Nick Verreos Tells Sears a Heartwarming Childhood Story, Tells Queerty All About It

Project Runway alum Nick Verreos is the softer side of Sears this holiday season in a new ad campaign called “Wishtories” that also features Ty Pennington, LL Cool J and Vanessa Hutchens. Each spot has a celebrity sitting down and talking about a childhood Christmas gift they received that helped them reach their dreams. Uncle Nick’s is of course, a sewing machine.

The ads are wonderfully heartwarming with the underlying theme of “Please, oh God, please buy stuff this season, even if there’s not going to be any stock market or auto industry and we’ll all be fighting each other off with hand-carved sticks come January. Pleeeeeaaaaassse” which is done primarily through orchestral strings and nostalgic childhood memories. Seriously, by the time Nick gets around to talking about how he thanks his parents every single day and tells them “my successes are your successes”, every kid who’s ever even glanced at a thread and needle will be getting a brand new Craftsman sewing machine under the tree this year. Don Draper would approve.

Nick told Queerty all about the experience:

“I was approached over a month ago-in the midst of making my Spring Collection for the Bahamas Fashion Week-by Sears to be in their upcoming Holiday Commercial and ad campaign…

Well, needless to say I was floored-and started jumping up and down like a little girl!

The theme of the commercial is a “wish story” and mine deals with how my mom gave me my grandmother’s old Singer Sewing Machine (bought @ Sears!) when I was about 12 and how that inspired me and helped me on the path to being the designer that I am-and strive to be-in the future.
If I can inspire another kid, who may not be feeling so comfortable about becoming a fashion designer(I was-I was afraid that my parents would think it was ‘too gay’) In the end, of course, they didn’t care and in fact they were 110 % supportive.

I actually got teary-eyed and cried when we filmed the ad-it was done confessional style with no script, just questions about my mom and me as a young boy so that’s why.

A funny side note is that the commercial and print ads were filmed A BLOCK AWAY from my Downtown LA studio loft! I didn’t know where the location would be until the day before (you know how shoots are) and then I got home and there was a sign on my door saying “Notice of Filming: Sears Commercial” I turned to my partner David and said “Oh, I think this is for MY commercial!” What are the coincidences of the shoot happening a block away! Crazy. The producers had no idea so when my call time came (and I could watch through my studio window the trailers and set up and cameras) all I did was leave my place and cross the street! The producers and crew laughed when they saw me coming.”