52 | APRIL 27 • 2023
W
hen Solange Messelian, owner of
Bloomfield Hills’ Lee’s Specialty
invitations, stationery and gifts,
a community go-to for mitzvahs, weddings,
parties and everything in
between for 46 years, decided to
retire, it left customers wondering
where they would go for what
Lee’s Specialty offered.
Carlyn Roth, a Jewish mom of
two from Birmingham, has been
an event planner designing weddings and
parties for the past 20 years — having a pulse
on trends and community interests with a
fun and sophisticated aesthetic. Roth has long
taken customers to the store for their invita-
tions, day-of stationery and custom gifts.
After the announcement of the store clos-
ing, Roth knew there would be a void left in
the market. A marriage was made in heaven
when she took the opportunity to continue
the tradition and become the store’s new
owner under the new name of Lee’s Paperie,
which opened the week of Valentine’s Day
with a refresh of beautiful on-trend gifts for
every occasion along with the many invitation
offerings.
Taking the store over was not something
Roth had a plan for.
“I always loved the aspect of paper goods
and the planning, stationery and everything
that goes into that part of events was always
something that interested me,
” Roth said. “But
it wasn’t anything on my radar, it was just one
of the many aspects I deal with for weddings.
”
Wondering herself where she would take
her clients with the store closing while also
hearing from current and former clients, Roth
knew there was still a market for it and real-
ized it was something she could bring to the
community.
Being friends with Messelian, who has
decided to stay on and work with the store,
conversations began about transitioning to a
new store. The old store did effectively close,
but then they reopened with a similar concept
under the new Lee’s Paperie name.
Roth took over the space in December and
had been renovating the whole store since
then. Roth went to a gift show in Atlanta to
find some cool, new products.
“Our loyal customers love specific products
— so my goal was definitely to keep those in
mind when restocking the store, but then also
bring a fresh new perspective of bringing in
some local companies to showcase some of
their stuff as well,
” Roth said. “That includes
local goods like candles from Detroit Rose, as
well as ceramics from Abigail Murray.
”
With a local flair included, Roth says the
store will have a Jewish flair. With a lot of its
customer base being Jewish, the store has mul-
tiple local Jewish vendors, including offering
Jewish-based greeting cards and stationery.
Being a women-led store is also important to
Roth.
Part of Lee’s Paperie business is the gift store
option.
“I always have people asking me for brides-
maids’ gifts or shower hostess gifts or whatev-
er it is, we have all of that — we can personal-
ize anything,
” Roth said.
A major goal Roth has for the store is a goal
the old store had, too, that anybody who walks
through the door is a client automatically.
“Whatever you need or want, we’re going
to work to fulfill that, whatever design you’re
looking for, whatever price point, any kind
of event, we want to take everything and
anything on and make sure the client leaves
with what they’re the most happy with. That
includes gifts, stationery, invitations, any-
thing,
” Roth said.
As an event planner, Roth has background
and knowledge to guide the wants and needs
of whole events.
“To lead people through everything, from
the initial invitation to everything they need
for the day of, venues, place cards, event sig-
nage,
” Roth said. “We really want to emphasize
we have something for everybody.
”
You can reach the store at (248) 671-4000 or visit https://
leespaperie.com for more info.
Carlyn Roth
Lee’s
Reimagined
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
The former Lee’s Specialty
reopens as Lee’s Paperie.