Maple Lane Florist in Clawson: Serving Customers for Five Generations

Maple Lane Florist in Clawson: Serving Customers for Five Generations

by | Oct 10, 2018 | Clawson, LBN Community Series, Maple Lane Florist

Maple Lane Florist
in Clawson:
Serving Customers for
Five Generations
10
OCTOBER 2018
BY HONEY MURRAY
LBN Community Series
Clawson
Anna Frost, from Clawson, was sending flowers to a funeral home. Her oldest friend’s mother had passed away at the age of 96 after a brief illness.
“I was sad for my friend, of course, but I wanted a flower arrangement that wasn’t ‘funeral-ish,’” Anna says. “I called Maple Lane Florist on Crooks Road in Clawson and was helped by a man that I believe was the owner’s son.”

“He was sympathetic and kind, and he assured me that he had the flowers available to make just the kind of uplifting and very pretty arrangement I was thinking of – with lots of fresh, white, feminine blossoms — in my price range, and able to be delivered later that day.”

NATALIE WATKINS

OWNER OF MAPLE LANE FLORIST IN CLAWSON
“When I arrived at the funeral home,” Anna recalls, “the family members came running up to me and said, ‘We knew those flowers were from you as soon as they arrived! They are so lovely!’”

Owner Natalie Watkins, who started working in her family’s shop over 50 years ago at the age of nine, says, “We actually listen to everyone and try to get exactly what they want…And usually, we get it just right!”

She adds, “After all, we’ve been in business so long that we have a deep understanding of flowers – and people.”

Though Maple Lane Florist was officially opened in 1948 by Natalie’s grandparents, John and Grace Ann Schultz, the Schultzes actually began the business out of the Troy home they moved to from Highland Park in 1936.

“I had a customer come in,” shares Natalie, “who wanted flowers for a 75th anniversary. She said that my grandparents had done the wedding flowers out of their house all those years ago!”

 

Her grandparents built onto the house with greenhouses and a flower shop. They also had a roadside stand for selling “mums, tomatoes – anything they could grow.”

“And now,” Natalie beams, “there is a fifth generation of family here.”

“Growing up, my mom would bring home work for the five of us kids to do: making bows, assembling corsages…All five of my kids (and most of their spouses) have also been brought up in the business.”

“Our customers love and trust us,” Natalie smiles. “They’ve been with us for years, and many actually worked with us when they were teens!”.”
“My granddaughter Natalie, who is twelve, is one of my best employees! She loves to wait on customers and make mixed bouquets. Since she’s been four years old, she’s counted out the cash drawer every time she works, making sure we have enough singles and change.”

Grandchildren Jordan, Alyssa, Luca, Meadow, and Violet also often work on weekends and in the summer, cleaning flowers and watering plants.

“It’s so great for all the kids to work here. They learn how to count and work with cash, they enjoy people, and they are excited and happy to make money – though they are required to save half of what they earn in their bank accounts.”

Natalie recounts ways in which the business has changed over time.

“In the past, Mother’s Day and Easter were the biggest holidays. But, over the years, grocery stores – and even hardware store chains – began mass-selling of flowers and plants.”

“My grandfather was appalled,” Natalie says. “But the good part is, it’s kept flowers at the forefront. A bad part is, customers are not always getting quality and properly cared-for flowers that way.”

“Like food, our flowers are a perishable commodity and are always kept in perfect temperature and conditions. If a customer says they don’t want roses because they only last a couple of days, I’m so happy to tell them that ours will last at least a week and sometimes ten days with just a little at-home care.”

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“And,” she continues, “if you have a small floral arrangement and leave it in the fridge or in a cool room while you’re at work and take it back out when you get home, you can enjoy it for many extra days!”

Maple Lane Florist is increasingly delivering weekly arrangements, as well as other floral gifts, to corporate customers and other businesses.

“When they receive their standing order for their lobby or front desk, the office workers say, ‘Yay!! Our flowers are here!’” Natalie says. “It’s like they are getting their own gift.”

“They love it,” adds driver and clerk Leigh Liotta. “We bring back the old flowers, and they love the new ones. Everyone loves receiving flowers!”

General manager Blake Bergeson, Natalie’s son-in-law, also enjoys arranging holiday decorating of all types and occasions for homes and businesses.

“Especially the weekend of Thanksgiving,” he says, “we are putting up lights and decorations that homeowners and businesses either own or have us purchase for them. We’ve done entire blocks of storefronts as well as a single bannister a client needed decorated for a house party.”

“Our customers love and trust us,” Natalie smiles. “They’ve been with us for years, and many actually worked with us when they were teens!”

“They know our names; they come in, put money on the counter and say, ‘Give me my usual.’ When they move away, they still call to have us send flowers to their mom or grandmother…or to send holiday and thank-you gifts like amaryllis, poinsettias, and centerpieces.”

“They’ve stayed with us through all these years. And…it gets better every year!”

1522 N. Crooks Rd.
Clawson, MI  48017
248-280-5949
maplelaneflowers.com
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For 112 Years, Sullivan and Son Funeral Directors Have Served the Royal Oak Community

For 112 Years, Sullivan and Son Funeral Directors Have Served the Royal Oak Community

by | Oct 4, 2018 | LBN Community Series, Royal Oak, Sullivan and Son

For 112 Years, Sullivan and Son Funeral Directors Have Served the Royal Oak Community

04

OCTOBER 2018

BY REBECCA CALAPPI

LBN Community Series
Royal Oak

When Eric Page’s father died in 2014, there was no doubt in his mind who he’d call first: Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Directors.

“Even if we didn’t know the Lopes as well as we do, there’d be absolutely no doubt who we’d call,” said Page. “They’ve taken care of my grandmother, my grandfather, and my father. You know for sure that everything’s going to be done correctly. What the family name stands for is the utmost dignity for your family member and there’s never a doubt.”

Mike Lope (L), John Sullivan (C), and Jim Sullivan (R)

Page is childhood friends with Michael Lope, the great-grandson of William Sullivan, the founder of Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Directors. Michael, along with his father Ray Lope, mother Meg (Sullivan) Lope, uncles John Sullivan and Bill Sullivan, aunt Marty (Sullivan) McGinnity and cousin Jim Sullivan, now run the family business.

Since many people hosted funerals in their own house, there was no need for a funeral home, just a storefront.

“William had a livery stable in downtown Royal Oak and he knew a cabinet maker, so together they could make caskets and get people to the cemetery,” said Lope.

The year was 1906 and the storefront was located on Main Street in Royal Oak.

In 1939, after twins Meg and Marty were born, William Sullivan moved his family to a house on 11 Mile Road. This would become the permanent home of the family business.

About that time, having family funerals at home was going out of vogue and more people began turning to funeral homes for all their needs. The funeral home had two chapels at the time, and the family lived above the business.

 

In 1945, the family moved to another house to make room for William’s expanding business. By the 1960s and 1970s, William had passed away, leaving his son, Jim in charge.

John Sullivan is a co-owner. “I saw what my grandfather and father did, and respected them. We had a good name in the community and I wanted to help with that. We’re proud to have the fourth generation here to keep it going. We’re going to be here for a long time,” he said.

“We really want people to feel comfortable when they come in, like they’re home. We want them to welcome their guests in a relaxed environment.”

Today, the Sullivan family is as dedicated as ever to providing compassionate, dignified services for families at two locations, including Utica. The old homestead on 11 Mile Road in Royal Oak is still the site of the funeral home, but after several expansions and additions, it’s difficult to see the original footprint from outside.

“We’re always putting money into our buildings,” said Lope. “We really want people to feel comfortable when they come in, like they’re home. We want them to welcome their guests in a relaxed environment.”

 

Both locations recently added a large chapel, “because so many people don’t identify with a church. We put the addition on to serve that niche,” said Lope.

Additionally, Sullivan & Son offers specialized services that many other funeral homes don’t.

“We’re one of the leaders in the area for green burials, which is basically environmentally friendly burial. No embalming or traditional vaults. The idea is to get people back to the earth as soon as possible. We have two to three green burial seminars a year and probably do 20 a year,” said Lope. “It’s a personal preference, though. Our whole focus is to make sure our staff is educated and families get what they want. We need to make sure we’re experts in all the fields.”

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Lope explained that Sullivan & Son provides a full range of services for whatever a family might need.

“The whole thing for us is to try and offer as many options as possible. Pre-arranging funerals helps people get what they’re looking for, but once someone passes away, it’s important for families to know we’re there for them,” said Lope. “Our biggest thing as funeral directors, is to help figure out what’s best for families. Customer service is at the heart of what we do. Whatever it is people are looking for, we’re here for them.”

The Sullivan family roots run deep in Royal Oak as does their sense of duty to the community to which they belong. They are major supporters of the Boys and Girls Club, and served with the Rotary, St. Vincent de Paul, historical societies and many more. Mortuary science students at Wayne State University are invited to use the apartment at the funeral home when they are completing their apprenticeship as well.

“Community service is paramount. We don’t do it just for business purposes, we truly believe in our community,” said Lope.

For more than 112 years, Sullivan and Son Funeral Directors has been the shoulder the Royal Oak community leans on in sad times. It’s the oldest business in the city and has high hopes of being able to serve the community that has been so good to them for many years to come.

Sullivan & Son Funeral Directors
Royal Oak: (248) 541-7000
Utica: (586) 731-2411
www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com

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Rita O’Brien Design Group: Inspirational Interiors

Rita O’Brien Design Group: Inspirational Interiors

by | Oct 3, 2018 | LBN Community Series, Rita O'Brien Design Group, Troy

Rita O’Brien Design Group:
Inspirational Interiors

03

OCTOBER 2018

BY PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

LBN Community Series
Troy

It’s a jam-packed day for Rita O’Brien.

The interior designer spent the morning at her client’s house in Clarkston, overseeing a demo of the kitchen, and now they’re back at O’Brien’s office and showroom in Troy’s Michigan Design Center, selecting pieces that will go in the room. Later on, O’Brien will board a bus with a bunch of her designer pals to check out the Junior League of Detroit’s Designer Showcase at the Fisher Mansion in Detroit’s Boston-Edison neighborhood.

RITA O'BRIEN

OWNER OF RITA O’BRIEN DESIGN GROUP

Then it’s back to work on the kitchen renovation the next day with her client, Karrie DeLuca, who sings nothing but praises for O’Brien, from her ever-sunny disposition to her insightful ideas for transforming spaces.

“She did our pool house,” says DeLuca. “”We had lived in Asia and wanted a Balinese look. I met with Rita, and she was able to take what was in my head and make it happen. It was exactly as I hoped it would be.”

DeLuca loved O’Brien’s work so much that she asked O’Brien to do her kitchen. That project should be completed by Christmas.

 

As head of O’Brien Design Group, the designer has racked up a slew of awards, numerous magazine articles, and has earned a reputation as “The Color Whisperer” for her expertise at choosing perfect shades.

O’Brien has always had a flair for design—she recalls helping her mother rearrange things as a young girl—but she hasn’t always been an interior designer. Her first job in her hometown of Cleveland was a reservationist for United Airlines, moving up as a gate agent at the Cleveland Airport, then a manager of the airline’s Red Carpet Club, then training and development of the travel-agency industry for UA’s Chicago office, and after that, she opened her own travel-incentive company, Target Travel.

Her design philosophy: “To help the client get the look they’re after but educating them through the process so they can understand scale and color, and if they like a certain style, what can mix with it. I make suggestions and generally people follow them.”

Her transition into interior design began while she was living in Chicago. Her first client there wanted an entire home redone. “It was trial by fire,” she recalls, but luckily she had the massive Merchandise Mart at her disposal, and she availed herself of many sales reps who helped her learn the business.

Ten years ago, after moving to Michigan, she started her design business in her basement in Birmingham, then moved to a studio at Cole and Hazel in the same city. Two and a half years ago, she moved to the design center, a vast complex of showrooms for high-end home furnishings, lighting, flooring and all things interior.

“This is heaven,” she smiles. “The design center is open to the public and there is no other resource like this in the state. Everything is here for the client as well, so when the client meets me here, we tour the design center.”

O’Brien is one of five interior designers with studios at the MDC. “I don’t have any one style — it depends on my clients’ needs and their tastes. I would say I’m a chameleon. I can do contemporary, eclectic, traditional, over the top, just whatever genre my client wants, that’s what we do.” To stay on top of trends and styles, she goes to High Point, NC, twice a year to see what’s new.

Her design philosophy: “To help the client get the look they’re after but educating them through the process so they can understand scale and color, and if they like a certain style, what can mix with it. I make suggestions and generally people follow them.”

That gives O’Brien, who does loads of renovations from the studs up, a lot of joy. “It’s so rewarding to take a room and transform it completely.”

Some of her suggestions include where to place electrical outlets, where to put light bulbs, what drywall to use, where not to enlarge a space. Scale—too big or too small—is a big issue when people buy something like a sectional, coffee table or dining room set, get it home, and it looks terrible in the room.

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“So many times people will say after they hire me: ‘If only I’d met you before I bought this piece,’ because it’s not to scale,” says O’Brien, who either has to work around the piece or it has to go. Her clients have told her “I’m saving money by using you.”

For new clients, she offers a complimentary 30-minute in-studio consultation, and her fees are by the hour or by the project. If you want to change colors in your home, she can schedule a two-hour visit. She also acts as the point person between the client and tradespeople for complete renovations, and has developed a fine network of people she recommends. “I work with many trades that I know are topnotch. You gravitate toward people you can trust—who have your back and you have theirs.”

It’s clear O’Brien has found her perfect niche. She not only loves her challenging work, she loves the people. “It’s a very personal job, because most of my projects are five to six months, and then you do the next room and the next one, and you get to know these people well. They develop a trust with you, and once you’ve done one room, it’s “Oh, I know you get me, you understand what I want.”

O’Brien works on eight to 12 projects at a time for a plethora of clients. Her white board in the rear of her studio reflects a busy but organized schedule. She carries unique items such as customized leather “quote” books, home furnishings and private furniture lines. Her company also represents many Detroit artists, whose lively, mostly abstract works punctuate her showroom walls. Her husband, Tom O’Brien, reps the artists, who include Tony Roko, Darcel Deneau, Claudia Hershman, Laurel Pitynski, Mark Wolak, Michael O’Reilly, Sue Zinger and others.

So does Rita O’Brien, the designer with the unflappable spirit, ever get frustrated? Not really.

“Sometimes you know if they only removed the one piece, it would be better. But you have to honor the fact that that one piece is special to them. What I find exciting is that there’s this one piece that I have to use and surround it and make it look beautiful.”

Rita O’Brien Design Group
Michigan Design Center
1700 Stutz Dr., Suite 115
Troy, MI 48084
248-326-5353
www.ritaobrien.com

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