Home + Design

Two Kinds of Honest

For twenty-two years, Chrome has helped Royal Oak customers see themselves clearly — and dress accordingly. Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie A customer walks into Chrome looking for an outfit, and two men see the customer differently. Tom Ankoo is already sizing them in his head: height, skin tone, what will work and what won't. If what they try on is wrong, he'll say it’s wrong, and he doesn't care if that costs him the sale. Chris Miller has a different approach...

Life + Culture

Long Enough

A clothier too tall to cuff his jeans now sells custom denim that's built to outlast almost everything you own Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Andrew Schoen tells me he's six foot seven about a minute into the conversation. It isn't a boast; it's an explanation. He's describing why custom clothing meant something to him from the first piece he tried. “It was very difficult for me to find clothes," he says simply. Before Joshua Gold Custom Clothier, Andrew did...

Life + Culture

Her Happy Place

The free-spirited owner of Royal Oak's most bohemian boutique talks about style, discovery, and never selling anyone anything Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Every morning, before she unlocks the door to Saffron, Marianne Petrus calls her mom. It’s a sweet and traditional act.  But that’s the only thing traditional about Saffron. Walk in and it's color and texture in every direction: bohemian, a little rock and roll, French jewelry beside handmade candles, a rack of...

Home + Design

Eclectic Home Q&A

Picking something that would be a cool something else Article and Photography by Amy Gillespie What got you here?  So, we have a long family history of being creative and design work. We had a family business for 25 years. My mom and I had a shop in Plymouth. We actually make costumes, where seamstresses by trade. So the costuming turned into wedding gowns, and then it transitioned into custom drapery embedding. And that's kind of when I got hooked up with an interior designer, and I worked...

Arts + Culture

Welcome to Tekiah Kosher Tequila

Where Two Proud Cultures Become One Extraordinary Spirit Article and Photography by Some brands begin with a business plan. Tekiah began with family. Founder Greg Sobol was raised in a home that celebrated two rich and enduring traditions. His mother was a proud Jewish Mexican, born and raised in Mexico City, and both of his parents instilled in him a deep appreciation for Jewish heritage, faith, family, and community. Growing up, Greg experienced firsthand how naturally these cultures...

Health + Wellness

On The Floor With Them

For Dr. Alex Schechter, veterinary medicine begins on the ground Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Before he was a doctor, with a staff of twelve licensed nurses and a visiting cardiologist, Alex Schechter was a boy in Franklin who wanted to be a dog. Not just a veterinarian. He was three when he knew that. At five, he decided to become an animal.  He lived on the floor. He crawled. He barked. His parents called him Dog Boy. By the time he was nine, he’d worn his...

Health + Wellness

Bringing Up North to Downtown

Step inside a building designed to connect children with ‘outside’ Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie The first thing most kids interact with at the Outdoor Adventure Center isn't the tree, the snowmobile simulators, or the fishing experience built to make you feel a tug on the line. It's the bear. Just inside the entrance, there's a small den with a motion sensor. Get close, and the bear wakes up. Kids run in and out for the better part of an hour, shrieking with...

Education

No Appointment Necessary

No cages, no clocks: just a black-doored sanctuary that's open to anyone who needs it Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Every morning, before anything else, Lisa Hill goes to the quarantine room. These are the new arrivals: cats who just got here, who don’t know yet where they are or what comes next. Lisa checks on each one. “Hi, new friends,” she says. It’s a small gesture, but it says something about how New Beginnings Animal Rescue works. Nobody here is in a hurry...

Health + Wellness

Already Home

Two callings, one mission: build a place where kids can come home to Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Every weekday afternoon, a van pulls up outside three Royal Oak schools and kids pile in. The van doesn’t take the kids to their houses; instead, it goes to The Salvation Army community center on North Main.  But when they arrive, they’re already home. That's how Majors Jennifer and Steve Woodard tend to describe what they do here: they focus on what a child feels...

Arts + Culture

Canvas of the Community

A gallery with artwork inspired from cultures around the world creates a community through a cooperative gallery model in Ferndale Article by London Evans | Photography by Amy Gillespie A gallery with artwork inspired from cultures around the world creates a community through a cooperative gallery model in Ferndale, Mich.   Glenn “Fuzz” Corey always wanted to be involved with art. “Ever since I was a kid I was interested in art. I didn’t know if I would do anything with it. I was always...