Leon & Lulu Mixes Homestyle Retail with Community Involvement
posted: 11/09/2010 by Connie ThompsonClawson store owners create unique lifestyle shop while hosting special events and fundraisers.
By Brittany Moody, Patch.com reporter
Leon & Lulu is no ordinary furniture store. Instead, the 15,000-square-foot former roller rink in Clawson offers an environment filled with an array of unique gifts, knickknacks and home décor items and also plays an active role in the community.
"We are a destination retail store, a lifestyle store," said co-owner Mary Liz Curtin, of Royal Oak.
Many customers are surprised by the variety and displays. "It's overwhelming; I've been in here for an hour," said first-time shopper Ellen Kieta of Rochester Hills. "They have a lot of different things that I haven't seen anywhere else."
Customers are often greeted by Curtin's dog, Spot, and Curtin said customers are welcome to bring their own pets when they visit the store.
Aside from offering a wide selection of items, Leon & Lulu hosted 65 special events last year - 54 of them fundraisers for charities. For events such as wedding showers and birthday parties, the store asks that hosts donate $150 to a charity.
Tami Fink, a Farmington Hills resident who has been battling cancer since March 2008, had a charity event at the store on Sunday to support theSusan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. "This is the coolest place ever," Fink said. "It's not one of those intimidating stores, it's a store that you come in and you just feel so comfortable."
Leon and Lulu also hosts Girls Night Out from 5-8 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month. Curtin said they typically have a fashion show or special speaker as well as a gift included with purchases and refreshments.
When Curtin and her husband, Stephen Scannell, were planning to open a new store they looked for a location that was easily accessible from anywhere in Metro Detroit that was large enough for a furniture store, had plenty of parking and was affordable to purchase. "Finding all of that in an historical building was an amazing serendipitous event", Curtin said.
When Leon & Lulu opened its doors April 1, 2006, they hoped to be profitable in their third or fourth year, Curtin said, but they reached their goal much sooner in just their fifth month in business. Now, if they have fewer than 85 customers on any given day, they consider that a slow day of business.
"Many Leon & Lulu customers don't live near Clawson, but still wish to continue shopping there so the store plans to launch its e-commerce website next week," Curtin said.
Curtin attributes Leon & Lulu's success to a variety of factors. "Our prices are good, we believe in having good quality, fabulous design, excellent customer service and a sense of humor," she said.
So where did the name Leon & Lulu come from? Some passersby assume those are the owners, but Curtin and Scannell named the Clawson store after their former pets, Leon the cat and Lulu the dog, both of whom are deceased.
Leon & Lulu has become a destination shopping spot, a place where customers such as Joanne Coates, of Southfield, feel at home. "It's an environment to de-stress in and you could just cuddle up with a blanket, a good couch, a pillow and a dog," Coates said. "What more could you want?"
http://clawson.patch.com/articles/leon-lulu-mixes-homestyle-retail-with-community-involvement#c