Avenue of Fashion has new, unique offerings for Small Business Saturday

Saturday morning was undoubtedly busy for Kim "Sevyn" Jones. 

Her cell phone kept ringing. A man came in and delivered some flowers. People were flowing in and out of the building, such as her fiancé and family members, showing their support for the 39-year-old.

In just a few hours, Jones was set to open her own facial spa, Skin Bar VII, just in time for Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities.

Her shop is located on Livernois near Seven Mile in Detroit's Avenue of Fashion shopping district. The district also hosted shoppers taking part in a vendor market that was part of the Black Business Crawl on Saturday.

Skin Bar VII offers a variety of services, such as facials, massages, acupuncture and cupping therapy, a form of alternative medicine where special cups are placed on the skin to create suction. In addition, customers can buy products from IMAGE Skincare, Dermalogica and organic skincare line Farmhouse Fresh to help with dry or oily skin and acne. 

"We are going to provide the citizens of Detroit with skincare and a lot of holistic services that you would see in Hollywood, but we're going to bring it right on Livernois," Jones said. "I'm very adamant about bringing what we need to the city. You don't have to travel. This a beautiful, thriving neighborhood." 

The Northville resident's idea for a storefront has been more than 10 years in the making. Jones has always had a love for skincare. When she was a teenager growing up in the University District, Jones and her cousin would find ways to make their skin look nicer, often wearing face masks. Then, when she began working for a laser hair removal and skin rejuvenation company, Jones received her first microdermabrasion facial. 

"When I saw the difference that it did to my face, I went, 'Oh yeah, I'm going for this,' " she said.  

Jones then enrolled in classes at the Michigan College of Beauty in Troy and began attending training sessions in cities like Las Vegas, New York and Philadelphia. 

About five years ago, Jones leased a space in her godsister's apartment building on Linwood Street, setting up shop in the basement. However, Jones would later move her business to Birmingham, where she began growing her clientele, mostly through social media and making videos. She soon realized many of her clients came from Detroit. 

"Detroit showed me so much love," she said. "So I said, 'I'm not gonna make it inconvenient for them, I'm going to go to them.' That's when I decided to head back towards the city."

Jones said it took three years to work on the building at 18951 Livernois. The bright and cheerful space was far from the sky blue walls, granite countertops and crystal ball light fixtures that are in it today. 

"It was just bare walls," she said. "Everything in here was from 1942. It was all old, dated. If you plug something up in here, you might just start an electrical fire." 

With the help of a $45,000 grant from Motor City Match, crews began working on the roof, and later added in new plumbing and electrical lines and drywall. Jones said the renovation project cost more than $200,000. 

Now, Jones' dream is coming to fruition. She said she likes that there are a mix of new businesses, as well as older businesses that have been on Livernois for 50 years. 

"I want to surround myself around a certain type of people," Jones said. "People that are diehard, hardworking. I'm sure that if I went down there to those businesses and asked them, 'What do you do when this happens,' they would be able to tell me or give me some sort of advice. So I'm very lucky to have that." 

Cyber Monday:Some simple tips to scoring deals, and keep data safe when shopping online

Susan Tompor:How to protect your money from online crooks on Black Friday, Cyber Monday

Avenue of Fashion:Longtime barber opens her dream business in Detroit

Woodstock.RD

Meanwhile, down the street at Good Cakes and Bakes, six local businesses participated in the vendor market at the Black Business Crawl. One of those businesses included Woodstock.RD, created by 29-year-old Sydney Kispert-Bostick. The freelance photographer places her images on outlet covers, tile coasters and glassware. 

"I just use the printer I have at home and I'm able to take the tissue paper to just regular printer paper," Kispert-Bostick said. "And then decoupage is a glue technique, so I'm basically drilling down the tissue paper onto the different items." 

The Highland Park resident first picked up a camera when she was 5 years old and studied photography at Hiram College in Ohio. Now she is selling her artwork on Etsy and appearing at pop-ups throughout the city. 

"People really like them, especially the switchblade covers," Kispert-Bostick said. "It kinda just adds a nice pop to a room like the bathroom." 

Kispert-Bostick, who grew up in Detroit's Green Acres neighborhood, said she enjoys being a part of Avenue of Fashion. 

"I'm so glad that more businesses are here and people are supporting a great, historic district of Detroit," she said. 

Salikas' Jewels 

Behind Kispert-Bostick's table, Stephanie Whitfield was selling various pieces of bracelets, necklaces and earrings. The 60-year-old Detroit resident has been designing jewelry for most of her adult life and was able to turn the hobby into a full-fledged business after she retired from a government job in 2006.

Named Salikas' Jewels,  the business sells jewelry designed by Whitfield on social media, at pop-up shows and at Eastern Market year-round. in addition,  items can also be found at Detroit spots Sweet Potato Sensations and Spectacles. 

Among Whitfield's most popular items are wood earrings made out of the Old English D. She said in order to get the jewelry out faster, she laser cuts the wood, a practice she recently learned to do. 

"I can do 50,100 at a time. It's a much faster process, and that worked for me because I didn't know how well these would be received.

Our English D is iconic. Not just for our sports teams, but representative of the city itself. When you see that English D, you  think of Detroit."