24 July 18 • 2019
jn

Long White 
Beard 

D

riving through Ferndale, it’
s 
easy to miss Long White Beard’
s 
white, unassuming building. It’
s 
almost easiest to figure out where it is by 
the symphony of saw noises rather than 
through your phone’
s navigation system. 
First opened in 2014, this uniquely 
named shop is co-owned by Shelby 
Holtzman and Dan Erickson, who dabble 
in designing and crafting heirloom-qual-
ity furniture and other unique home 
furnishings.
“We have a full woodshop and a small 
steel shop, so we do all of our own table 
bases and brackets and hardware and 
things like that,
” West Bloomfield native 
and Temple Israel attendee Holtzman 
said. “It really allows us to do almost 
everything in-house and get the end 
result that we really want.
” 
Before opening Long White Beard, 
named after the fathers of the afore-
mentioned team who both had beards, 
Holtzman merely engaged in woodwork-
ing as a hobby. It was an avenue through 
which she could gift handmade pieces to 
family and friends and, soon enough, it 
became something a bit more. 

“Five years ago, I was managing a 
coffee shop, and Dan was a custom-
er,
” Holtzman said. “He was looking 
to start a business and, by that point, 
I was making furniture for not only 
myself but also for my family and 
friends. We started talking and decided 
to put this together and make it an actual 
company.
” 
Upon opening, Long White Beard 
operated out of Holtzman’
s garage in 
Ferndale. The next year, they moved 
to the Russell Industrial Center in 
Downtown Detroit. However, in 
November 2016, their current location 
became available and they jumped at the 
chance to return to Ferndale, the city 
where it all began for them.

HANDMADE TREASURES
Though they make a variety of piec-
es forged out of wood and steel, Long 
White Beard offers a variety of mostly 
custom-made, but also standard, hand-
crafted items. 
“In terms of small home goods stuff, 
we’
ve sold our diamond shelves quite a 
bit, and we sell an adjustable bath caddy,
” 

Holtzman said. “We made non-adjust-
able, custom bath caddies for three years, 
and they were one of our most popular 
items. Finally, we combined all of the 
numbers and we figured out how to 
make an adjustable one so we can just 
make them and have them available.
“In terms of big stuff, we make a lot 
of dining room tables,
” she continued. 
“We make a fair amount of coffee tables, 
desks, shelves, stuff like that, but we make 
a lot of tables. I think that people feel if 
there’
s one thing they want to have that’
s 
very special to keep and pass on, and 
with the idea of having the whole family 
around it and it being this kind of center-
piece of the house, it’
s a table.
”
 The wood that Long White Beard 
utilizes to make these tables, bath caddies 
and other items is all sustainable. In other 
words, these are all Michigan hardwoods 
that would otherwise be chipped. These 

live-edge slabs come from a local com-
pany called Live Edge Detroit. Whenever 
possible, Long White Beard uses all the 
natural edges of the wood to give each 
piece its unique, individual style. 
“We like to experiment with colors, 
experiment with grain — especially the 
live-edge stuff,
” Holtzman said. “Being 
able to preserve what is unique and beau-
tiful about it serves as an inspiration on 
its own. We rarely make two pieces exact-
ly the same.
” 
Woodworking and owning a business 
weren’
t skills that Holtzman learned 
overnight. With each project, she and 
Erickson are learning more about best 
practices and improving the quality of 
their products. 
“
As we make things, we add it to the 
list of things we’
re super comfortable 
making, and we want to make on a larg-
er scale,
” Holtzman said. “
As we started 

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hot topics

PLUM MARKET 
OPENS IN 
DOWNTOWN 
DETROIT 
The Farmington Hills-based 
grocer’
s 8,000-square-foot 
store on the first floor of 
the Ally Detroit Center at 
500 Woodward Ave. has 
fast casual dining with beer and wine, event space, a patio and, of 
course, a market. It will function as an upscale market with “a con-
densed collection of grocery and apothecary essentials,” according 
to a media advisory from the company. Salads, soups, sandwiches 
and self-service hot food will be served alongside Zingerman’
s 
coffee and baked goods at the Detroit location. Patrons will also 
find fresh-cut flowers and snacks.

Sustainable custom-made 
woodworking shop thrives 
in Ferndale.

B I R M I N G H A M

Bank of Ann Arbor Helps. 
How can we help you?

STEFANI CHUDNOW SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
PHOTOS BY DERRICK MARTINEZ

ABOVE: Shelby Holtzman LEFT: A custom coffee table from Long 

White Beard.

VIA PLUM MARKET FACEBOOK 

DETROIT AXE 
ANNOUNCES NEW LOCATIONS

Axe-throwing fanatics will soon be able to experience the 
sport beyond downtown Ferndale. Detroit Axe owner Geoff 
Kretchmer and partner Brian Siegel recently announced 
locations in Corktown and the Mall at Partridge Creek in 
Clinton Township.
After becoming a hot destination for corporate groups, 
bachelor and bachelorette parties and more, the two decid-
ed to expand Detroit Axe to serve other high-energy areas 
in Metro Detroit.
“We knew we were going to expand if it worked, so 
these two spaces were obvious to us,” Kretchmer says.
Corktown’
s Detroit Axe will boast a food truck built 
into the interior with a focus on vegetarian, vegan and 
meat-friendly delights.
The new locations will have accessible parking and are 
projected to open around October of this year.

BRETT MOUNTAIN

