36 February 28 • 2019 jn STEFANI CHUDNOW SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS PHOTOS BY JERRY ZOLYNSKY Mecca for Mid-Century Modern Le Shoppe Too will launch online auction house in March. L ooking at its exterior, you’ d never know that an internationally recognized consignment shop sits right on the cusp of Keego Harbor. While modest on the outside, Le Shoppe Too is Metro Detroit’ s largest upscale mid-century modern store at 17,000 square feet. This shop boasts a substan- tial fine art and iconic 20th-century furniture collection, much of which is shipped all over the world. Opened in 2013, the shop is owned by three Jewish women: Deborah Slobin of Farmington Hills, a member of Temple Israel; Leslie Weisberg of West Bloomfield, a member of Bais Chabad and Congregation Shaarey Zedek; and Julie Sundberg of Walled Lake. Terri Stearn of Farmington Hills, a member of Congregation Beth Ahm, operates Detroit Fine Art Appraisals from the same building. With multiple credentials, includ- ing Stearn’ s rare art accreditation and Weisberg’ s high-ranking estate liquida- tion accreditation, this team of strong women is dynamic. “We’ ve got a consignment retail store, an estate sale company, art appraisals, an auction house and in-house shipping, ” Slobin said. “Nobody else does all of that under one roof. We have so many dif- ferent avenues to take care of our clients, from furnishing their homes to selling their pieces. ” With all their knowledge and exper- tise, it’ s no surprise this team is equipped to handle a lot. Sometimes, they’ ve even come across hidden treasures no one thought were worth anything. “One time, we went to a house to do a preliminary appraisal for an estate sale and the family didn’ t know what they had, ” Slobin said. “Because of Terri’ s and Leslie’ s expertises, they were able to spot a small sculpture that the family thought was a nothing piece. It turned out to be a Harry Bertoia, who is a very important designer here in Michigan. It sold for more than $25,000. ” Weisberg said often people think “shiny, pretty and old” is valuable, “when sometimes rugged, vintage and not-so-attractive to the naked eye is actually more valuable. ” Another time, Stearn came across what the owners called a “junk chair” they were going to throw out. Le Shoppe Too ended up selling it for $6,000. Some customers aren’ t always so ready to get rid of their possessions, however. “There’ s a lot of emotions when giving away your possessions, ” Weisberg said. “We become like therapists, in some respects, because we need to get them through the process and realize that this is an emotional thing and it’ s not always cut-and-dried. That’ s how we get so close to our clients. ” Throughout its 16 years in the estate business, Le Shoppe Too has forged deep connections with many individu- als. Their iconic furniture can be found in people’ s homes around the world. It can also be found in an Oscar-winning movie, thanks to one of their favorite clients. “We joke and say that we technically have an Oscar, ” Slobin said. “Last year at the Oscars, the movie The Shape of Water won Best Picture and Best Production Design. That connects back to us because Shane Vieau, who won for his set decoration, is a client of ours. He actually came to our store and bought the furniture for that movie. ” Michigan is significant to mid-cen- tury modern collectors. A great deal of mid-century modern artists came through Cranbrook Academy of Art. retail arts&life ABOVE: Julie Sundberg of Walled Lake, Deborah Slobin of Farmington Hills, Terri Stearn of Beverly Hills and Leslie Weisberg of West Bloomfield. FACING PAGE TOP: Pair of purple Jean Michel Frank style benches, $5,200, and a Milo Baughman sectional on Plinth base with Tenor Larsen fabric $5,500. CENTER: Overall. BOTTOM: Selig Chrome elliptical chair $2,800.