shinola Archives - Detroit Duchess

Detroit/Michigan Gift Guide

December 8, 2014 by DetroitDuchess 3 Comments

I’ve been meaning to write this post since last year. I was initially a transplant to Michigan, born in Ohio, lived in Pennsylvania for 7.5 years and started high school here in Michigan. So not having grown up here, I didn’t really have an preconceived ideas about Detroit. When I got my first PR job out of college at Pewabic Pottery, a Detroit treasure, I was open to loving the city. After 10 years of working in all different Detroit spaces and currently the Renaissance Center, I have a deep appreciation and love for the city. Because of this, I want to share some of my favorite Detroit things for a fun holiday gift guide.

Pewabic Pottery Twelve Days of Christmas Ornaments ($60/set or $22/ornament)

These are one of my favorites. I was still working at the Pottery in 2005 when they developed this series. Each ornament represents one of the gifts from The Twelve Days of Christmas classic. You can buy them individually or in sets of three. It would be so fun to give someone one of these ornaments every year and they would look beautiful on your favorite Christmas tree.

Jenna Kator Lake Superior Handbag ($108)

Jenna Kator is a Michigan designer who creates animal friendly vegan leather handbags with fun Michigan names. Her bags are high quality and beautiful. I loved this recent Lake Superior bag.

Shinola The Runwell Contrast Chrono Bracelet Watch, 41mm ($975)

Made right here in Detroit, Shinola’s watches are beautiful. They sell them at Nordstrom, which makes it the perfect purchase to use your triple points day on.

Faygo Candles ($50)

Faygo “Pop” is a Michigan tradition and these candles would make a fun gift! They come in a Faygo 6-pack container with Grape, Orange, Rock & Rye, Redpop, Vanilla Creme and Root Beer fragrances.

KO Photo Vogue Detroit 2 a.m. Prints

Our friend, Amin, is a talented photographer and has created a line of photographs showcasing Detroit at 2 a.m that you can order for your home. These are stunning and I can’t wait to have one in our new home. I am sort of loving the Joe Louis Fist right now.

Reclaim Detroit End Grain Butcher Block ($109)

This is beautiful and so cool, these cutting boards are made of old growth reclaimed lumber from Detroit area homes salvaged by Reclaim Detroit’s deconstruction crews. Each board is handcrafted and unique.

Caliber Detroit Steel Cuff Links ($250)

Caliber Detroit created these cufflinks to eradicate illegal violence in the city. They take weapons found at crime scenes, melt them down and create these cool steel cuff links. The serial number corresponds with a gun that has been removed from the streets. The proceeds from these cufflinks benefit the Caliber Foundation which offers support to persons and communities devastated by gun violence.

Good People Popcorn White Cheddar Salsa ($32)

What says holiday more than a popcorn tin? This popcorn is so delicious and made in Detroit!

LDV 6 Bottle Raw Steel Wine Rack ($44.99)

These wine racks are designed and manufactured in Detroit out of one single sheet of automotive grade steel. Each rack is completely custom and designed to be hung vertically.

Stormy Kromer Petal Pusher Cap ($44.99)

I’ve been admiring this cap for a while now and I love that their factory is right here in Michigan.

I would love to hear what your favorite Detroit/Michigan made gifts are in the comments!

Filed Under: Detroit Tagged With: 12 Days of Christmas Ornaments, Caliber Detroit, Detroit, Faygo, Gift Guide, Good People Popcorn, Jenna Kator, KO Photo Vogue, LDV Steel Wine Rack, Pewabic Pottery, Reclaim Detroit, shinola, Stormy Kromer

The Lincoln Luxury Experience

July 15, 2014 by DetroitDuchess Leave a Comment

I was recently contacted by Lincoln Motor Company to attend a VIP Experience to celebrate the all-new 2015 Lincoln MKC. The event was held at the Shinola Detroit store, which is a fun place to visit. Shinola is an American manufacturer headquartered right here in Detroit. They make beautiful watches that are also available at Nordstrom if any of you are looking to make some extra reward points.

Since John had to work, I decided to bring my best friend, Jen as my date and have a girl’s night. As soon as we arrived, we headed to the bar to get a custom cocktail created by The Sugar House (if you haven’t been, make sure to get there ASAP). They had amazing Detroit75’s which were fun to watch them make.

It seems that everyone was out and about, because we met up with Lauren from Mrs. Weber’s Neighborhood and Lish Dorset as well as some of my other Detroit pals (Lauren was taking the photo).

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Weber’s Neighborhood

Since we were at Shinola, we had to check out some watches. I tried on the new Runwell Contrast Chronograph (definitely going on my wish list):

Before we left, we had to take the Lincoln MKC out on a test drive! Lucky us, they had drivers to take us on a spin through the city which gave me a chance to check out some of the great features in the vehicle.

The interior was elegant and Jen and I got to check out some of the fun features like the awesome panoramic sun roof. I have never seen anything like it! I also liked hearing about the Lane-Keeping System which vibrates the wheel if you happen to doze off and are drifting out of your lane.

I think my favorite feature was the purse holder they had under the console. I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve seen something like this! I could definitely use that feature on my current vehicle!

I had a blast at this event and loved catching up with some old friends!

If you want to learn more about the Lincoln MKC visit Lincoln on Facebook and Twitter or search for the #LincolnMKC hashtag.

Filed Under: Detroit Tagged With: #LincolnMKC, 2015 Lincoln MKC, Detroit, Lincoln Motor Company, shinola, The Sugar House

5 on Friday: His Christmas Wish List

December 20, 2013 by DetroitDuchess Leave a Comment

It’s time for another edition of Five on Friday with A Liz Adventures, The Good Life Blog, Hello Happiness and Carolina Charm.

Since I did my Christmas Wish List a few weeks back, I figured it was only fair that I did one for him. Most of these items would be great for those of you that haven’t shopped for your significant other yet.

1. Shinola Watch

If you aren’t from Michigan, you may not have heard about Shinola yet. Shinola decided to reignite watch manufacturing in the United States and they chose Detroit to launch their business. My husband and I think it is so cool to have such amazing watches made right here in Detroit. For those of you not in Detroit, you can buy Shinola watches at Nordstrom. My husband really wants the 47mm one below:

2. Dollar Shave Club

So my husband recently joined the Dollar Shave Club. He heard about it from a friend and it is a cool concept. Dollar Shave Club is a subscription service that delivers high quality razors every month. You can get different packages for $1, $6 or $9 depending on your preference. You get 4-5 cartridges each month depending on the plan you choose. You can see the plans here. What a great deal! This basically means that you can use a new razor every week. Ladies you can even get this for yourself, they allow you to add on another person to your account if you would like to. Check out the video for more details:

3. Detroit Tigers Cuff Links

We actually got these for the groomsmen in our wedding party and I love to see the guys wearing them. John wore his to work today and they look really sharp. You can buy them here at Kohl’s. If you aren’t a Detroit fan, don’t worry, they have all of the other teams available too.

4. Personalized Watch Box

My husband loves watches as much as I love shoes. He has a nice collection going now, but could really use a place to keep everything. He’s mentioned getting a box like this for a while and I thought this one would look really nice on his nightstand.

5. Purifying Light Sanitizing Cutting Board System

My husband is a great chef and loves to cook. It’s sort of funny because whenever I try to make something, he is always poking around to see what I’m doing, he can’t help it, he just loves it. The big difference between us is that I have to follow a recipe and he can just make up his own as he goes. He loves gadgets like this and is really big into sanitizing all of the tools in the kitchen (I’m glad he is, because without him I would probably poison us all, lol). These cutting boards are awesome, they have different ones for each type of food and then they are sanitized by 20 minutes of exposure to a UV-C light.

What are you getting for your special guy?

For more 5 on Friday posts, click here.

Filed Under: Beauty, Fashion, Five on Friday Tagged With: 5 on Friday, Dollar Shave Club, Gift Guide for Him, shinola

Detroit Restaurant Week

September 19, 2013 by DetroitDuchess Leave a Comment

Today kicks off Detroit Restaurant Week which runs through September 29, 2013. If you haven’t participated in Restaurant Week before and have no idea what it is, let me explain. During restaurant week a group of restaurants offers a fixed menu that you can try for a discounted price (usually $25-30 for a three course meal). Just click on the link above to check out the menus and make a reservation.

The following Detroit restaurants are participating in this year’s event:

24Grille, Westin Book Cadillac Detroit
Andiamo Detroit Riverfront, GM Renaissance Center
Angelina Italian Bistro, Downtown
Brizola, Greektown Casino Hotel
Cliff Bell’s, Downtown
Coach Insignia, GM Renaissance Center
Cuisine, New Center
Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille, Fox Theatre Building
Detroit Seafood Market, Paradise Valley
Fountain Bistro, Campus Martius Park
Guns + Butter, Shinola Detroit, Midtown
Jefferson House, Crowne Plaza Detroit
La Dolce Vita, Palmer Park District
Rattlesnake Club, Stroh River Place
Roast, Westin Book Cadillac Detroit
Roma Cafe, Eastern Market
Santorini Estiatorio, Greektown
Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria & Cucina, MGM Grand Detroit

You can read about my experiences at La Dolce Vita, the Rattlesnake Club and Santorini Estiatorio if you are interested in making a reservation. I’ve been to a number of these places in the past, but I haven’t tried Brizola or Jefferson House yet. Brizola is the newest restaurant in Greektown Casino and Jefferson House was recently opened in the revamped Pontchartrain Hotel.

The most exciting part about this year’s Restaurant Week is Guns + Butter. When I first made my reservation at Guns + Butter, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just figured it would be a fun night out. Come to find out it is an exclusive pop-up restaurant that is darn near impossible to get a reservation to. Nathan Skid at Crain’s Detroit Business writes more about it here. This time it will be hosted at the Shinola retail showroom.

I am beyond excited for this and will detail the whole experience in a future post.

Are you excited for Detroit Restaurant Week? What restaurants are you planning to try out?

For more Detroit posts, click here.