Vendor of the Month: November

Name: Jason Wier

Business Info: Brave Relics

Name three words that describe you. Independent, Fond of the Outdoors, Old Soul.

What items do you specialize in? Mostly authentic antique advertising, taxidermy, and original painted signage.

What is your favorite place to source products? I like to think of it as, “The American West.”

What is your most prized possession that you've made over the years? I’d have to say a 1920s Case Farm Machinery Sign in its original frame.

How do you spend your time when you aren't at The NAT? Mostly with my wife and daughters. I do a lot of trailer camping, fishing, hunting, and searching for old things.

What's your personal motto? My dad has this term, “Grab another gear.” It’s just a way of saying that when things get hard, you push on and fight harder. Grab another gear.

Vendor of the Month: October

Name: Ema Mowoe

Business Info: House of Emana

Name three words that describe you. Sassy + Outgoing + Compassionate

What items do you specialize in? Macramé!

What is your favorite place to source products? I love finding unique objects to work into my macramé projects, so I really love coming to shops like The NAT and other flea markets to find items.

What is your most prized possession that you've made over the years? I made a large macramé wall hanging that is being used for backdrops in some weddings! You can find it in the October issue of Amarillo Magazine.

Where do you find inspiration? Most of my inspiration comes from African textiles, and nature. I love looking through photos of textiles and vines and mimicking those looks in my work.

How do you spend your time when you aren't at The NAT? I’m a full-time nurse at BSA, and I’m a mother!

What's your personal motto? One of my favorite quotes is, “Just when the caterpillar thought her life was over, she became a butterfly."

Vendor of the Month: September

Name: Karen Wilson

Business Info: Furniture: Restyled

Name three words that describe you. Creative + Nurturing + Innovative

What items do you specialize in? I have a wide variety of interior items in my booth. For the most part I work with furniture. I love giving new life to old things!

What is your favorite place to source antiques? I mostly go to estate sales and auctions. I also love getting to go to Canton.

What is your most prized possession that you've "picked" over the years? A few years ago I was lucky enough to find an amazing Broyhill Brasilia bedroom set. It is one of the most unique sets I've had - I even kept it at home for a long time because I wasn't ready to part ways with it just yet! I eventually brought it into my booth at The Nat, and it found a new home from there!

Where do you find inspiration? Mostly through Pinterest. I have family and clients who live in Austin, so we get to visit fairly regularly. I always make it a point to stop in clients' stores to see what their selling, what displays catch my eye, that sort of thing. Any time I'm in a bigger city, I like to check out their antique stores to find more inspiration.

How do you spend your time when you aren't at The NAT? I retired not too long ago, so I get to spend a lot of time with my grandkids! If I'm not chasing my grandkids around, I'm usually found painting. There aren't many days now that I'm not covered in paint!

What's your personal motto? Honesty is the best policy! I've found over the years that telling the truth, even when it hurts, is a great lesson to follow.

Vendor of the Month

Hi everyone!

Kasey Tam here. I'm the owner of The NAT, and while I'm not sure I deserve to be Vendor of the Month (there's some tough competition in this place), I thought starting with me would be a nice way to introduce myself and tell you a bit about our future plans here on The NAT Blog. 

We've been seeking out ways to better connect with our loyal local customers as well as those who travel through this little city of ours, and figured monthly introductions would be a great place to begin. So, every month, we'll sit down with one of our 100 vendors and talk shop, life, inspo, and more! With that said, let's jump right in!

Name: Kasey Tam

Business Info: From 6th Collective, The NAT, & Nest Interiors + Construction

Name three words that describe you. Dreamer + Creative + Loud

What items do you specialize in? Anything and Everything. Ha! I know that's broad, but it's true. I sell a lot of one-of-a-kind antique pieces, a couple of market lines, as well as all things weird and wonderful. I mean, who doesn't need a giant hornet's nest? Talk about a conversation starter.

What is your favorite place to source antiques? While in college, I frequented the antique shops along Dallas' Industrial Blvd. White Elephant was the shop that actually inspired me to go out on my own when I moved back to Amarillo. Now days though, I live for Antiques Week down in Round Top. We're really lucky to live within driving distance of a place like that. I'm already preparing the trailer for the next show this fall!

What is your most prized possession that you've "picked" over the years? I'd have to say the hand carved buffalo skull my husband and I purchased on our honeymoon in Bali. Getting to meet the artist that carved it makes it even more special. 

Where do you find inspiration? Mostly through pinterest and design magazines like Living Etc, Domino, and Elle Decor (the UK edition). I can't travel abroad very often, so I tend to browse magazines that are published over seas. I don't know what it is about Australia, but their design community is insanely innovative and inspiring to me. 

How do you spend your time when you aren't at The NAT? I'm usually doing the not so pretty tasks that keep the place afloat from my office or home; like balancing checkbooks, paying utilities, etc. I also own and operate an Interior Design & Construction Company with my dad and husband. My two toddlers keep me really, really busy on top of it all. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. My jobs allow me to travel all over in search of treasures to bring back and share with our customers. We take the kids on most buying trips as well, so I'm hopeful they'll appreciate this lifestyle as much as we do some day. 

What's your personal motto? Never hurts to try. I never dreamed I'd be twenty something and operating an antique mall, but it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made! I absolutely love the interaction I get from our amazing staff, vendors, and customers. If you've been wanting to try your hand at retail, The NAT is a great place to start!