business SPOTlight

brought to you in partnership with 
B I R M I N G H A M

 

32 | JULY 13 • 2023 

A

t the beginning of spring, Le 
Shoppe Too in Keego Harbor 
changed its name to Le Shoppe 
Modern. Deborah Slobin, co-owner 
of Le Shoppe Modern, said they decided 
to rebrand their business because some 
clients and customers were confused by 
the previous name. Was there another 
Le Shoppe and this was the second one? 
No, the “Too” signified the merging 
of two businesses — consignment and 
estate sales — into a one-stop shop for 
clients. Now, after adding one more 
business — the Le Shoppe Auction 
House — to their already extensive list of 
services, the owners decided it was time 
for a new name.
 “We thought, ‘What makes sense?’ 
And, since we specialize in curating 
mid-century modern and contemporary 
modern items, we came up with the 
name Le Shoppe Modern to reflect that,” 
said Slobin. 
Twelve years ago, Slobin and Julie 
Sundberg founded this upscale 
consignment shop, which features a 
hand-picked collection of rare and iconic 
20th-century furniture, art, home décor 
and lighting.
“Since I was in my 20s, I’ve been 
redoing furniture and revamping 
antiques as a hobby. So, when a 

3,000-square-foot space became available 
near my house, I asked my friend 
Deborah — who was a pro at shopping 
resale — if she’d want to open a business 
with me. And, with only $7,500, that’s 
what we did,” Sundberg said.
 “As we gained success, we were 
able to move to an 18,000-square-foot 
building, and then to a 25,000-square-
foot building — the largest upscale mid-
century modern store in Metro Detroit.” 
Sundberg and Slobin said they were 
drawn to mid-century modern furniture 
because, unlike items sold at big-box 
furniture stores today, these pieces were 
built to last.
 “They’re made really well — with 
heart, integrity and craftsmanship. 
Nowadays, brand-new furniture has a 
three- to five-year shelf life. But we have 
things in the showroom that are 60 years 
old, and they still stand the test of time,” 
Slobin said.
 
THE DREAM TEAM
Over the last decade, the women went 
from focusing solely on consignment 
to adding quarterly auctions with 
bidders from more than 30 countries 
and organizing estate sales nearly every 
weekend for their clients. The duo has 
also added three business-minded people 

to the Le Shoppe team — Terri Stearn 
(co-owner of Le Shoppe Auction House), 
Harry Nouhan and Trista Maltby.
Stearn is the founder and president of 
Detroit Fine Art Appraisals, the leading 
independent appraisal firm in the 
Greater Detroit area. She wanted to find 
a venue where she could sell her clients’ 
art collections and, as soon as she met 
Sundberg and Slobin, she knew this was 
the place for her.
“It was the perfect match,” Stearn said. 
“Now, every Wednesday, from noon to 4 
p.m., we invite people to come into the 
showroom with their art pieces, and we’ll 
examine them, value them and let them 
know if we can sell the item. I knew 
Le Shoppe already featured beautiful 
artwork, but I helped them step up their 
game, bringing in pieces by Andy Warhol 
and other big names.”
Nouhan joined the Le Shoppe team 
in 2015 and is a pivotal component in 
their business operations. He brought 
imperative expertise to Le Shoppe’s 
e-commerce.
“From my experience of owning my 
own eBay store for 17 years, I took Le 
Shoppe from a few dozen online listings 
to 1,200+ online listings today. Le 
Shoppe is now on five online platforms, 
which includes their own online website 

A New Name
Metro Detroit’s largest upscale mid-century modern 
consignment store is now called Le Shoppe Modern.

LEFT: Pair of purple Jean Michel Frank style 
benches, and a Milo Baughman sectional 
on Plinth base with Tenor Larsen fabric. 
RIGHT: Le Shoppe Modern features 
furniture that has withstood the test of time.

