Jeanine Matlow
| Special to The Detroit News
Homestyle’s Garden Photo Contest gearing up for 2025
So we’ve weathered the weather, and now it’s time to sow so we can reap beautiful garden photos to share in Homestyle. Here’s how the contest will work: From May 30 through Aug. 18, you’ll be able to enter pictures of your garden (shots from this year only, please) and winners will be named every week through Aug. 22. Weekly winners will receive a home or garden book. Those winners will then compete for the grand prize — a $200 gift certificate to English Gardens — through online voting by Homestyle readers. A winner will be announced Sept. 12. Check Welcome Mat on May 30 for the link to enter your photos. Check Homestyle’s Welcome Mat June 6 for the first weekly winner. Need inspiration? Check out the 2024 winner, ‘Plant for the Pollinators!’ by JoAnne Harmon.
Spring VegFest to have food trucks, demonstrations, more
VegMichigan will host its 24th annual Spring VegFest at Eastern Market in Detroit as interest in plant-based eating continues to rise. Highlights include food trucks, restaurants and specialty food items. Free cooking demonstrations and presentations kick off at 10:30 a.m. and go throughout the day. Attendees can also enjoy free food samples, complimentary massages from Irene’s Myomassology Institute, eco-friendly shopping and more. There will be activities for kids, affordable face painting and a free coloring book to take home. Whether you are new to plant-based eating or a longtime vegan, there will be healthy options, comfort foods and sweet treats. Admission is free and there is plenty of free parking. The event takes place in Sheds 5 and 6. Go to vegmichigan.org. Follow updates on Facebook and Instagram @VegMichigan.
GW Home in downtown Detroit to open June 6
Gardner White will open GW Home at 1201 Woodward Ave. in downtown Detroit at 10 a.m. June 6. Inspired by the city’s creative community, the new retail concept will merge artistry and affordable luxury furnishings with a curated collection of furniture, home decor, art and accessories. The store will showcase area artists and local brands including Floyd and Crypton. Gardner White has also partnered with Detroit-based ArtClvb to select a diverse, rotating collection of original art by local artists. Other artist partnerships include Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate Luke Bryant, designer and craftsman Andre Sandiferand Claire Thibodeau, assistant professor and section lead of ceramics at the College for Creative Studies. Furniture brands include Bernhardt, Rowe, Vanguard, Drew & Jonathan Home, along with premium bedding from Tempur-Pedic, Aireloom, Kingsdown and locally-manufactured Serta. Occupying three stories with approximately 15,000 square feet of retail space, GW Home marks Gardner White’s 14th store in Michigan and its return to downtown Detroit. Go to gwhome.com.
Enter the Furniture Flip Challenge to benefit Metro Detroiters
Flip it to win it! The Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit is calling all do-it-yourselfers, artists, woodworkers and creatives to stop by its Pontiac warehouse (333 North Perry Street) through July 31 to select an old table, chair, dresser, etc. from its curated collection of discarded home furnishings, and transform it for a great cause. The “Furniture Flip Challenge” contest will conclude at the “Furniture Flip Bash” fundraiser Sept. 4 at the Village Club in Bloomfield Hills with special guest Hilary Farr, star of HGTV’s “Love It or List It.” The upcycled furniture pieces will be auctioned to support the organization, which provides essential furniture and mattresses to families in need throughout Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties. Participants must be at least 18 years of age, Michigan residents, pay an entry fee of $30 per furniture item (maximum of three), provide their own labor and materials and return completed entries by Aug. 31. Entrants whose pieces are selected as Most Artistic, Most Functional, Most Creative and Most Transformed by a celebrity panel of judges will receive a $1,000 prize, as will the artist who receives the most People’s Choice votes at the “Furniture Flip Bash.” Farr will select the Best in Show $5,000 grand prize winner based on the artistry, functionality, creativity, craftsmanship, transformation and overall design of the repurposed piece. Go to furniture-bank.org.
Yardeners Native Plant Sale coming to St. Clair Shores
The Yardeners of St. Clair Shores will hold their Native Plant Sale from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. June 6 when East Michigan Native Plants will offer a selection of native plants and will be on hand to answer questions. There will not be a preorder option available. Honey Help will also be back to sell honey that day and there will be an “Ask a Master Gardener” table with some information. Cash, credit, debit, check (with I.D.) and Venmo will be accepted. The sale will be held at the Selinsky-Green Farmhouse Museum behind the St. Clair Shores Library parking lot at 11 Mile and Jefferson. See the plants that may be available at eastmichnatives.com.