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Art, antiques appraiser Rachel Weathers talks about coming home
By Josh Hickman
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After 20 years of fine art and antiques appraising in the historical and cultural mecca of New Orleans, Preston Hollow’s Rachel Weathers of Weathers Appraisal Associates is glad to be back home.
“I live only about a mile and a half from the house where I grew up,” she comments on her home of five years now. “Dallas has always been a dynamic city. I love being back in my childhood neighborhood. I’m home.”
Her love of the arts blossomed at the Booker T. Washington High School for Performing Arts and the University of Texas at Austin. Then she worked in several Dallas galleries before heading to graduate school at Tulane.
Not seeing her future in academia, Weathers landed a job at a New Orleans auction house, eventually working for the prestigious Neal Auction Company for 15 years — working her way up to director of furniture, then director of paintings for five years.
“New Orleans is a historic, beautiful place, but not a good place to have a health issue,” Weathers said. The increasing medical care of her special needs son necessitated a return to Dallas.
“I was having trouble finding a good neurologist,” she said, which prompted flights to Children’s Hospital in Dallas for better care. Her parents encouraged the move back and helped her family find a house close by in the old neighborhood.
Back in Dallas, Weathers joined the team at Heritage Auctions.
“I’m grateful for my three and a half years at Heritage,” Weathers said. “After 20 years in New Orleans, I was able to come home and have dinner with my mom and dad any night of the week. I am a licensed auctioneer in the State of Texas through Heritage. I worked full-time as senior appraiser, a concentration I did not have time for in New Orleans.
“Heritage is a pretty jet-set company, and they tried to accommodate my obligations at home and minimized my travel,” she said. “As Heritage made plans to move the headquarters near DFW airport, I worried about the logistics of care for my special needs child and being available for my parents. When the tornado of 2019 flew over my house and scrambled homes on the blocks
Rachel Weathers’ love of the arts blossomed at the Booker T. Washington
High School for Performing Arts. (PHOTO: JOSH HICKMAN)
on both sides of us, it was time to step back.”
Friend Brant Laird gave Weathers a part-time job at Consignment Heaven. “He has taught me so much about Park Cities collecting and decorating.”
No longer constrained by remote learning with her children, she procured an office in the J Garrett Auctioneers building at 9203 Diplomacy Row in the warehouse district. She is a consultant operating as Weathers Appraisal Associates.
“It’s great to have collaboration instead of just one person working alone,” she said. J Garrett is “a family business. They’ve done the T. Boone Pickens and Bo Pilgrim estates and will soon host a signing of Preston Hollow resident John Phifer Marrs’s new book Interiors for Collectors and the accompanying auction of part of his collection.” BEFORE YOU BUY
Buy what’s meaningful to you. People think they can make a lot of money flipping art, but it’s impossible to know what’s going to be selling for a lot in 10 years. You just don’t know.
Don’t assume your kids will want it. If you end up with a multi-generational collection that gets handed down, then great. But a lot of people build up a collection not thinking that it’s eventually going to get sold piece by piece.
There are a lot more tools available today to the average person than there were when I started decades ago. But be mindful of your sources. LiveAuctioneers will have one price for an item, and 1st Dibs will have a completely different price for the same item. So, know what your market is.
Source: Rachel Weathers
22 April 2022 | parkcitiespeople.com Supply Chain Challenges Prompt Creation of Trucking Academy Preston Hollow couple aims to recruit more women, people of color into the industry
By Emilea McCutchan
People Newspapers
Preston Hollow husband-andwife trucking duo Austin Carter and Sierra Nicole have seen the brunt of ongoing supply chain woes and are opening a trade school to combat it.
Carter, a trucking veteran of seven years, sees a truck driver shortage contributing to the problem. The pandemic has exacerbated the pre-existing shortage, and new regulations have made it challenging to obtain the proper certifications to move freight, he said.
“A lot of people, especially in California, [can’t] even get into the ports unless they have certain certifications to be in a port [and] to be able to get freight,” said Carter. “[Due] to that right there, we’re really suffering.”
That means shipping delays and barren store shelves, Nicole added.
They are starting Elite Trade Academy to bring more people into the trucking industry.
The academy will operate as a four-week program where students spend two weeks studying online to attain their permit before learning how to shift and maneuver in an actual semi-truck. Students would then take a test to achieve their Commercial Driving License.
So far, they have helped students with online classes but are still putting the funding together to attain the physical elements of the school, such as the semi-truck.
Sierra Nicole and Austin Carter (COURTESY PHOTO)
“It is our mission to be able to get more drivers out,” Carter said. They are especially focused on introducing more people of color to trucking, he said. “We’re [also] trying to get more women inside the trucking industry because they make up about 40% of the workforce, but in trucking, it’s about 7%.”
Nicole also wants to target ex-felons, people in low-income communities, and adults who have aged out of the foster care system. The academy has given scholarships to people within these demographics, she said.
They also hope to show how trucking is a good career opportunity. For Carter and Nicole, a career in trucking has provided for their family for seven years.
“The fact that [Carter] was able to [learn] a trade, have a good career, and provide for our family [is] what really sparked [Elite Trade Academy],” Nicole said.
They want to give that same opportunity to others.
“Having a career in trucking [is] not just a career,” said Nicole, “but it’s a lifestyle.”
Easter
at Saint Michael
Join us for our easter weekday podcast
Begins April 18
saintmichael.org/smaapod
Sunday, April 17
6:30 am | Garden Cloister Contemporary Sunrise Service
9 am | Church LIVESTREAM Holy Eucharist II Brass, timpani, and the Saint Michael Choristers with Staff Singers sings music by Bairstow and the Hallelujah Chorus.
9 am | Parish Hall Contemporary
9 am | SMC Joy: A children’s Service 11 am | Church Holy Eucharist I Brass, timpani, and choral music by Stanford, Parker, & Willan. 11 am | Parish Hall LIVESTREAM Contemporary 11 am | SMC Holy Eucharist I 5:30 pm | SMC Holy Eucharist II
Resort Style Living!
4833 Walnut Hill Lane
$4,549,000 5 Bed / 6.2 Bath / 1.006 Acres
Doris Jacobs
214.537.3399 doris.jacobs@alliebeth.com
Susan Baldwin’s Market Insight
Tenacity, patience and excellent negotiation skills are all key to navigating in today’s market. We work to connect you with the right home and then come in strong to win the transaction. Buyers need to be ready to act fast and be flexible.
Susan Baldwin
214.763.1591 susan.baldwin@alliebeth.com
Cocotos-Scott Group’s Market Insight
The Dallas housing market took a big leap in 2021 with a 13% increase in median home prices. The number of buyers relocating to the area continues to increase with more demand expected in 2022. We expect the market to remain strong with properties selling both on and off the market.
Kimberly Cocotos and Kristen Scott
University Park Estate
7243 Baxtershire Drive
Marc Ching
214.728.4069 marc.ching@alliebeth.com
Designed to Perfection
5138 Deloache Avenue
$10,995,000 6 Bed / 7.2 Bath / 11,185 Sq.Ft.
Alex Perry
214.926.0158 alex.perry@alliebeth.com
University Park Estate
3005 Rosedale Avenue
Susan Bradley
214.674.5518 susan.bradley@alliebeth.com
Hear from My Clients
Clarke found an off market property for us before listing ours which meant everything to us. Winning out in multiple offers and managing both unique closings was a credit to her knowledge and ability in this crazy market.
— JL, Preston Hollow Client
7327 Lane Park Court — SOLD
$974,900 3 Bed / 3.5 Bath / 3,190 Sq. Ft.
3901 Shenandoah Street — CONTRACT PENDING
$7,500,000 4 Bed / 4.4 Bath / 8,814 Sq.Ft..
Beth Parks & Kelley Winsor
214.444.4176 | beth.parks@alliebeth.com
Sue Berk is one-half of the husband and wife team of Berk Walters Homes. With her husband, Brad Walters, the company builds new construction luxury houses in the Dallas area — especially the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, Devonshire, Midway Hollow, and the Bird Streets.
How long have you been in real estate, and what led you to this career?
On and off for 30 years. I started my career in marketing and advertising for Fortune 500 companies. I got into real estate in a roundabout way. I was working at Texas Instruments and had just bought my first condo in North Dallas. I wanted to renovate it and could not get a contractor to do the work. The engineers at TI told me, “Do it yourself!” Some of them helped me out by showing me how to change out a light fixture, and I also learned how to tile by myself. I ended up renovating the entire condo myself in my spare time (paint, tile, wallpaper, etc.). I was featured on The Discovery Channel on a show called Interior Motives. I love being creative, and custom home building allows me to combine creativity, project management, and finance. It is the perfect career for me.
Now that you’ve been a real estate professional for a while, if you could go back in time and give yourself any advice, what would it be?
Buy houses/lots in Midway Hollow and especially The Bird Streets! They were so cheap 20 years ago!
What is the best thing about being a builder?
I love so many things about being a builder. Seeing my vision come to life. Picking out all the tile, paint, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, and more. That is my favorite part — being creative. But I also enjoy working with so many of my subcontractors. They are good people, mostly Hispanic, and it’s satisfying to see them do good work. They really are masters at their craft. I only wish Seeing my vision I spoke Spanish!
come to life. Picking What is your out all the tile, outlook on the Dallas market?
paint, light fixtures, I honestplumbing fixtures, ly do not see it slowing down. and more. That is I sort of wish it my favorite part — would because the traffic from being creative. all the new peoSue Berk ple moving here is insane. And it’s also getting more and more expensive to find lots and to pay for raw material and labor. But it is an exciting time to be a builder in the Metroplex. I love coming up with new designs and new ideas. Dallas is very cutting edge when it comes to new construction and design.
Can you give us a fun fact about yourself?
I grew up in South Africa, and I lived in Israel for a year during my junior year of college. So, I consider myself an immigrant, although most people do not realize it because I have an American accent. I believe that travel is the most important thing anyone can do — to learn about other cultures so you can understand their point of view. – Compiled by Bethany Erickson
9727 Audubon Place
(PHOTOS: COURTESY EBBY HALLIDAY REALTORS)
Originally designed by Robbie Fusch, then reimagined and transformed in 2020 by the current owner, this stunning home includes an addition that clocks in at more than 7,000 square feet. The commanding 1.3-acre gated estate in the heart of Old Preston Hollow comprises an 18,769 square foot main house with seven bedrooms, 10 full and four half-baths, seven fireplaces, four kitchens, a media room, tasting room with chilled wine storage for approximately 1,000 bottles, an exercise/ spa/beauty room, billiard room, a catering kitchen with commercial appliances, and much more. The square footage excludes the 2,026 square-foot climate-controlled auto collector’s showroom with custom lighting. Overlooking a Bachman Creek tributary, the new infinity-edge pool with sunken fire pit rivals any 5-star resort. Just a few of the additional amenities include light-andbright living spaces, Venetian plaster walls, Lutron Smart Home system, a backup generator, elevator, and central vacuum system.
HP prom is April 23rd
15% student discount
