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DIA Art Classes for Young People

A Little Red Wagon
Turns The Tables

LESLIE JOSEPH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

W

hether it's latte, cap-
puccino, espresso or
freeze-dried, there is no
escaping the caffeinat-
ed frenzy sweeping across Amer-
ica. For local artist and avowed
tea drinker El Castor, there is no
place she would rather be.
Ms. Castor is one of the latest
to take advantage of America's
love affair with the coffee bean.

wife Valerie Bertinelli, and for-
mer heavyweight boxing champ
Michael Moorer.
"I originally created the coffee
table for my own home over five
years ago," Ms. Castor said. "I was
looking for a creative but inex-
pensive way to furnish my first
adult apartment."
It was her 2-year-old nephew,
Justin, who served as Ms. Cas-

For a schedule of cla"sses and a
registration form, please call the
-DIA Education Department at
(313) 833-4249.

Flying high with something hot.

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DANIELLE PELEG GALLERY

4301 Orchard Lake Road at Lone Pine
Crosswinds Mall • West Bloomfield (810) 626-5810

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00-6:00, Sunday 12:00-4:00

And her success is thanks to one
red wagon, a lot of coffee and a
large dose of ingenuity.
Her signature creation is a cof-
fee table made from a standard-
size Radio Flyer wagon,
measuring 15 by 34 inches, with
wheels, handle and all. She fills
the entire wagon with coffee
beans, then tops it off with vari-
ous coffee accoutrements such as
cups, spoons, sugars, creamers,
stir sticks, even a plate of fake
pastries and biscotti. The wagon
is then covered with a fitted piece
of glass and sealed airtight.
This literal twist on the coffee
table has taken the country by
storm. What makes her table so
appealing is that it's familiar, said
Anne Kuffler, owner of the Ari-
ana Gallery in Royal Oak, where
the table is sold.
"When people can identify with
something in art work, it makes
it more approachable, less intim-
idating," Ms. Kuffler said. "The
coffee table makes people smile.
It humors them."
The table, which starts at $500,
has been selling at a record pace.
The Ariana Gallery handles sales
in the Detroit area, and an agent
in San Mateo, Calif., covers the
West Coast. Ms. Castor's growing
list of clients includes rock star
Eddie Van Halen, who recently
purchased a table for his actress-

tor's inspiration.
"I was in my brother's home at
the time," she said. "Justin want-
ed to get his snack from the
kitchen to the library, so he put
his food in his wagon and started
rolling this smorgasbord down the

hall.

"Not only did I think that was
very bright," she said, "but also
thought it was pretty funny. The
light went on."
It took five years of cajoling
from family and friends before
Ms. Castor decided she might
have a hit on her hands.
"My good fortune is really
based on nothing else but timing,"
she said. "With coffee shops on
every corner these days, the cof-
fee wagon has just gone crazy."
Even the popular NBC sitcom
"Friends," which revolves around
a group of twenty-somethings
hanging out at a trendy New York
City coffeehouse, is considering
featuring one of Ms. Castor's ta-
bles on an upcoming episode.
"Here I am," she said. "I'm 40
years old, have never tasted cof-
fee in my life, and now I am mak-
ing one of the hottest coffee tables
in the country."
Her lack of experience as a cof-
fee connoisseur has not stopped
this longtime resident of West
Bloomfield from tapping into an
eager market.

Besides her top-selling coffee
wagon, Ms. Castor has designed
two other versions of the Radio
Flyer table, including a creation
she calls the "Orient Express,"
complete with white rice, chop
sticks, take out containers, soy
sauce wrappers and fortune cook-
ies, and another smaller X-rat-
ed version for the more risque at
heart.
Ms. Castor said she
will not stop there. Ever
since word got out about
her wagons she has been
inundated with calls for
custom orders. From
newborn babies to brides,
even a dental-school grad-
uation, Ms. Castor said
no one has come up with
a theme she has not been
able to incorporate into a
table yet.
Originally from Toron-
to, Ms. Castor grew up in
a close-knit, supportive
Jewish family. But even
it is overwhelmed by the
coffee wagon's astound-
ing success.
"When I first told my
father I was going to
make coffee tables out of
wagons he just rolled his eyes,"
Ms. Castor said. "But now, God (-\
help you if you're standing behind
him in the grocery line because
you're going to get an earful."
And how does Ms. Castor plan
to celebrate her recent good for-
tune?
"I may even have a cup of cof-
fee," she said. "But I still think I'd
prefer to use the coffee beans for
my wagons." ❑

Photo Essay Of
Zhou Brothers

The Book Beat Gallery will begin
its fall season with a presentation (--/
of "The Thou Brothers: In the Stu-
dio," a photographic essay by
Steven Gross.
The Zhou brothers are perhaps
the most well-known contempo-
rary abstract painters from Chi-
na now living in the United States.
Represented by Nahan Galleries
internationally, the Thou broth- =/\
ers use an action-oriented calli-
graphic style on their collaborative
monochromatic paintings. Their
reclusive nature and working con-
ditions have been shut off to all
but a few privileged individuals.
Steven Gross is a documentary
photographer who has gained the
Zhous' trust and respect. A former
native Detroiter, now self-em-
ployed as a free-lance photogra-