Edward Nader: A Man of Modern Design

Edward Nader is a man of modern design. It’s evident in the layout of Nader’s Gallery on Kings Highway. It’s evident in the clean lines of the furniture and accessories he designs. furniture and accessories he designs.

He doesn’t seem like the type to stick a message from a fortune cookie on his refrigerator. That is, until you read it: “Great things are accomplished only by the perfection accomplished only by the perfection of the minor details.”

It’s more than a fortune. It’s more It’s more than a fortune. It’s more than a mantra or a mission statement. It defines Nader. “The devil is in the detail,” Nader said. That attention to detail has guided Nader through 40 years of expanding Nader’s Gallery beyond a small framing shop into a furniture and framing shop into a furniture and home accessory and design center with global reach. Well, that attention to detail and a strong working relationship with his sister Margaret. “I know a lot of siblings can’t neces “I know a lot of siblings can’t necessarily work together,” he said. “But sarily work together,” he said. “But Margaret and I are both in the same Margaret and I are both in the same brain. We’re both very Type A. We’re both very organized. We’re both very meticulous. We’re of the same mind-meticulous. We’re of the same mind set, so it’s been very successful.” Margaret said the relationship has Margaret said the relationship has worked from childhood, despite an worked from childhood, despite an eight-year age difference between them. “When he was little kid, I was like an extra mom to him,” she said. “I like an extra mom to him,” she said. “I was pretty protective. When we started was pretty protective. When we started in business together, we had the same in business together, we had the same ideals. If we have a job to do, we just do ideals. If we have a job to do, we just do it. That’s worked out really well.” The shared mindset goes back more than 40 years of sharing the business. It’s a family tradition for the Naders. “I always had an engineering brain,” Edward said. “I would always revisit things and rework things.” He revisit things and rework things.” He blended that engineering mind with an artistic eye. “I always had a level of aesthetics,” he said. “One of my older sisters sent me card I had sent her. I was describing my suit I was wearing to someone’s confirmation. I was 6 or 7 years old. I used to go to JC Penney’s. I had my own salesman there. It was Mr. Hamm. I was telling her it was double-breasted. I was telling her what I was going to wear with it. So, I was always kind of aesthetically drilled in.” Nader said his left-brain/ right-brain balance comes from the blending of his mother’s and father’s influences on his life as a child. “My mother had a ridiculous level of style,” he said. “And she was the smartest woman you would ever know. She was ridiculously creative. There’s a lot of creativity in our family. Our mother was so intelligent. You would have a conversation with her in her mid-90s, and she would tell you what was happening on the Hill, what’s happening in any world politics, she would tell you what was happening here locally, and she could tell you where Madonna was. It was crazy because she was that kind of person. She was so amazingly well-rounded. I think without a doubt I got that from my mother.”

confirmation. I was 6 or 7 years old. I used to go to JC Penney’s. I had my own salesman there. It was Mr. Hamm. I was telling her it was double-breasted. I was telling her what I was going to wear with it. So, I was always kind of aesthetically drilled in.” Nader said his left-brain/ right-brain balance comes from the blending of his mother’s and father’s influences on his life as a child. “My mother had a ridiculous level of style,” he said. “And she was the smartest woman you would ever know. She was ridiculously creative. There’s a lot of creativity in our family. Our mother was so intelligent. You would have a conversation with her in her mid-90s, and she would tell you what was happening on the Hill, what’s happening in any world politics, she would tell you what was happening here locally, and she could tell you where Madonna was. It was crazy because she was that kind of person. She was so amazingly well-rounded. I think without a doubt I got that from my mother.” Nader learned his business acumen from his father, acumen from his father, who was a salesman for Glazer’s Beer and Beverage. Glazer’s Beer and Beverage. “When I was 14, I wanted a stereo,” Nader recalled. “I asked him to loan me the money. He said, ‘No, you’re going to go to the bank said, ‘No, you’re going to go to the bank and get a loan.’ I was like, ‘No, I am and get a loan.’ I was like, ‘No, I am not.” He taught me the importance of not.” He taught me the importance of credit. He took me there and made me credit. He took me there and made me take a loan. He taught me that if you take a loan. He taught me that if you get this loan, you pay it back and you get this loan, you pay it back and you pay it back early. “My father taught me the impor “My father taught me the importance of being solvent. That’s what he always drilled in me. Keep yourself debt free and you will always have the money when an opportunity comes to do what you need to do. That’s one of the strongest things That’s one of the strongest things about the success of our business.” about the success of our business.”

Nader went to LSU Shreveport to Nader went to LSU Shreveport to study accounting. He soon realized study accounting. He soon realized he didn’t like numbers that much, he didn’t like numbers that much, so he got a degree in marketing and so he got a degree in marketing and management. He started to pursue an MBA. That’s when he decided it an MBA. That’s when he decided it was time for a change. “I was really was time for a change. “I was really bored with it,” he said. “I was 20 years bored with it,” he said. “I was 20 years old, and I was kind of bored in Shreve old, and I was kind of bored in Shreveport. I was getting ready to move. I port. I was getting ready to move. I got a one-way ticket to London, put got a one-way ticket to London, put my car for sale. I was leaving.”

His mind was set on traveling. Margaret had a good job with the state. That’s when their parents asked the children if the state. That’s when their parents asked the children if any of them wanted to take over the frame shop. “Marga-any of them wanted to take over the frame shop. “Marga ret’s husband at the time talked us into doing it,” Nader said. “I said I’d do it for a year. What did I have to lose?” The siblings decided to purchase the business. That was 1983, and this is 40 years later. Edward and Margaret mastered the framing business in 1,000 square feet. Edward got certified by the Professional Picture Framers Association, and their reputation grew. Through those 40 years, the store and its product offerings Through those 40 years, the store and its product offerings have expanded with every new challenge Edward embraced. “We started doing all these commercial jobs,” he said. “Once “We started doing all these commercial jobs,” he said. “Once we kind of mastered that, I got bored. I get bored easi-we kind of mastered that, I got bored. I get bored easi ly. So, then we brought in accessories and that sort of ly. So, then we brought in accessories and that sort of thing. Then lighting.” “We’d always kind of do a little bit of design work here and design work there, but then we began to bring in more things — more acces began to bring in more things — more accessories and more furniture. As that continued to evolve, I always painted a little. But I was never considered a professional artist. I’d sell a piece here. I’d sell a piece there. It was really all for my own enjoyment. As time went on, I began to paint a little bit time went on, I began to paint a little bit more. I just kind of continued to build on one more thing.” one more thing.” After years of going to market to buy inven-After years of going to market to buy inven tory for the store, Nader built relationships tory for the store, Nader built relationships with all of the major furniture manufacturers. They would ask his opinion about their ers. They would ask his opinion about their pieces. Before long, Nader picked up another pieces. Before long, Nader picked up another interest. “We would talk, and they would say, ‘Let me “We would talk, and they would say, ‘Let me show you our new stuff. What do you think of this?’ I’d say, ‘It’s beautiful…Why don’t you do the legs a little more like this. Or why don’t you do a radius or a bullnose on top?’ And they’d say, ‘That’s a great idea. You should be doing this stuff.’ That’s how my furniture be doing this stuff.’ That’s how my furniture design came about.” Nader’s designs are manufactured and sold around the world. But his is not a household name around the world. But his is not a household name in the furniture business. That’s exactly how he wants it. “When you brand yourself, like Martha Stewart, the trajectory of your life changes. I love what I do, and I am very happy knowing that when people stop and talk to me, they want to stop and talk to me, and not because I am a big deal. That’s always been a huge turnoff for me. I can name 10 friends who branded themselves. They are still great people, but they have no time for a regular life.” Nader is grateful to David Gebhart, CEO of Global Views, which manufactures some of Nader’s designs. Nader said it’s a relationship built on one common interest. “He does such detail to the last degree,” Nader said. “The finishes are perfect. There is nothing that’s not perfect. The reason he is grossly successful is that nothing leaves unless it’s perfect. Nothing is good enough with him. It’s perfect. That’s one of the things he loves about me.” And while Nader’s designs are worldwide, his roots remain close to home. Three Shreveport institutions that the Naders enjoy supporting are The Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, St. Joseph’s School and Loyola College Prep, where Margaret’s children went to school. The Naders have restored 19th century Italian paintings of St. Ignacious Loyola and St. Francis Xavier that had degraded and now hang in the church again. The also restored Charles M.

Schulz’s original drawing of Snoopy that the cartoonist allowed the school to use as its Flyers mascot. The Naders also support the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and other area nonprofits. “We built a business from scratch,” Margaret said. “We worked really hard, and we believe that if you give, it comes back to you fourfold. It makes us joyful and happy to give back. We’re willing to do what we can to help people.” Edward said it’s a matter of preserving community, just like preserving art. “We’re very committed to Shreveport,” he said. “You’ve got to give back to your community. You’ve got to continue to carry your own community or it will slowly degrade.” “I have had the opportunity to leave Shreveport on numerous occasions. People ask me all the time, ‘Why are you still here?’ My family is here. My friends are here. It’s hard to leave this community. It’s easy to live in. You can’t moan and complain about it if you don’t try to make a difference.”

in the furniture business. That’s exactly how he wants it. “When you brand yourself, like Martha Stewart, the trajectory of your life changes. I love what I do, and I am very happy knowing that when people stop and talk to me, they want to stop and talk to me, and not because I am a big deal. That’s always been a huge turnoff for me. I can name 10 friends who branded themselves. They are still great people, but they have no time for a regular life.” Nader is grateful to David Gebhart, CEO of Global Views, which manufactures some of Nader’s designs. Nader said it’s a relationship built on one common interest. “He does such detail to the last degree,” Nader said. “The finishes are perfect. There is nothing that’s not perfect. The reason he is grossly successful is that nothing leaves unless it’s perfect. Nothing is good enough with him. It’s perfect. That’s one of the things he loves about me.” And while Nader’s designs are worldwide, his roots remain close to home. Three Shreveport institutions that the Naders enjoy supporting are The Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, St. Joseph’s School and Loyola College Prep, where Margaret’s children went to school. The Naders have restored 19th century Italian paintings of St. Ignacious Loyola and St. Francis Xavier that had degraded and now hang in the church again. The also restored Charles M.

Schulz’s original drawing of Snoopy that the cartoonist allowed the school to use as its Flyers mascot. The Naders also support the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and other area nonprofits. “We built a business from scratch,” Margaret said. “We worked really hard, and we believe that if you give, it comes back to you fourfold. It makes us joyful and happy to give back. We’re willing to do what we can to help people.” Edward said it’s a matter of preserving community, just like preserving art. “We’re very committed to Shreveport,” he said. “You’ve got to give back to your community. You’ve got to continue to carry your own community or it will slowly degrade.” “I have had the opportunity to leave Shreveport on numerous occasions. People ask me all the time, ‘Why are you still here?’ My family is here. My friends are here. It’s hard to leave this community. It’s easy to live in. You can’t moan and complain about it if you don’t try to make a difference.”