'American Dealers' to Film at Nest Vintage Modern in La Grange

La Grange vintage home decor & gift shop, Nest Vintage Modern, will be the subject of a new show in development called "American Dealers". The show, produced right here in Chicago, will feature stories from vintage and antique dealers, focusing on the history which led them to their chosen career.

Alana Waters-Piper, owner of Nest Vintage Modern, grew up in Galveston, Texas and is the grand daughter and daughter of antiques dealers. She spent a great deal of her childhood in a home built by her great-grandfather outfitted in all-original 1870's decor.

"My grandmother was from that generation that didn't throw anything away. You fixed it. Or if you needed it, you made it. She sewed everything she needed from curtains, to braided rugs, to clothes and she did it all on an old treadle-powered Singer machine.", Alana recalls. "History has always been a hot topic in my family. Our history, the nation's history...even the history of the that chunk of marble in front of our family home in Galveston. Seriously. Everyone knows that thing was put there so my great-grandmother could easily step into their carriage. Everyone."

The first stone was laid by Waters-Piper's grandfather, Fenelon Waters, who was one of the nation's first pilots. "He had been flying for years before it was regulated. His CAA license, the 75th issued, said that he was allowed to pilot anything heavier than air. He was a quiet gentleman and supported his family with an antique furniture store just outside Galveston. I don't fly. My dad and brothers do, but I don't. But I do love that I share that connection with him. He got it. It's a business where you can get what you put into it if you work hard. My mother has always been an antiques dealer in one form or another. She either had a store, a booth, went to markets, or, like now, owns an antique mall in Texas. She thinks it's hilarious that I ended up so much like her. Long story short, it's genetics which landed me in this role. If you saw my grandmother's home and took a look around my shop, the influence is undeniable."

These are the types of stories which will be retold through "American Dealers", a series which hopes to highlight the deep and personal stories of why these entrepreneurs followed a business path which puts them in such rich contact with history.

Filming at Nest Vintage Modern will begin Friday evening at their location in La Grange.

Information courtesy of a news release from Nest Vintage Modern.