the buzz

Something

Childish

What's new and noteworthy
at restaurants, retail and more.

YOUNG AT .! ART

'ZOOM Wan A VIEW
When Gabriel Agrest, son of Sandra and Kevin Agrest
(right) of White Lake, began sleeping through the
night at only 2 months of age, his mother was certain
it was thanks to the hand-painted mural that dances
around the walls of his nursery The moon-and-star
motif "draws his gaze upwards and lulls him to sleep,"
she says. Indeed, the periwinkle nighttime sky stretch-
ing over painted castle walls — hand painted by West
Bloomfield muralist Erich Brandemihl — is soothing,
and its placement high on the walls neither overwhelms
the bedroom nor detracts from its coordinating fur-
nishings. Since shifting gears as a technical illustrator
for General Motors, Brandemihl, a former student at
Detroit's College for Creative Studies, has completed
more than 16 murals for parents who hope to stimulate
their children's vision and imagination. Rates begin at
S800. (248) 736-7673
—Gabriella Burman

Continued on page 17

14 •

OCTOBER 2007 •

platinum

PHOTO BY ANG IE BARN

What began as a Toronto furniture-renovation company in 1979 has evolved into good news
for us in Metro Detroit. When the owners of that company, husband-and-wife team Joe and
Helen Gorenstein, were commissioned in 1995 by a local Toronto business to create a few
pieces of baby furniture, Mother Hubbard's Cupboards was born. Now, with the help of
Joe's brother Sam, who lives in Novi, the family has brought their full line of deeply discount-
ed high-quality furniture (above) — featuring detailing like dovetail joinery, non-toxic lacquer
and more — for babies, toddlers and teens to a new Wixom showroom. (248) 344-7770;
mhcfumiture.com —Jeanine Matlow