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Time To
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Barbara Lewis | Contributing Writer

A

fter more than 26 years as the
owner and manager of the
Tradition!Tradition! Judaica
store, Alicia Nelson is moving on.
Closing the store, located in her
Southfield home, is Nelson’s first step in
downsizing on the way to relocating to an
apartment.
She’s hoping she can find someone who
shares her vision to buy the company
name and the remaining inventory before
the end of the year.
Nelson, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn.,
came to Detroit in 1972 when her hus-
band, Rabbi David Nelson, accepted a
position at Congregation Beth Shalom in
Oak Park, where he is now rabbi emeri-
tus.
She taught English at Hillel Day School
from 1975 until she opened her store in
1989.
The Nelsons had long been collectors
of Judaic ritual objects and Judaic art.
When Nelson started thinking about a
business, Judaica seemed like the natural
choice.
She started Tradition!Tradition! in her
basement — with some auxiliary display
cases in the family room — because it
seemed less risky than other options. “It
seemed like chutzpah to assume I could
run a retail store with no experience,” she
said.
Once the business caught on — and
especially after she began offering online
sales in 1995 — she realized she didn’t
need a storefront.
“I liked the flexibility of having no
regular hours,” she said. “It gave me more
personal control.”
Nelson’s first foray into e-commerce
was with www.allthingsjewish.com, cre-
ated with her son, Harry, and daughter-
in-law, Dorit. That website eventually
became independent. Nelson now sells
online through www.traditiontradition.
com, doing about a third of her business
online.
She works to offer unique or unusual
choices in tallitot, menorahs, seder plates
and other Jewish ritual objects, often
taking the initiative with artists to create
distinct pieces.
When she found limited choices in
challah boards, Nelson worked with Ray
and Jamie Doubleday, who own Mystic
Woodworks in Warren, Maine.

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Alicia Nelson is ready to sell her Judaica
business, Tradition!Tradition!, which she
has run from her home since 1989.

Nelson provided artwork for the word
“challah” in Hebrew and English, and the
Doubledays branded the words onto their
beautiful hardwood bread boards. Twenty
years ago, the Doubledays offered to sell
her the rights to the brand for several
hundred dollars but Nelson declined.
“That’s probably the biggest mistake of
my retail career,” she laughed.
On the other hand, a highlight was
the knitted campaign kippah she created
when Joe Lieberman was running for vice
president in 2000. The item was featured
on TV news reports, and orders poured
in from around the world.
Nelson regularly looked for ways to
help the larger Jewish community. When
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit organized a community trip to
Israel, with planes flying directly from
Detroit, Nelson arranged to have all the
artwork purchased by participants deliv-
ered to Tradition!Tradition! so no one
would have to worry about carrying the
items.
Ketubot — wedding contracts — are
among Nelson’s favorite offerings. She
helps at least 30 engaged couples every
year purchase ketubot made by dozens
of artists. She has also designed objects
for organizations to present as awards,
including a unique dreidel for JVS.
“One of the best things about my busi-
ness is that I get to work with people
when they’re most happy — bar mitz-
vahs, weddings, special birthdays and
anniversaries, award dinners,” she said.
“It’s a way for me to enjoy others’ celebra-
tions.”
Tradition!Tradition! even helped make
a shidduch between two former employ-
ees. Miriam Lewis and Dov Gardin had
each worked at the store at different
times. Both were living in Israel and the
Nelsons introduced them when they led a
congregational trip. The Gardins, former
Oak Park residents who now live in New
Jersey, will celebrate their 10th anniver-
sary in June.
Nelson recently started selling bar
mitzvah and wedding items to the chil-
dren of some of her earliest customers.
Nelson promises to work with a pur-
chaser to ensure a smooth transition. If
no buyer comes forward, her last day of
business will be New Year’s Eve.

*

Reach Alicia Nelson at (855) 557-0109 or at
traditiontradition.com.

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May 12 • 2016

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