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FURS page 43
responsibility of his mother
and four siblings. (Louis' fa-
ther, a bricklayer in Russia,
had stepped off a scaffolding
and died from injuries.)
Young Louis traveled to
Dayton, Ohio, where he had
cousins, subsequently worked
as a 15-year-old apprentice to
a Chicago furrier, and learned
to cut, sew and finish fur.
When he was 19, Louis was
fixed up with "a girl from De-
troit" and within three months
they were married.
Louis Kozin's move to De-
troit occurred when his father-
in-law suggested he would be
an ideal partner for a Jericho
Temple lodge brother named
David Wrubel. Wrubel and
Kozin opened a wholesale fur
business in 1924 on Grand An early advertisement from Furs By Robert.
River, later moved to the Dexter- own store, which he opened at
Davison area, then on to the "Av- Woodward near Forest and main-
enue of Fashion," before tained until the mid-1980s. He
establishing their present store was proud of the fact that no one
in downtown Birmingham.
ever robbed his store, not even
"There has been no Wrubel in during the riots. His customers
the business for 46 years," states included such celebrities as
Mr. Kozin, "but we kept the name Prophet Jones, who enjoyed pos-
as a reminder of their friendship." ing resplendently in floor-length
Mr. Kozin describes his initia- white ermine.
tion into the business as a family
Phil Bricker established his fur
matter. He was studying ac- business on Dexter and
counting at Wayne University Burlingame in the early 1930s.
when his father told him he was His brother, Abe, had emigrated
needed.
from Romania, opening a shop on
"In those days, if your father Chalmers.
needed you, you went," he says.
"The family name was Shiroc-
"It's a whole different world."
ki," recalls Phil's daughter, Bev-
Mr. Kozin's sister, Diane Wish, erly Sabbath of West Bloomfield.
also joined the family business, "But soon everyone assumed the
and they have been partners for name Bricker.'
46 years.
She recalls with affection the
Until recently, few women pride her father felt for his work.
were furriers. Robert Roberts Eddie Miller's family remembers
now has his wife, Robin, working him as 'every proud and ethical,"
with him.
standing up against unscrupu-
Janice Mann, who has served lous furriers who sometimes set
as a partner with her husband up shop in hotel rooms.
Robert for more than 25 years,
Along with this nostalgia is a
claims the industry has been consensus that the industry has
"very chauvinistic." She feels changed dramatically from the
more women are needed in the halcyon days when a fur coat was
industry because they can read- a respected status symbol.
ily identify the comfort of a coat
A few furriers still customize
and better understand the needs coats on site, but most travel to
of women.
New York or Montreal to pur-
Other names significant in chase ready-made coats, most of
local Jewish furrier history in- which are designed abroad.
clude the late Edward Miller, Phil
Local employees tend to be
Bricker, and John Keystone.
immigrants, often Greek or Rus-
Miller was president of the De- sian, who have been trained in
troit Furriers Guild for many their native countries to cut, style,
years and served on the national sew, and remodel furs. Few
board. His career began in New American counterparts are as
York when, as a boy, he was a versatile.
furrier's runner and assistant. He
Mr. Mann describes the in-
quickly became known for both dustry in New York as shrinking.
his craftsmanship and sales- Most 65- and 75-year-old manu-
manship, and, in 1929, Russek's facturers have left or retired,
Department Store sent him to sometimes forced out of the busi-
Detroit to open a branch fur de- ness.
partment, targeting affluent auto
The story is less bleak in the
titans' wives as customers.
Detroit suburbs, for the furriers
During the war years, Mr. have rolled with the punches in-
Miller worked days at Russek's flicted by the changing market.
and nights in a defense factory — The Maims have added hand-
it was that or serve in the Army, bags and scarves and a wide
leaving his wife and children be- selection of cloth codts and rain-
hind.
coats. Others have expanded to
By 1945, he was eager for his leather.