selections for the holidays,
but also have begun to
stock some items, in such
top lines as Lenox porce-
lain, throughout the year.
This season, for exam-
ple, Jacobson's opened a
mini-boutique in its Birm-
ingham store to showcase
Chanukah merchandise
and even commissioned a
new line of specialty choco-
lates for the holiday from
Gayle's Chocolates in Roy-
al Oak.
"Last spring we started
to increase our presence of
Judaica merchandise in se-
lect stores, such as Birm-
ingham, Livonia, Toledo
and Kansas City," says
David Wilcox, merchandise
director at Jacobson's in Birm-
ingham. "It performed very well.
We decided to dive right in and
make a much bigger splash of the
Chanukah season this year." And,
he adds, the same will be true for
Passover in the spring.
Located on the main floor ad-
joining the stationery department
in the Home Furnishings Store,
the Birmingham store's upscale
Chanukah boutique offers artsy
menorahs, musical and crystal
dreidels, Lenox giftware, linens
in blues and metallic silvers,
plush bears clad in Chanukah
sweaters, and a variety of
gourmet food items. Among the
goodies are chocolate-covered
pretzels in cheery tins and vari-
ous Gayle's Chocolates assort-
ments, including French cremes,
a menorah gift box mix and a
deluxe "8 Days of Chanukah" gift
set, featuring eight handwrapped
chocolate bars with contemporary
menorah-design graphics.
"Manufacturers of Judaica are
devoting a lot more energy to de-
sign and are bringing out cre-
ative, updated versions of the old
traditional styles," Wilcox says.
"People want Judaica items to fit
in with the themes of their homes.
"It's a growth area that's nev-
er really seen its potential. This
year seems to be a landmark year
to move forward with it."
Hudson's, too, is expanding its
Judaica offerings this year, set-
ting up Chanukah mini-shops in
the new Somerset North store in
Troy and at Twelve Oaks mall in

These Lladro Judaic
figurines are available at
Heslop's.

Novi. "We've had different pieces
of merchandise scattered through
the stores in the past, but this
year we're pulling it all together
to make a statement," says Chris
Morrisroe, public relations man-
ager of Hudson's.
Hudson's selection includes
Lenox giftware (menorah, drei-
del, kiddush cup, mezuzah, chal-
lah knife and tray); silver from
the Christofle Collection; a Wa-
terford crystal menorah,
Chanukah-themed kitchen tow-
els, aprons and oven mitts;
gourmet food baskets and choco-
lates.
At Heslop's, in West Bloom-
field, numerous Judaica items are
scattered throughout the store,
including pieces in the Lenox and
Waterford collections, as well as
Fitz & Floyd accent salad plates,
Lladro porcelain figurines and
children's menorahs.
Nordstrom showcases several
Judaica items in its Gift Gallery,
including a Rosenthal crystal
seder plate and cup; hand-paint-
ed enamel boxes by Halcyon Days
with bar and bat mitzvah themes;
and handpainted Limoges porce-
lain pill boxes with traditional
Jewish symbols.
But Nordstrom's main line, ex-
clusive in metro Detroit, is Leona
Fein — handmade decorative ob-
jects that combine stained glass
pieces decoupaged with Judaic
manuscripts and scenes from
turn-of-the-century Jewish greet-
ing cards, all brushed with 24-
karat gold.
"They're very eye-catching,

very ornate," says Elizabeth
Miller-Dooley, Gift Gallery man-
ager, citing a favorable response
to the line of menorahs, mezuzot,
tzedakah boxes, seder plates and
cups and dreidels. "Every piece is
unique, a work of art."
Retailers say that Jewish shop-
pers are not the only ones buying
Judaica. "Once these things get
into the mainstream galleries,
somebody comes in and says,
`Hey, I'm going to a Jewish wed-

ding, this would be per-
fect,"' says Rosenthal of
the Rosenthal Collection
in Maryland. "That's
why we educate the
staffs — send out infor-
mational packets — to
help the salespeople sell.
It also helps the people
giving the gift."
Nordstrom's Miller-
Dooley agrees. "Not be-
ing Jewish myself, I've
been researching and
asking a lot of questions,"
she says, adding that she
has called several man-
ufacturers and taped in-
formation on the bottoms
of some Judaica items to
better inform customers.
And, she notes, today's
shoppers aren't limiting
their Judaica purchases
to wedding gifts: "A
woman the other day
purchased a beautiful
Leona Fein menorah for
a friend's 10th anniver-
sary gift."
Randy Forester, own-
er of Studio 330, a bridal
and gift shop in Bloomfield Hills,
concurs. "It's not just the basic oc-
casions that you might think, but
across the board," he says, citing
sales of menorahs and mezuzot
as housewarming gifts or simply
because "someone in the family
wants to start a new tradition."
Forester, who has more than
doubled Studio 330's variety of Ju-
daica items in the past few years,
also has noticed a trend toward

women being bat mitzvah later in
life. Their friends often select Ju-
daica gift items. "The thinking
seems to be, 'I can always buy
them a crystal bowl, but, for the
occasion I think they would much
more appreciate a new piece of Ju-
daica to treasure."
Daryle Roth, owner of Wrap It
Up in West Bloomfield, says peo-
ple enjoy giving and receiving tra-
ditional Jewish ceremonial items
with creative, updated twists.
One such item that she says her
shop carries exclusively in the
metro Detroit area is Shardz, col-
orful handblown wedding glass,
pieces of which, once broken, are
collected and put back into hol-
low glass mezuzot, Star of David
table sculptures and other art ob-
jects for the home.
Toni Levine, owner of Ilona
and Gallery in West Bloomfield,
which carries a wide array of Ju-
daica items, says there are so
many wonderful choices available
today in contemporary, tradi-
tional, whimsical and expressive
styles (such as that of Russian
emigre Noi Volkov) that one shop
couldn't possibly carry them all.
"It's always been easy to find
expensive things, but now in Ju-
daica art there are so many nice,
reasonably priced pieces," she
says, pointing to striking meno-
rahs, mezuzot, challah knives
and candle holders in a variety
of mediums. "They're so lovely
that people always leave these
pieces out — they're not just to
hide away in a cupboard any-
more." 0