Friday, June 10, 2005 | 5:54 a.m.
Susan Snyder's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays. Reach her at [email protected] or (702) 259-4082.
WEEKEND EDITION
June 11-12, 2005
Nan Schwartz and her mother, Jayne Achter, are selling something naughty.
But only in name.
Schwartz, 65, and Achter, who turns 86 in July, have turned a randy piece of 19th-century Americana into what could be a 21st-century gold mine.
They're called Naughty Nellies, after the 1800s-era bootjacks of the same name. The originals are cast-iron figures of lingerie-clad saloon gals lying with legs in the air and arms folded seductively behind their heads. Cowboys pulled off their boots by placing the heels between Nellie's knees -- or in the general vicinity.
Some of Schwartz and Achter's modern versions still yank off a pair of boots. But their Nellies also recline on tissue boxes, bookends, paper-towel and toilet-paper holders, wastebaskets, clocks, shelves and racks with hooks for hanging hats, towels or whatever strikes the fancy.
There's even a Naughty Nellie box perfect for a remote control.
"We're taking these girls off their backs," Schwartz said.
Schwartz started collecting authentic Naughty Nellies about 20 years ago and today has nearly 80. She spotted her first one while perusing an antique shop in Cody, Wyo., with her late husband, Stan, who collected old spurs. (He also owned Schwartz's Big and Tall men's clothing store in Las Vegas for nearly 40 years.)
The idea to re-create them for modern use was Achter's. Schwartz had continued running her husband's store at Fashion Show mall after his death. As mall expansion plans evolved five years ago, it was apparent the store had to move or close. Schwartz opted for the latter.
While laying off employees she'd known for decades, Schwartz fretted over what to do next. Achter, a former interior designer in Miami, asked what she had around the house that could be turned into a business.
"I couldn't think of anything. And she said, 'What about the Naughty Nellies?' and I screamed," Schwartz said. "I went to a patent attorney the next day."
Nannie's Naughty Nellies was born. Schwartz calls it their "journey."
"Well, I've never had so much fun with my clothes on," she jokes. "Nothing scared us. We just plunged ahead."
They made the first round of Nellies in their kitchen (both widows, the mother-daughter duo share a home), using a resin recipe obtained from a friend who worked for Walt Disney Inc.
"I was so allergic. I had hives," Schwartz said.
Even working their fastest, they could only make 10 a day -- not enough. A friend of a friend led them to a Taiwanese manufacturer, and Nellie hit the Internet with www.nanniesnaughtynellies.com. (They're also sold at Vasari, a store in Boca Park at Charleston and Rampart boulevards.)
Naughty Nellie hat bands and boot bracelets are next. Eventually they hope to sell jewelry, if they find a designer who can work on a small scale.
"She's had so many people try it," Achter said, "but they don't get the legs up right."
She meant exactly what you think she meant. And she didn't blush.
"With all the sex out there today," Acther said, "well ... at least they're dressed."
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