Carolyn Hough, proprietor of The Mail Shoppe, peers out from behind some UPS packages that are ready to be sent out.

When customers call Carolyn Hough asking for directions to her store, she always tells them the same thing:  Look for the big yellow mailbox. Hough, owner of The Mail Shoppe in downtown Ann Arbor, says the decorative mailbox has marked the store’s location since it first opened 26 years ago.

For Hough, owning her own mailroom wasn’t something she dreamed of as a child. Originally hailing from Rhode Island, she spent most of her career as a medical librarian, a vocation she says was “very different” from her job now. What did that entail? It was a research position – before there were computerized databases. So responding to research requests from nurses and doctors – say on the latest known effective treatment for a particular disease – entailed manually poring through indexes and literature.

Hough purchased the business in 1983 from Doug Barnett after the hospital she was working for went bankrupt. “I love it – it’s so much more fun than working at the hospital,” she said. Readers who think that packaging a bear’s head sounds more fun than rummaging through medical literature might agree with her.

The Mail Shoppe serves as a mailroom for local businesses as well as individuals. What exactly are mailroom services? One thing that can mean is folding and inserting – if there’s a giant stack of letters with a corresponding stack of envelopes, the store will fold and accurately assemble the mailing, plus apply the postage. Using the Mail Shoppe can be a cost-effective alternative to sending employees on a mail errand  – the Mail Shoppe will pick up mail  and then send it out, something Hough says “can be a lot cheaper than going to the post office.”

The Mail Shoppe also rents mailboxes to residents who might travel for months at a time and want their mail to be delivered to a safe place. The mail can then be forwarded to a temporary address. The store is an authorized UPS drop-off, and will package and mail invitations for weddings, corporate events, and university functions.

Sometimes a parked vehicle obscures the distinctive yellow mailbox used as a landmark for the Mail Shoppe on Division Street.

The mail industry isn’t a lucrative business. “We make our money one penny at a time,” Hough said. As the U.S. government struggles to come up with ways to keep the postal service profitable during the recession, Hough says the change in the economy has definitely affected certain aspects of her business. “We’re doing more mailing for businesses, and less for walk-in customers,” she said.

She believes more businesses are coming to The Mail Shoppe because they don’t have the money for high-speed mailing machines or just don’t have the employees and resources to take care of daily mail. Hough’s business sees the impact of the economy in other ways, too. “During the holiday season, we noticed that people weren’t sending as many gifts as they typically would,” she said. 

With over one million pieces of mail processed each year, Hough and her employees have encountered some bizarre packaging requests. “We once mailed a bear’s head for a customer to a place where leeches were going to remove the flesh,” she said. Along with the bear’s head, Hough has mailed Shakespearean costumes, Christmas trees, countless pieces of art, and a collection of burnt pieces of wood that were going to be tested for DNA.

And then there are always the things people seem to forget when they’re visiting friends and relatives: car keys, dentures, and garage door openers. “That’s what makes this job fun, though,” said Hough. “You never know what’s going to come in and where it’s going to go to.”

The store has five employees. Some are part-time college students while others have been with the store for years. Hough owns the building that houses the store, which is located at 317 S. Division. “It’s a great location – it’s downtown but it’s also right near the university,” she said.

If you’re looking for that yellow mailbox, Hough does want to give you a warning when you find it. “Sometimes people think it’s a real mailbox, and they try to put their mail in it,” she said. “It’s solely for decoration!”

The Mail Shoppe is open 8:30 a.m to 6 p.m, Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The store can be reached at 734-665-6676 or at mailshpp@aol.com.

About the writer: Alex Nicola-Iott, an intern with The Ann Arbor Chronicle, is studying journalism and business at Indiana University. He’s spending this summer with his family in Ann Arbor.  

Abracadabra is located on East Liberty across from the federal building and post office, between Chelsea Flower Shop and Sam's Clothing.

Steven Lesse has some stories to tell – making a necklace out of a gall stone is just one of them.

The co-owner of Abracadabra Jewelry and Gem Gallery has seen a lot since opening his downtown Ann Arbor shop in 1974. Originally located in the building that now houses Herb David Guitar Studio, Abracadabra moved to its current location at 205 E. Liberty in 1976 and has remained there ever since. Lesse, who co-owns the business with his wife Katherine, fell in love with Ann Arbor when he set up a booth at the art fair during the summer of 1973.

“I was tired of the gypsy lifestyle – it was like being in a rock band,” Lesse said. “You were always traveling around city to city, art fair to art fair. It was a fun lifestyle when you’re not attached and you don’t have own a house.” Soon after he visited, Lesse rented his first building in Ann Arbor and opened his first gallery, which also became his apartment.

The store is well-known for pieces made using the mokume gane metalworking technique, a layering process originally used to create samurai swords hundreds of years ago. The store sells the work of five of the top artists in the country who specialize in mocha mokume – “mocha” referring to the color of the jewelry. For those looking for a less expensive version of the mokume jewelry, the store offers jewelry made using the Damascus technique, which has a similar look but a lower price tag. 

In general, items in the store range from $20 for pre-made pieces to as much as $20,000 for high-end custom work. They work within a customer’s budget when crafting one-of-a-kind pieces, so prices vary.

In addition to mokume jewelry, the business sets itself apart by using alternative metals like palladium, as well as exclusively recycled and conflict-free stones. This ensures that the stones are ethically mined, which means that the land isn’t disturbed and workers are paid and treated appropriately, Lesse said. It also ensures that money earned from diamond sales has not been used to fund illegal activities.

“This is a choice any jeweler could have made all along, but we were one of the first to do it,” said Katherine Lesse. “There’s no reason to mine fresh stones, to rape the earth, when there are already an abundance of recycled stones.” 

Steven and Katherine Lesse in their store on East Liberty.

The store is also know for its custom-made jewelry. Some of its work has garnered national attention: a women’s ring designed at the gallery and made of diamond and wood was featured in an issue of Vogue magazine.

When The Chronicle asked about the strangest pieces of jewelry he’s ever created, Lesse recounts the one time a woman came in to his store asking him to make a necklace out of her gall stone. “She said that she almost died, but she survived and that the necklace was to be symbolic of her triumph,” said Lesse.

He’s also cast a Doberman puppy’s tail, which he said resembled a rabbit’s foot charm. For his daughter’s birthday, Lesse made a necklace featuring her favorite condiment: hot sauce. Lesse claims he can make jewelry out of almost anything, and encourages customers to bring in their own stones or miscellaneous items that they want made into jewelry.

Despite the weak economy, Lesse says Abracadabra has been busier than ever, growing through customer referrals and word of mouth. “It seems that as the economy has been going down the drain, our business has actually been getting stronger,” he said. “For us, the market always seems to be good and growing.”

There are a lot of jewelers in Ann Arbor, but Lesse says it’s a less competitive market then one might think. “You’re always going to compete, but each jeweler is doing something different, whether it’s custom jewelry or another kind of specialization,” he said. 

Abracadabra has seen inquiries about jewelry sales via their website continue to grow – Lesse says that they receive around one email per day asking about pieces on the site.  

The Lesses have done their own bit for the local economy, by featuring the work of those who have lost a job. Currently the store is selling jewelry made by a man who was laid off from Pfizer. Lesse said it wasn’t until the man lost his job that he realized he had a passion for art. “We feature a lot of our friends, a lot of local artists who are just starting out in the business,” said Lesse. 

Lesse wouldn’t have predicted any of this when he got his first lessons in jewelry-making – he’d be the first to admit that an art career was not his main intention when he signed up for a jewelry class in high school years ago. After finding out from his older sister that the class was almost all girls, he thought it might be a good way score a date with his female classmates. 

Today, he offers a few words of advice to anyone who is trying to decide what direction to go in their life. “You need to do what you’re enthusiastic about, that one thing that you love, because then it’s not work, it’s just what you do.”

Abracadabra Jewelry and Gem Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The shop is closed Sundays and Mondays. The Ann Arbor Art Fairs are the busiest time of the year for the Lesses and their staff, but afterwards they take a break by closing the shop until Aug. 18.

About the writer: Alex Nicola-Iott, an intern with The Ann Arbor Chronicle, is studying journalism and business at Indiana University. He’s spending this summer with his family in Ann Arbor. 

Dick Sampier behind the counter at his vacuum sales and repair shop at 2165 W. Stadium Blvd. in Ann Arbor.

Boxes upon boxes filled with vacuum parts and accessories pack Dick Sampier’s small shop behind Stadium Hardware, a shop so off the beaten path that it might go unnoticed unless you were looking for it. But customers find it because they are looking for it – Dick Sampier Vacuum Sales and Repair is one of the last remaining vacuum repair stores in the Ann Arbor area.

Sampier, who opened the business in 1985 and is the sole employee, can often be found in the back of the store, either answering customers’ questions or working on one of the 10 or so vacuums he fixes each day. Sampier says he considers himself more of an artist than a mechanic, and he’s earned a reputation as someone who can fix even the most tricky mechanical problems.

So how does someone end up starting a vacuum repair business, and then stick with it for nearly 25 years?

Sampier is the first to admit that a career in vacuum repair and service is not what he ever imagined he’d be doing. A graduate of Lincoln High School, he has lived in the greater Ann Arbor area his entire life, except for a brief five-year stint in Chicago. He says he wanted to be a commercial artist, but instead began his career after high school at a General Motors factory.

That job didn’t last long, he said, and with a pregnant wife and a child on the way, Sampier started looking for any job that would allow him to financially support his family. Upon hearing of an opening at Electrolux – a company that sells vacuums, among other appliances – Sampier applied for the job, and got it.

Sampier worked in the offices of multiple Electrolux branches in Michigan, at various times doing sales, service, collections, and bookkeeping. He also found that he had both an interest and aptitude in mechanics. “I started tinkering around with the vacuums we had around the office and realized that I could repair them quicker than the factories we would send them off to,” said Sampier.

Sampier worked for Electrolux for 28 years, then decided to start his own business in 1985. He says he relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising and referrals. “Good service is the best form of advertising,” he said, “because if you do a good job, you’ll keep people coming back and they’ll refer their friends, too.”

Sampier’s main competitors are the larger chain stores that carry appliances. However, what separates his store from the rest is his ability to fix almost any problem that may arise with a customer’s vacuum. “A lot of the time, those bigger stores can’t fix the vacuums because they don’t have the parts,” he said. “So they refer the customer to me, and tell them that ‘If Dick Sampier doesn’t have it, then you won’t find it.’”

The entrance to Dick Sampier's vacuum repair and sales shop, behind Stadium Hardware. He has been at this location since 2002.

Over the years, Sampier says he’s found almost anything you can think of inside the vacuums he repairs. “From mice to underwear, I’ve seen it and done it all,” says Sampier. “People seem to think that their vacuum cleaners are their garbage disposal.”

His experience was on display when The Chronicle visited the shop recently: A woman came in searching for new bags for her 20-year-old vacuum, and Sampier was able to correctly pick out which ones she needed based solely on her description of the brand and color of the vacuum.

To those who are looking for a new vacuum, Sampier’s only advice is this: Don’t be afraid to spend money on a quality device. “Too many people buy cheap vacuums from deep discount stores, that only last them a year or two,” he said. “If they would pay a little more, they’ll get a nicer vacuum that will last for 10 years.” As for his own vacuum, Sampier uses an Electrolux, a reflection of both his allegiance to the company that sparked his interest in vacuums and his dedication to high-quality vacuums, he says. 

The 74-year-old enjoys playing in weekly softball games, but he admits that his work still takes up the majority of his time. ”It’s been a good living for my children and I, and I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. But to anyone considering a career like his, Sampier has this advice: “I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone now, because things aren’t as good as they used to be. This really is a dying business.”

Although he never achieved his childhood dream of becoming a commercial artist, Sampier feels that his work with vacuums is artistic, too. “I don’t consider myself a parts changer,” he says. “I’m a repairman. I get to play around.”

Dick Sampier Vacuum Sales and Repair is located at 2165 W. Stadium Blvd. in Ann Arbor. The shop is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

About the writer: Alex Nicola-Iott, an intern with The Ann Arbor Chronicle, is studying journalism and business at Indiana University. He’s spending this summer with his family in Ann Arbor.