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Vintage Nest: Owner’s love of shopping spawned business
Customers browse at Vintage Nest's ecclectic mix of nwe and old treasures. | Jackie Pilossoph~For Sun-Times Media
Vintage Nest
1891 Tower Drive
(847) 834-0287
Hours: M-S 10-6
Sun. 12-5
Article Extras
Updated: October 16, 2012 9:00AM
GLENVIEW — A few years ago, Mindy Schloss discovered a hobby that would completely change her professional life.
The 48-year-old, who at the time was an advertising executive, began driving to the antique markets in Sandwich, Ill.
“My friends and I would go once a month,” said Schloss, who has lived in Glenview with her husband and two children for 11 years, “I would find these great old pieces and I’d decorate my house with them.”
As her shopping continued, Schloss ended up buying so many things that she had to get a storage locker.
“I wasn’t worried because I had a feeling that at some point I’d end up selling everything,” she said.
So, she kept shopping, and eventually moved everything into a garage space located on Chestnut Avenue, where she would open and sell to the public once a month. With word of mouth as the only form of advertising, Schloss began to sell out quickly, and that gave her the confidence to quit her full time job in the advertising industry and open Vintage Nest, the vintage furniture and accessory store with the shabby chic look, located on Tower Drive in the Glen Town Center.
“I like the self-inspired flair that’s evident all over the store,” said customer Dena Chamberlain, “There will be an old lamp post turned into a necklace holder.”
Vintage Nest carries furniture, jewelry, clothing, accessories, home goods, gifts, wall décor and note cards.
“I just love the history of things,” said Schloss, “All the furnishings in the store are old and then we mix them with new and old accessories.”
Jennifer Moe has been a customer since the Chestnut location.
“My home is transitional, which is a combination of old and new,” Moe said, “I have a decorating bug, and I love to infuse antiques with modern flair.”
Schloss said mixing old accessories and furniture with new makes a home eclectic.
“You can have one antique piece and make a setting around it like a vignette, which makes it very romantic,” Schloss said, “It’s warm, it’s comfortable, it’s pleasing to the eye and it’s soothing.”
Gifts are a big part of Vintage Nest’s business, ranging in price from $10-$50.
“I’ve purchased chairs, stools, decorative items, picture frames, and I always stop by if I’m going to a holiday party or a birthday party to get a hostess or birthday gift,” said Chamberlain.
Schloss said her customers are primarily female, and that lots of designers and people decorating or redecorating their homes stop in. She said she has a book full of customers’ names and phone numbers who are looking for certain pieces for which she scouts.
“The best part of this whole job is the shopping,” she said, “Two weeks ago I was in Minneapolis at Junk Bonanza, which is a three-day antique fair. It’s great. I used to do this for myself and now I get to do it for my business.”
“Her things are so inviting and she has so much style,” said Moe of Schloss, “I get great ideas from her.”
“The things I find in Mindy’s store are one of a kind,” said Chamberlain.
