A NOTE TO OUR READERS:
"French Shopping in Arkansas" is from the November 2002 issue of Southern Living. Because prices, dates, and other specifics are subject to change, please check all information to make sure it's still current before making your travel plans.

Call it serendipity. That's what brought interior designer Chris Bronson and teacher Renee Hunt together to create French Quarters Antiques in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

A busy high school French teacher and mother of four, Renee was enjoying a rare afternoon shopping excursion when she stopped at Chris's downtown store early in 1999. Noting the number of French antiques, Renee struck up a conversation with the shopkeeper, who mentioned that she had dreams of traveling to France to purchase antiques. Her big roadblock--she didn't speak the language.