Grosse Pointe, MI September 2023

REDEFINING REAL ESTATE

September Style In Many Forms

Style is not limited to the clothes we wear or how we adorn ourselves; it encompasses every aspect of our lives. From our parenting style to how we decorate our homes, the music we listen to, the books we read, to the way we celebrate and come together, style is a thread that weaves together the tapestry of our lives. It inspires the businesses and career paths we take and is a way to communicate our identity, how we perceive the world, and what we value. In this way, style becomes a powerful tool for connection, enabling us to find common ground with others who share our aesthetic sensibilities.

In this issue, we celebrate different styles, from how they enhance the Grosse Pointe community’s rich history to the opportunities and choices we have around us throughout the year.

Uniquely Grosse Pointe, throwing parties can be a stylish event. Beyond InTents creator and owner Brenda Jarjoura has mastered the sleepover experience for kids. She brings many different options and styles to make kids and adults happy and elevate the experience. Find out about her story and her passion.

Michelle Boggess-Nunley has a background filled with stories, experiences, and talent. As the new owner of Posterity Art Gallery, she felt art was a missing piece of the Village experience, so she started the Art Takeover Project through September, fueled by her gallery and network of artists and association with businesses in the Village. Read about her passion for bringing people together through art and give people outside the community more reason to come and shop at Grosse Pointe.

The Tau Beta Fall Market is here again, raising proceeds for The Children’s Center of Detroit and other charitable projects. We visit with some different vendors to learn how “Southern Style” comes to the Market this year and the looks that go along with it.

Finally, we visit an earlier era of Grosse Pointe’s gracious lifestyle. The Alfred Hopkins-designed estate on 355 Lincoln has been brought back and showcased by Jamie Rae Turnbull from Higbie Maxon Agney. Discover its ties to the Detroit Medical College and Wayne State University while hearing stories about sipping bourbon at the fireplace and taking in fantastic images of its restoration.

A uniquely Grosse Pointe Style issue for a unique individual you!

September 2023

PUBLISHER

David Mattaliano | david.mattaliano@citylifestyle.com

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR

Paige Peabody | paige.peabody@citylifestyle.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Susan Baldani, Robert Musial

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Andreas Browne

Corporate Team

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES Tiffany Slowinski

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson

DIRECTOR OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS Jennifer Robinson

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Josh Klein

CONTROLLER Gary Johnson

AD DESIGNER Evan Deuvall

LAYOUT DESIGNER Kelsey Ragain

Proverbs 3:5-6

DAVID MATTALIANO, PUBLISHER

SHOWROOM | 22209 GREATER MACK AVENUE ST. CLAIR SHORES SHOP | 21645 E NINE MILE ST. CLAIR SHORES

586-200-2373 | BRADFORDGLASSCOMPANY.COM RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL • AUTO GLASS REPLACEMENT

D R . B R I A N F I A N I

A round-up of exciting news from local businesses.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Brian Fiani Joins Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedics

As a graduate of Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, Dr. Fiani, DO, FACOS recently returned home after completing a surgical fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical Center, ranked by Newsweek as the #1 hospital for neurosurgery. Dr. Fiani specializes in minimally invasive spinal surgery, making it possible to help people alleviate back pain and quickly return to their active, busy lives. Schedule your consultation at   www.mendelsonortho.com or call 877-BAD-BACK.

Want to be featured?

Get in touch by heading over to our landing page to connect: CityLifestyle.com/ GrossePointe

H3 Wellness Opens New Functional Movement Program For All Ages

Get moving for physical and mental health!  All ages from children to Seniors.

H3 collaborated with Lacroix Training Systems to create the 6 week program.  Including two weekly 30 minute fitness classes focused on: Reactivity, Flexibility, Strength, Balance, and Socialization. Virtual options also available to focus on form and fitness in the comfort of your own home.

Located at 23100 Jefferson in SCS, visit  h3well.com or call 313-212-6925 for your personal fitness assessment.

If you are looking to improve the appearance and aesthetics of your smile, schedule a free consultation with Dr. Mary Sue Stonisch, aka the smile artist. She can provide various options for you. Call today at 313-882-2000.

ART TAKEOVER

Even as a young girl, Michelle Boggess-Nunley always knew she wanted to be an artist and a part of the art community. Last fall, the internationally-renowned artist became the new owner of the Posterity Art Gallery in Grosse Pointe Village. Now, she’s planning a takeover. An Art Takeover, that is.

“We have a great business district here in downtown Grosse Pointe, and people really seem to enjoy it, but the one thing we’re missing is art,” she says. “I’m trying to make that happen.”

One way Michelle is doing this is by organizing an art exhibit that will take place in many of the businesses in The Village. Along with indoor works of art, including sculptures and paintings, participants will also see art installations in some outdoor common areas.

“We’ll have a little bit of everything from abstracts and photorealism to photography, sculpture, and mixed media,” she says. “We have many different types of artists of all ages.” Right now, the exhibit is open to ages 18 and up, but Michelle is also trying to get some space for youth artists.

The opening kickoff will be September 7th from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, and the event will continue through the end of the month. There will be an illustrated map of The Village that will show all the participating businesses.

To make it interactive and even more fun, participants can enjoy other events, such as Meet the Artists get-togethers and an art-themed scavenger hunt. They can also vote for their favorite pieces. “The focus is for people to learn more about local businesses and artists,” she says.

Michelle did something similar last year called the Art Collaboration Project, which was held in a gallery and only involved artists, not businesses. “It was so much fun, and we had such positive feedback that I figured we would make it throughout the Village this year. We also published a book about it [The Art Collab Project: 2022 Edition] last year.

“I will probably make a book again this year showing all the participating artists’ collaborations and the businesses’ information.”

She hopes to expand it next year to all of Kercheval. “Art is such an important part of a thriving community, and it brings people together and starts conversations more than anything,” says Michelle. “Implementing this in our area brings people in. For a successful business district, you must have people outside the community learning about what’s here and coming to shop. On the flip side of the coin, it’s important for the people from the community to get out there and introduce themselves to each other.”

To find out more, go to PosterityArtGallery.com/ ArtTakeoverProject.

ABOUT THE PERSON

SOME OF THE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Jennifer Skruba, Mark Mardirosian, Tanya Palazzolo, Lyla O’connor, Brant Mclean, Cara Crawford, Vikas Relan, Toni Sisco, Anne

Rogers, Kate Apple, Michelle Boggess, Jeannette Binkowski, Pat Tapper, Will Schippert, Nathan Johnson

Michelle Boggess-Nunley, born in Michigan, is an international artist, illustrator, and incredible maze maker. She is actually the Guinness World Record holder for the largest hand-drawn maze, which she used to raise money for local art programs. She also created the popular series Wizard World: The Magical Land of  Illustrated Mazes and has authored and illustrated many children's books.

“THE FOCUS IS FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LOCAL BUSINESSES AND ARTISTS.” — MICHELLE BOGGESS-NUNLEY

FALL AT FORD HOUSE

Story Festival: Let’s Go on an Adventure

September 9

Movie on the Meadow*

September 22

Harvest Day

October 7

Big Goblins

October 13

Little Goblins

October 28

*Member only event. Join today!

355 Lincoln Road

THE HISTORY OF A HOME

Stepping past the stone arch and through the heavy wood front door, you’re in a foyer with an arched ceiling.

You’ve also entered another time – one of the area’s most elegant mansions at 355 Lincoln in Grosse Pointe.

Though understated with its stucco exterior and slate roof, this English Manor-style home surprises and delights with interior details like a two-story, barrel-vaulted library and subtle details throughout that signify the gracious lifestyle of an earlier era.

Most of the home’s woodwork has been restored, complementing the decorative carved stone fireplaces and embellished plasterwork. In the large former dining room, the ceiling is banded by a strip of intricate bas-relief medallions of turtles, fish, lobsters, peacocks, and other animals.

A grand living room dominates the first floor while a modern glass portico leads into the library, and a charming walled courtyard is off the kitchen. In the backyard, a stone patio encircles a fountain. And throughout the home, large windows flood the rooms with sunlight.

“It’s one of the most fascinating houses in Grosse Pointe,” said Jaime Rae Turnbull, the real estate agent representing the home for Higbie Maxon Agney. It is listed for $2.1 million.

As one of the largest homes in the city of Grosse Pointe, the 8,700-square-foot manor has six bedrooms – most with attached baths – and sits on a 2/3-acre parcel on the corner of Lincoln and Maumee. In the original plans, one of the bedrooms is listed as a governess.

According to Grosse Pointe City records, the home was built in 1913, though other sources say 1923. It was designed by Alfred Hopkins, a noted New York estate architect, for Dr. Theodore

McGraw Jr., the son of the founder of the Detroit Medical College, which became Wayne State University’s medical school.

The home’s original gardens were designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, a landscape architect known for her formal, lush gardens, several of which were in the Grosse Pointes.

Years after McGraw died in 1924, the home went through a series of owners, with some more dedicated to its preservation than others. Among the good owners were the grandparents of David Laurie, a former Grosse Pointe resident who moved to Rhode Island. His grandparents lived there in the 1970s.

“It was a beautiful place to go to as a young boy,” Benjamin Gravel wrote on his Grosse Pointe Architecture page on Facebook. Laurie recalled the polar bear rug in the living room, the giant globe in the library with its rolling ladder to reach the books on the upper shelves and the large Christmas tree set up during the holidays.

He also recalled the now-restored wood-paneled coolers off the kitchen “that were filled with Vernor’s and Hires” root beer. “Although it was over 50 years ago, my memories of that house are wonderful,” he said.

Another who remembers the home fondly is Gary Wilson, a former Grosse Pointe attorney who now lives in Lexington, Michigan. He knew the family that lived there in the 1990s and had pleasant memories, especially of the library. “It’s a very cool room,” he said, with its large stone fireplace and the stairs leading to a choir loft at one end of the room.

“I enjoyed a bourbon or two there in front of the fireplace. Stunning,” he recalled. But at times in its long history, the home sat vacant as passersby and neighbors

wondered what would become of it. Some feared it would be torn down.

Many admired it as they went by and were curious about it, among them Grosse Pointe Mayor Sheila Tomkowiak. “I frequently walk by that house and have always been fascinated by it,” she said.

By 2015, the home was not in good shape. It had suffered years of neglect. At one point, a real estate agent even had potential buyers sign a legal liability waiver to tour it. Enter the present owner, whose family owns property on Mackinac Island.

“The seller went to great lengths to respectfully restore this home. Every space needed a lot of work,” said Turnbull.

“The seller went to great lengths to respectfully restore this home. Every space needed a lot of work,” said Turnbull.

While the restoration was underway, her family lived in the two-bedroom carriage house above the four-car garage. Leaks were fixed, the exterior stucco was repaired, and a craftsman restored the damaged plaster.

The only room still unfinished is the kitchen. While all the appliances are in place and working, the walls show signs of the extensive repairs the house has received. “It’s just waiting for the new owner to put in the kitchen they want,” said Turnbull.

For more information on this exquisite home, contact Jaime Rae Turnbull at Higbie Maxon Agney, 248-672-2020, jrt@jrturnbull.com.

“Although it was over 50 years ago, my memories of that house are wonderful.”

— David Laurie

Stylin' Sleepovers

BEYOND 'THE' TENTS

When Brenda Jarjoura moved abroad, the last thing she expected to do was host parties for all of her friends. After moving to Brazil and then Shanghai, she realized that the ex-pat community didn’t have family, and she wanted to fill that need by hosting parties for them. Since her son was a toddler, she started with children’s parties, but with time, she moved to larger seated events for both kids and adults... and all in her own home. Brenda became known as the “party person.” After 7 years, Brenda returned to the US, carrying the same passion home. “I grew to love it and was effortless for me. I love seeing the

happy faces, excitement, and joy,” Brenda says. Brenda came up with the tent idea when trying to create a different experience for kids during sleepover parties. It was an immediate hit and gave her the idea to start her own company. Brenda enjoys what she does, and her themes are creative and fun. Her events have been such a big success that she is now in high demand. “I get excited when the kids get excited,” she says.

For more information, please reach out to Beyond Intents, 248238-1263, beyondintents.com .

Greeting Cards, Gifts, and Home Decor!

ST. CLAIR SHORES

23155 Greater Mack at 9 Mile Near Post Office (586) 775-6530

CLINTON TWP. 41891 Garfield at Canal

Next to Kroger (586) 286-5225

MACOMB TWP. 51076 Hayes at 23 Mile Near Emagine Theater (586) 786-1133

WARREN 13750 14 Mile Rd. at Schoenherr Near Edge Fitness (586)296-1630

Mind Individual Therapy

Group/Couples/Marriage and Family Therapy

Neuropsych Evaluations

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Spravato

Body

Auricular Acupuncture

IV Nutrient Therapy

Medication Management

Nutrition and Health Coaching

Our Vision

To empower our community to cultivate mental wellbeing and overall wellness of body, mind, and spirit

Our Mission

To provide exceptional integrative healthcare to the Metro Detroit community

Southern Style

The annual Tau Beta Fall Market will be held this year from October 5th through the 7th at The Grosse Pointe Club. Vendors generously donate a portion of their proceeds to benefit The Children's Center of Detroit and other charitable projects of Tau Beta.

As usual, the booths will be bursting with unique, high-quality merchandise. Here, meet three vendors looking forward to supporting such a worthwhile cause, meeting local residents, and showing off their incredible wares.

Jennifer Ohama

OHAMA COUTURE OHAMACOUTURE.COM

Twenty-four years ago, she started sewing when Jennifer Ohama was pregnant with her daughter, Ava-Lauren. She still produces the same timeless pieces but on a much larger scale today. Her clothing is sold all over the country, including in select five-star hotel boutiques.

Now, people in Grosse Pointe can meet the designer in person and see her line of one-of-akind denim jackets with a fun and unique design element. "I retrofit and combine my pieces with my grandmother's silk scarf collection and other vintage designer fabrics that I curate from all over the world," she says.

Her grandmother, Ila, better known as Mamaw, is almost 100 years old, but she and her husband traveled the globe in her younger days. She would bring home incredible scarves from her journeys.

"Ohama Couture is a combination of four generations of women," says Jennifer. "My Mamaw, my mother, Marissa, me, and my daughter, Ava-Lauren."

The denim Levi jackets are all limited edition. "Each one takes on its own personality and is very versatile," she says. "Since I place the silk fabric under the collar and under the cuffs, you can have a basic denim jacket by keeping your collar and your cuffs down. So, you can wear it while going to yoga or walking the dog, then head straight to lunch, adding a pop of color by rolling up your collar and cuffs and having this beautiful silk that comes alive to create a whole different outfit. Later, it can move with you to dinner, where you can put it on over a little black dress."

Jennifer learned about the Fall Market through one of her clients, Abigail Wujek, co-chair of the Tau Beta Fall Market Committee. "I'm from Philadelphia and now live in Newport Beach, California, but I met Abby at one of my trunk shows, and she ended up becoming a client of mine."

Abby mentioned that her product would be a hit in her hometown of Grosse Pointe and told her about the Fall Market. "Philanthropy is something that I incorporate into our business model," says Jennifer. "It makes us feel wonderful to be able to contribute."

When Caroline Chakeris was looking for an outfit for a parent-teacher conference, she knew exactly what she wanted. Unfortunately, none of the stores in her Charleston, South Carolina area had precisely what she desired, so she decided to make it herself.

"I wanted a well-fitting cotton shirt," she says. "I love block print and small batch, so I went to work thinking it would just be one thing I would do. Later, my friends and family became involved, and it grew from there. It's been pretty wonderful."

That was over 10 years ago, and today Caroline owns her own store selling retail and wholesale clothing. Her brand, Madison Mathews, offers the finest in resort wear. "We try to make each piece special, and everything is 100% cotton, hand-blocked, and hand-embroidered," says Caroline. "We really keep our numbers low, so for example, if we have a dress in different prints, we will only do 25 of that dress in a particular print."

She is so excited to join the Tau Beta Fall Market. I'll be able to do an early release of limited edition spring

wear, so it will be there a good three months before it even hits the market.

Caroline also found out about the market through Abigail, who has been a customer of Madison Mathews. "We started this rapport, and she mentioned this Fall Market. I never do markets, but it sounded like such a worthwhile and wonderful cause and a wonderful market.

"It'll be the first one like this that I've done. Supporting each other and giving back is the most important thing. That's what truly fills our hearts, and that's what brings joy to our lives."

Caroline's friends and family are still very involved in her business. "I'm so lucky because every day, I get to work with my best friends, their children, and my daughter's friends. This store is really our happy place. And when all the young girls who work with us are ready, we help them launch their brands."

Her daughter, designer Sara Chakeris, has followed in her mother's footsteps and will also be at the market. "She watched the entire process, and even from a young age, I always asked her opinion," says Caroline. "I'm incredibly proud of her."

"I always wanted clothing that was easy to put on, which would make me feel confident when I wore it, but I didn't want to stand in my closet for two hours trying to figure out what I would wear. I have done that more times than I can count."

Sara Chakeris

CHAKERIS CHAKERIS.COM

Thanks to Caroline, Sara Chakeris grew up in the world of fashion. After college, when most of her friends were going into the corporate world and finding it less than satisfactory, Sara decided to heed her mother's advice. Caroline always told her to do what she loves and that she will never feel like she's working a day in her life.

Sara's brand, Chakeris, was founded in 2022. "I was very inspired by my mom, and my line is very similar to hers as far as everything being cotton, timeless, and made in small batches, but it's tailored to a little younger audience," she says. "I always wanted clothing that was easy to put on, which would make me feel confident when I wore it, but I didn't want to stand in my closet for two hours trying to figure out what I would wear. I have done that more times than I can count."

Chakeris is fun, fashionable, and comfortable. Whether someone needs an outfit for a picnic in the park or a night out to dinner at a fancy resort, there are many perfect options.

The main goal of her line, she explains, was keeping the cost affordable. "I found myself spending unnecessary money on things that I loved, but I just could not justify spending it," says Sara.

She looks forward to traveling to Grosse Pointe and having a booth at the market where she can display her merchandise. "Face-to-face interaction is just night and day compared to online," she says. "I love seeing what works and does not and hearing people's feedback.

"Plus, being able to all come together and make a difference is also really special. Philanthropy is essential to human life, and I love hearing about and participating in fundraisers."

Sara, who is currently living in New York City, says her mom is her biggest cheerleader. "My mom loves what I'm doing, and both of my parents have been so supportive, which is incredible," she says. "I could not do it without them. All my friends and roommate are also super supportive."

www.taubeta.org