One of my favorite home stores here in Detroit is The Bureau of Urban Living. They’ve started a new initiative called First Thursdays. It’s a special day whereby they set aside a percentage of sales to benefit a particular Detroit charity.
This July 3rd, proceeds will benefit efforts to save the old Tiger Stadium. The store will be open late, until 9:00 PM. Mark your calendars and I’ll see you there.
Just one more thing before the weekend break. The Bureau of Urban Living is having a 25% off sale this weekend.
The Bureau is located in Detroit, on Canfield. They sell wonderful home accessories and gifts. Don’t miss this opportunity to save some money, spruce up your house, buy a gift for Dad, and support Detroit small business owners.
See you there!
Misterarthur is a cycling enthusiast. So much so that he rode his bike across Spain a few years ago, following the centuries old pilgrimage route known as the Camino de Santiago. He now rides about 50 miles each weekend, following a route of his own creation through Detroit. In an effort to create some interest in having others join him, he’s started a new blog called Tour De Hood. It features notes on his journeys as well as a map loaded with photos of our “fair” city. If you’re interested in seeing what our once booming metropolis looks like you should pay it a visit.
The route got its name last summer during the annual Tour de France. Misterarthur was cycling past a church one Sunday when a boy, standing on the steps of a church, yelled to him, “Yo! Tour de hood!”
Get on your bikes and ride.
I’m kickin’ back in my fancy recliner tonight to watch the Red Wings trounce the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A new shelter magazine, Loft Life, will soon be hitting the shelves of your favorite bookstore (and my Amazon Shop). The quarterly magazine, aims to tap into the current trend in, well… loft living.
There seems to be plenty of room for Loft Life within the shelter zine world, given the tremendous interest in open space planning - whether it be residential or commercial. A perfect example can be found here in Detroit where lofts are almost as hot as Paris Hilton. Okay, well - whatever. They’re getting big.
You can check out Loft Life online here.
Greetings from Detroit! I adore these goodies from City Bird, a local firm that celebrates Motown living with images of our city’s street map screened on everything from clocks to soaps.
You can buy their products at their Etsy Shop. Or, travel downtown to find their products at The Bureau of Urban Living, and Zaccaro’s Market.
I scooted over to The College for Creative Studies this afternoon for a sneak peek at their annual Student Show, which gets underway tonight. CCS is a fine art school located in Detroit. It’s one of the best in the country. The industrial design department is known internationally as one of the best in the world.
The juried show is open for two weeks and most of the art is up for sale, with proceeds going directly to the students.
The show begins tonight. Early admission (your chance to get the best stuff) is at 5:00 PM. General admission is $50 and opens at 7:00 PM. You can buy tickets at the door. After tonight the show is free. You can purchase art throughout the event. Art is picked up when the show ends.
This year, you can charge your purchases. Otherwise, bring checks - you’ll need one for each purchase.
Estate sales are a huge thing in Grosse Pointe (the suburb adjoining Detroit). They’re a great way to find one-of-a-kind elements to round out your home decor. If you’re looking for furniture, bargain prices are everywhere. Estate sales have become a booming business - both for the companies that organize them and for the shoppers who frequent them. In fact, when it comes to shoppers, the competition has become fierce with casual shoppers vying for the goodies with professional collectors (some looking for bargains to resell on eBay) and antique dealers.
Estate sale companies organize the sales and set the prices in return for a percentage of the profits. Because of the enormous popularity, they’ve also created a system to control the free-for-all among shoppers trying to gain entry. They issue numbers to shoppers who are then admitted in groups. Being first in line is essential to getting first dibs.
If you’re interested in estate sale shopping, here are some tips for getting there first and getting the best price.
Make a list. Most estate sales are held on weekends, usually running from Friday through Sunday. Begin by checking your local paper for estate sale ads and make a list of the addresses you’re most interested in.
Check prices. If you’re looking for something in particular that’s mentioned in the sale, do a little research to ensure you’re getting a fair price (which aren’t usually listed in the ads). eBay is a good resource. Goodwill has a PDF of fair trade prices. You can also check prices for similar items that are new.
To guarantee first dibs, getting there first is essential. Contact the company to ask about entrance rules. Believe it or not, most companies in Grosse Pointe hand out numbers at the home on a first-come basis beginning at 3:00 am. Once you have your number you can go back to bed and return at the start of the sale.
Haggling. You can bargain for a better price, but typically not at the start of the sale. If you’re interested in a real bargain make a note of an item you’re interested and keep your fingers crossed that it will still be there at the end of the sale. That’s when many companies cut prices in half. Be prepared to make a half-price offer, since many shoppers don’t know this little secret.
The best bargain I found was an Orrefors bowl for $8.00. The items pictured here are vintage linens, including a Liberty napkin holder - with the napkins, an antique nut cracker, English horn handled steak knives, a pair of Chinese porcelain ducks, and a hand-carved Chinese cinnabar box.
Have you found an estate sale bargain? Do you have a tip of your own? Share it with the rest of us. And happy bargain hunting.
This Saturday night the Detroit contemporary home store, Mezzanine, is hosting an exhibition featuring the artwork of Todd Patrick. It’s a benefit for Art Road, a non-profit organization that works to bring art classes into Detroit elementary schools that currently have no art education whatsoever.
Todd is a local Detroit artist and architect who paints in intense colors on glass. He back-paints the glass and builds up his paintings in layers in reverse, a very complicated process that yields work that looks very polished - it’s almost luminescent - but very complex. The work features organic shapes that range from abstract to vaguely representational; it is boldly graphic but sophisticated.
The show runs from 6 - 10 PM. For directions and more information, call Mezzanine at 313 442 9000. I’ll see you there.
The College for Creative Studies will be holding its annual student show and sale starting Friday, May 16th. It’s always an amazing and popular event - the best work gets snapped up in the first couple of hours, but the sale runs for a week. I’ll be posting a preview next week. Oh, it’s also a fun party.
But it’s more than just a sale. You’ll also have a chance to view the creative work from other departments. Automotive design always gets world-wide acclaim. Of course, the interior design department turns in an excellent work. Be sure to take some time to view the animation films. They’re fun.
You can buy tickets at the school, through the mail, or at the door. Early admission begins at 5:30 pm and tickets are $350. Regular admission costs $50 and begins at 7:00 pm. The show is free of charge after opening night and runs through May 30th. The art stays up until then, so you get to see everything.
If you’re interested in buying artwork be sure to bring checks. All proceeds from the sales go directly to the students and checks are written directly to them. For more information, call the school at 313-664-7464. See you there!
The downtown Detroit home store, Bureau of Urban Living, is holding a special event this weekend. Starting today and running through Saturday, they’ll donate a percentage of every sale to the Detroit Farmer’s Market.
The Bureau sells home accessories and gifts from Snow & Graham, French Bull, and Tablecraft (to name just a few). This is a great opportunity to support our downtown businesses and a worthy cause. For hours and directions, click here.
Talented Michigan Artist, Heidi Marshall, has a show coming up in Charlevoix in a few months. I spoke to her recently about the show, which she’s preparing for at her beautiful, lakeside home in Harbor Springs (that’s at the top of the Michigan mitten).
“I’m working in pastels for this show,” says Heidi. “My work will feature people, animals, and landscapes. I try to interpret a bit of who and/or what they are - the essence and individuality that is unique to a person, object, time and place. Capturing this spirit in natural light is exciting. There’s something about being in light and color while you’re painting it. When things go well, it’s sublime.”
The show will be held at The Cycling Salamander, a fine art gallery just outside Charlevoix, Michigan. The show is called Pastels, by Heidi A. Marshall. It’s mostly Plein Air, and will include about 24 pieces.
The opening reception is June 28, 2008 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
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