ECONOMY

HERE AND NOW

1

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andyland

New local boutiques, businesses and brands
you may not know — but should.

By Lynne Konstantin

anie DeJaeghere is a kid in a candy shop.
In addition to having a serious sweet tooth, an eye for the exceptional
and the creative design skills to bring it to life, the owner of the Woodward
Avenue Candy Shop in Ferndale loves a good story. And everything in her shop
— including the customers — has one.
Offering bin after barrel of taste-bud-boggling assortments of nostalgic
candies and flavored sodas, stocked in a vintage Frigidaire, as well as her own
baked confections, DeJaeghere has created a step-back-in-time family-friendly
emporium with a goal of not only sharing with customers her thrill for nostalgia,
but also making them part of the family.
"People come in and tell mei loved these when I was a kid; or'My grand-
mother always got these for me; and I love that they share their stories; DeJae-
ghere says."And if they want something I don't carry, I will do everything I can to
find it for them"
Offering everything she can from the late-1930s up, the shop brims
with old-fashioned fruit slices, Shoe String Licorice, salt-water taffy, Marsh-
mallow Cones, Mary Janes, Gold Mine Nugget Bubble Gum and Beemans
Gum, Fizzies, Rock Candy, Fun Dip, colored gumballs and so much more.
She has also uncovered sweet, made-in-the-USA soda pop in vintage-
style packaging."We used to sell only Faygo and Town Club, because they
are Detroit natives, but there are a lot of other shops nearby that carry
them, so I wanted to branch out a bit7DeJaeghere says.
Over the course of a successful 13-year banking career, DeJaeghere's
sister loved making her own candies at home. DeJaeghere was intrigued
but tried to steer clear, as she didn't have the time and knew she would
become"suckered" in. She was right.
And once she started, she began experimenting with different ideas,
like strawberry fudge, Nutella-stuffed croissants, rainbow-layered cup-
cakes-in-a-glass, Trix marshmallow bars and her now-famous Red Velvet
Cake Pops. After expanding beyond her capacity on weekends at the Gibraltar
Trade Center, she and her husband, John, found this space on Woodward, a for-
mer drag-queen resale shop."It was perfect;' says DeJaeghere, in part because a
back lot (off the street) with free parking makes it child-friendly. She opened her
doors in September 2010.
In addition to buying, baking and perfecting each display in the shop, De-
Jaeghere also offers a sweet assortment of vintage-style milk glass and other
serving pieces available for rent or purchase, which is just a foray into her side
services: DeJaeghere creates custom candy and dessert buffets for events from
birthday parties and showers to bar and bat mitzvahs.
Mini cheesecakes, chocolate-covered strawberries, homemade s'mores, cake
pops, cookies — DeJaeghere will create pretty much anything a client wants,
including hundreds of white-chocolate photo frame place cards — topped with
edible photos of the bat mitzvah girl as a toddler.
"One grandmother-to-be was giving a baby shower, and she wanted sweet
little cakes' DeJaeghere says."I designed 25 different little baby cakes for her,
and she ended up loving them all, so we did an assortment:"
She will do decorate-your-own cupcake bars, cookies-and-milk bars (re-
plete with a choice of strawberry, chocolate or white milk) with giant cookies
topped with sprinkles, chocolate chunks and more stuffed into a Mason jar,
and custom popcorn stations where guests can choose from caramel, kettle or
plain corn, plus toppings.
"They choose their creation, and I put it on a plate with their name drizzled
in chocolate and they can pick it up when they leave;'DeJaeghere says.
She also does prop and jar rental, tablescape design services, pick-up and
delivery and more — everything that is needed to give her treats the vintage
touch that she (and her customers) love and the attention to detail she de-
mands. She also offers kosher items and can rent a kosher kitchen for baked
goods, if needed.
Because DeJaeghere likes to do a lot of custom orders, she tries to keep her
baked goods stock in the shop to a minimum, and as an outlet for fresh, daily
experimentation. But if she does overdo it, she will donate all leftovers to a lo-
cal food pantry. Partly because it is important to her to give what she can. "But
also; she says,"I don't want all this stuff in my house!"

j

-H YENTA

N ews
From
Around
Town

atch Alexander Zonjic at Har-
bor House in Greektown every
Tuesday at 8 p.m. Harbor House
serves up Motown's finest foods
with exciting dishes and unique am-
biance in an intimate setting. Make
a date of it ... Loya Organic Kebab
Cafe is now open at 4284 Orchard
Lake Road in West Bloomfield , (248)
681-9640, with specialties like Al-
mond cream soup, Himalayan Goji
berry salad, and, of course, amaz-
ing kebabs ... Holy Cannoli's has
opened its 2nd location in Down-
town Berkley, 2752 Coolidge High-
way, homemade delish cannolis and
many Michigan-made products ...
Dark Tan, a new tanning salon and
spa on Orchard Lake Road, south
of Maple, has opened its doors
and it's a one-of-a-kind facility with
tanning beds that cost upward of
$40,000 a piece and are the safest
and most protective tanning beds
on the market. It's also the only
dealer in Michigan to carry Alexan-
der McQueen glasses for women.
Prices start at $100 (248- 737-4TAN
(4826) or www.darktanme.com )
... Expanding on the success of its
Bloomfield Hills store, SHE will be
opening its doors in Grosse Pointe
Village, at 16888 Kercheval Place, in
mid-May. Owned and operated by
personal stylist Sharon Eisenshtadt,
SHE Grosse Pointe will be open
Mondays through Saturdays, with
personal stylists available to assist
with selections. Stay tuned for up-
coming designer appearances and
stock shows. (248-594-8181.www.
she-stores.com ) ... Beverly Hills is
home to a new bookstore, Books-
A-Million at the Corners Shop-
ping Center in the former Borders
location. The Beverly Hills store will
be the second Kids-A-Million loca-
tion in the country and will feature
children's books, learning resources
from Leap Frog as well as toys and
games that appeal to children,
parents, teachers and librarians.
Sign up for the Millionaire's Club,
where members save 40 percent off
bestsellers, 20 percent off hundreds
of items throughout the store and
10 percent off everything, every day.
(248-723-7106) ... Inside/Out at
the Detroit Institute of Arts, now
in its fourth year, brings nearly 80
reproductions of masterpieces from
the DIA's collection to the streets
and parks of Metro Detroit, now
through June 23. Check out dia.org
to find out which cities will have the
art. RT

C

Woodward Avenue Candy Shop, Ferndale (248-565-8660; woodwardcandy.com and on Facebook).

42 May 2013 I

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