At 34 years old, Brion Hoffman is a young man with a strong appreciation for history. As proprietor of Generations Antique Co. he is continuing his history education, one fascinating piece at a time.
Brion has been collecting and selling antiques for years, so he has a pretty good handle on the market. But, with Generations being a consignment shop, he still sees new and unusual items on almost a daily basis.
“Some stuff is even new to me,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff that blows my mind.”
To illustrate, Hoffman points to a 10-foot-long pair of skis, the original purpose of which he is yet to unravel.
In some cases, Brion has to lean on the experience of his 98-year-old grandmother, Marcy Hull, who at one time owned the Merrill Ben Franklin store. His great-grandparents operated the Kellner’s store in Merrill, also. Brion was joined at a recent ribbon cutting by his grandmother, along with his mother Sandy Hoffman and son Harrison, representing four generations of the family.
Hoffman started his antique business at his rural Merrill home in 2005. Relocating to the city has proven to be a wise move.
“The exposure is definitely paying off,” he said.
Brion has already taken in items to sell for 40 different people. While he does have a large collection of his own antiques, the merchandise in Generations is almost entirely consignment pieces.
“The nice thing with consignment is everybody has something different,” he said.
In addition to the antiques, Generations is a dealer for Stormy Kromer hats and jackets.
Hoffman purchased the buildings at 811 & 813 E. First St. from the city of Merrill earlier this year. Through a bid process, Hoffman bought the buildings for $35,000 after the city of Merrill had acquired the property for back taxes. The city had rehabilitated the brick exterior of the buildings before offering them for sale. When he placed his bid, Hoffman was aware of issues with the electrical, HVAC and roofs. Over the summer, he put in countless hours and thousands of additional dollars toward getting the property back in business.
The 813 side of the property is now fully operational and stocked with a wide variety of antiques, while the 811 side is being used for storage while remodeling continues. New wiring and fixtures have been installed throughout the buildings, new windows and doors were installed, along with new carpeting and a lot of other work.
The business is open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday through Monday (yes, that includes the weekends). Brion takes off Tuesdays and Wednesdays to be with his family.
Brion has been working in retail for 15 years. He continues to work his night job while operating Generations Antique Co.