Funsten’s Blue Ox Trains and his golden retriever, 425 Market Place also draws high-profile customers to peruse its antiques and one-of-a-kind treasurers.
“We get a good bit of movie set designers,” Funsten said. “All the movies going on around Atlanta… buyers will come in here and get the most off-the-wall stuff.”
He said you can’t predict what set designers are looking for. Typically trying to date a scene, some film productions buy rotary dial phones, while others need a kitchen appliance from the 1960s.
“We still have a few dealers, so we make consignment space available if someone wants to rent a booth,” Funsten said. “If we’ve got an empty booth, we will just fill it with consignment items from individuals.”
The result is an array of treasures you can’t find anywhere else.
Lundy, who works the front register and manages consignments, said some customers come in for baseball cards.
“People collect different things, so it will be random,” Lundy said. “Fortunately for us, we also get the set designers in, so we have provided materials for some of the Netflix shows and some movies.”
He said a production crew came in last week looking for items to fill a 1980s home. Because people rarely have contemporary home décor, the set designers wanted antiques from the 1960s and 1970s.
“They will buy here, as opposed to going out and buying new,” Lundy said. “Because they can find something they like at a fraction of the price.”
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Staff Reporter
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