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Tickle Mom’s fancy with just-right gift for Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is a week away.
Which means if you haven’t already started shopping, you should.
Need some ideas?
Here are a few that should make your mom, my mom, everyone’s mom happy.
Handmade from wood, paper, wire and ribbon, Cool Cottage Wallflowers could add a festive touch to your mom’s house. Buy one or buy several and arrange them in a collage. They range in size from 5 to 11 inches in diameter. $31.50-$47.50, depending on size.
ROCHESTER — As a child, April McCrumb loved getting out her construction paper, scissors, doilies, glue and crayons to make homemade valentines for family and friends.
Now the owner of Catching Fireflies gift shop in Rochester and Berkley, McCrumb still loves to use her creativity to craft valentines for those in need of a smile.
For the second year in a row, Catching Fireflies — at 203 E. University Drive in Rochester and 3117 W. 12 Mile Road in Berkley — is collecting blank handmade Valentine’s Day cards, which will be delivered to sick children at DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
“I grew up loving to make valentines. … They are a fun way to spread love, so I thought it would be fun to encourage our customers — adults and kids alike — to get out their scissors, construction paper, and make some old-school valentines to help bring a smile to kids who really could use it, because who wants to be at a hospital on Valentine’s Day?” McCrumb said.
Last year, approximately 1,500 valentines were collected and donated, and McCrumb hopes to collect even more this year.
Catching Fireflies is asking the public to get involved by donating a blank handmade card or two through Feb. 12.
Deanna Scanlon, child life projects specialist at DMC Children’s Hospital, said the blank cards are made available to all staff and the children at the hospital Feb. 14.
“The staff sign the cards, and if they have any interaction with the children on Valentine’s Day, then they can give them a card. It’s really kind of neat because it gets the staff involved, and the kids are getting personalized cards from the staff members and people that they know and are involved in their care,” she said. “We also give the children these blank cards so they can sign them and give them to the staff.”
The project really has a big impact on the staff and the kids, Scanlon said, especially those in the cardiology unit.
“It does really make a big difference to the kids that are in the hospital because it normalizes hospitalization and brings something familiar to them that they can do on Valentine’s Day that they would be doing at school,” she added.
As a thank you to those who bring in three or more handcrafted cards and make a purchase, Catching Fireflies will offer a “joyful heart” necklace.
“To sweeten the deal and make it a little more fun, we have these lovely little necklaces that are handmade by an artist out in California. They are really simple. They have the shape of a heart and they have a little word, ‘joy.’ Joy comes from giving to people, so it’s just a nice little token to remember that they are spreading joy by taking time out and making a lovely valentine,” McCrumb said.
Scanlon said the Valentine’s Day project, which is one of her favorites, wouldn’t be possible without support from the community.
“We wouldn’t be able to do something like this without Catching Fireflies and support from the community because we’re a 228 bed hospital — that’s a lot of kids that could potentially be here on Valentine’s Day,” she said.
By Bonnie Caprara
When April McCrumb was a student at Eastern Michigan University in the mid-’90s, she earned her spending money making paper crafts and selling her goods at art fairs.
“It was a pretty cool way to make $100 a day as a college student,” McCrumb says.
McCrumb eventually got her degree in special education but never went on to teach. Instead, she launched her part-time hobby into a full-fledged business empire, which is based on A.I. Paper Design where she is the creator of handcrafted picture frames, photo albums, collages and magnets.
Each of her creations are based around colorful and whimsical paper art that she combines with ribbons, findings and uplifting sayings that commemorate the happiest of happiest moments that people display in the pictures of her picture frames.
“I’ve always been creative, always been a big fan of paper, and I’ve always loved words, colors and textures,” says McCrumb, “I’m a positive person, and I’m influenced by my customers, too. I have customers asking for a variety of themes.”
A.I. Paper Design products are designed around several themes — friendship, family, good times, weddings, pets and cooking, one of her favorite pastimes.
Over the years, McCrumb’s studio have moved from her college apartment to her first home in Oak Park and then to what is now her flagship Catching Fireflies store in Berkley.
“When we opened, we doored it off,” McCrumb says. “There was a small store in the front that sold all the A.I. Paper goods and had the workshop in the back.”
In fact, it was the success of A.I. Paper that allowed McCrumb to open Catching Fireflies.
“We were able to open Catching Fireflies without taking out a loan,” McCrumb says.
When the demand for her handcrafted gift items outgrew the studio in the back end of her Berkley store and the success of the store took over the workshop, she moved production to a studio in Royal Oak. During those years, she has gone from selling her work at art fairs to having them stocked in 400 gift shops across the United States.
They’re transitions she couldn’t have made without her husband, Steve, who left his teaching job three years after the couple graduated from college in 1998 to run the business, which now includes a second Catching Fireflies store in Rochester, and a second Berkley gift shop, Yellow Door Art Market.
Yellow Door Art Market features handmade items from over 60 Michigan artists, local student artists, Michigan-made foods, and a selection of books written by Michigan authors in a boutique setting that’s open seven days a week.
By opening Yellow Door Art Market, McCrumb says, “I felt it was a way to give them some exposure.”
Today, the success of A.I. Paper Design has allowed McCrumb to leave the day-to-day operations of her stores in the hands of her managers and staff, not to mention the expansion of the Catching Fireflies’ inventories to include a range of stationery, trinkets, jewelry, handbags and gift items that have earned the stores the distinction of HOUR Detroit’s Best Gift Shop five years in a row.
“I buy stuff for the store that’s clever, unique and fun,” McCrumb says. “You have to be different and buy things that touch people and make them feel good. It’s a big part of who we are.”
McCrumb now spends most of her time creating new items for A.I. Paper Design, which will come out with a whole new line of products, about 60 in all, in January.
by Jen Sakey of c and g news
(excerpt)
Looking for a few more gifts on your holiday shopping list? Choosing a Michigan-made item or purchasing from a small, local business can be a win-win — recipients get to unwrap something unique, while shoppers help boost Michigan’s economy.
Instead of buying gifts online or at a large retail store, shoppers can make a real difference by staying in their own community. This option was emphasized on Small Business Saturday Nov. 26, which proved beneficial for many small stores in metro Detroit.
“Sales were up 30 percent this year,” said April McCrumb, owner of Catching Fireflies in Berkley. “I’m thrilled.”
After 11 years in business in downtown Berkley, McCrumb said she’s noticed a growing mindset among customers to shop locally. Catching Fireflies, which has another location in downtown Rochester, offers shoppers whimsical, fun items, including Detroit- and Michigan-themed gifts.
“We’re independently owned, and we offer a big variety of goods, including items from local artists,” said McCrumb.
In addition, McCrumb and her husband, Steve, own the Yellow Door Art Market, just two doors down from the Catching Fireflies Berkley location. The store sells handmade items from more than 70 Michigan artists, so not only are shoppers supporting a local business, they’re supporting the artists, too.
Catching Fireflies is located at 3117 W. 12 Mile in Berkley and 203 E. University in Rochester. For more information, visit www.catchingfireflies.com. Yellow Door Art Market is located at 3141 W. 12 Mile Road in Berkley. For more information, visit www.yellowdoorartmarket.com.
We're so honored! This is the 5th consecutive year we've won for Best Gift Shop and our new sister store, Yellow Door Art Market also won.
We couldn't live up to these fantastic titles without wonderful customers like you. I think we need to issue all of you a BEST OF plaque for being such wonderful firefly fans! Many, Many Thanks!
And thank you Hour Detroit for including us in your first rate publication.
Every year we ask: What more could there be to say? What could be new in the 25th anniversary edition of Best of Detroit, that hasn't been said before. But then we print up the readers' ballot and put a version online, and watch as the returns begin. Then we start free associating, opening our eyes to what's around us, letting our ears perk up when someone tells us about a new shop, a new club, a new insight. By the end, this year, we were checking with the production department to see where we might pry loose a little more space. By the end the ideas were flowing. We have to get in the Detroit Party Marching Band, right? And Autotune Karaoke. Got to get that. Tom's Tavern hasn't fallen down yet? Gotta get that. Meanwhile, we're harvesting what 1,000-plus readers have said in our ballots, reminding us of great places, interesting people, important ideas. When we asked for a new slogan for the city, one response was: "A great place to visit, even when you live here." If that makes sense to you, hold on to this as your visitor's guide until we bring you a newer one a year from now.
Catching Fireflies
3117 W. 12 Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-336-2030
203 E. University Dr., Rochester; 248-650-3318; catchingfireflies.com
The name makes you think of those carefree days as a kid, when hoping to catch a firefly was a dream you could obtain. Shopping at this whimsical, colorful store can seem pretty close to those fun-filled childhood days. With bright, colorful, clever items, there's something for a gift, favor or "just because." Merchandise changes by the season. Look for citrus-colored purses, pastel flowerpots and whimsical garden art this time of year. And who doesn't need a sugar cookie-scented air freshener all year long?
Let's face it, guy gifts for Valentine's Day can be tough. Catching Fireflies is here to help.
By Laura Cassar
If I'm being honest with you, (and don't you miss hearing Simon say that on American Idol?) I'm a little stumped on what to get my better half for Valentine's Day. This is one holiday that guys have it easy: chocolate, jewelry, flowers. Any of these three and he's a winner. But what do we get them?
As you might know, when gift giving has me stuck, I turn to Catching Fireflies. It never lets me down. Here are three easy ideas that will make you the winner:
Option 1: Does your honey have a man cave? Does he love classic Beastie Boys? Did he write you love poems back in college? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, I suggest the "You Are" wall art for $23.95. It's black and rustic, perfectly macho for the man cave. It has a romantic sentiment that lets him know much you love him in manly terms (i.e. bacon) while faintly echoing a hit from the early 1990s.
Option 1.5: Replace the words Beastie Boys in above option with Beatles and I suggest the "All You Need is Love" wall art with its matching partner, "Love is All You Need." Each piece is $7.95.
Option 2: Is your honey stressed out? Would a long, hot bubble bath do him a world of good but you know that's never going to happen? Get him shower steamers. All you do is throw it down on the floor of your shower and the spray activates the aromatherapy experience. But don't use the word aromatherapy with him. Instead dwell on the brutish names like Hangover Buster, Stress Buster and Headache Buster. Individually, the steamers are $3.95 or you can get a four-pack for $15.95.
Option 3: Is your Valentine also one sweet daddy? Then I suggest the Made with Love for Dad book for $7.99. It includes a built-in picture frame, stickers, memory book and custom coupons. (FYI: There's a mom version, too).
In Checking Things Off My Christmas List, it's Catching Fireflies vs. Giant Stack of Catalogs
By Laura Cassar
I get catalogs at this time of year. Stacks and stacks — a whole forest's worth. I look through them all; some might even tempt me. But before I place an order, I first go downtown to Catching Fireflies.
After I do that, my catalog stack goes straight into the recycling bin.
You've heard the saying that good things come in little packages? Catching Fireflies fits that description to a "T."
Located in a historic train depot building on University Drive, its footprint may not be large, but its gift selection is enormous. This comes in handy if your Christmas list has gotten out of hand and you need some one-stop shopping.
I went in with a list that was large (an even dozen) and diverse (gift recipients aged 5 to 40, both genders). I walked out an hour later with every person checked off and each gift wrapped (oh yeah, they offer free gift wrapping.)
Here's what I got (and if you're on my Christmas list, please cover your eyes):
Whew! All that for $155.71, wrapped for free and with no shipping or handling charges.
And that, my friend, is just the tip of the Catching Fireflies iceberg. I didn't even touch on the jewelry, baby section, customized frames, holiday decorations and so much more. You'll just have to go and check it out yourself.
-Georgea Kovanis
Canvas tote bag decorated with a map of Detroit's neighborhoods. $17.95 at Catching Fireflies, 3117 W. Twelve Mile, Berkley. 248-336-2030. Also, 203 E. University, Rochester. 248-650-3318; catchingfireflies.com and maptote.com. (Map Tote)
The Chicgao Parents' Guide to Culture & Entertainment
Freaky Feet – Those things going bump in the night are just your toddlers toes slipped into hairy & scary Lil' Monster Slippers $19
Sweet Delete – The phrase I stink at math takes on a whole new meaning when you clean up mistakes with scented erasers. Packaged in mini milk cartons, they'll leave your paper smelling like grape, fruit juice, milk, strawberry & chocolate. $4
I'm April McCrumb ~ a creative gal from Michigan that loves to share clever gift ideas, simple recipes, my favorite tunes & all things crafty. Thanks for stopping by my whimsical world. I hope you enjoy your visit.
