Story and photos by Jennifer Goeddeke
Ron and Pollyanna Robling have proven to be a winning husband-and-wife team! The Roblings own The Purple Peacock Boutique, located at 2750 Hilton Rd in Ferndale, alongside their estate sales business, R & S Resale which is located at 3345 Hilton.
I recently met with Ron Robling and his store manager, Liz Moritz, at The Purple Peacock. I was instantly intrigued and distracted by the wide array of attractive home furnishings and decorations! As we conversed, comfortably seated on leather couches, it became clear that the Roblings’ business efforts are paying off, and they are expanding at an impressive rate. The on-site and off-site estate sales they organize from start to finish are proving popular. Robling explained that many items in the sales are new or gently-used (often brand-name and designer goods also), so great deals are plentiful.
Even though Robling loves his work these days, it was not always his passion! He described starting out in resale/estate sales with his grandmother: “I hated it, every aspect of it,” he recalled, with a laugh. “I worked in the auto industry for many years afterwards, but returned to this business…and now I really enjoy it!”
These days, the Roblings’ main goal is to take the headache factor out of estate liquidation. In fact, some family members have joined forces with the Roblings, creating a solid team. Starting out in a small building,
the Roblings expanded into two buildings (off-site sales are held at 3345 Hilton. Very often, R & S have three estate sales in progress each weekend. Additionally, Robling aims to start hosting regular auctions, he added, “maybe on the first Thursday of each month.”
I asked Robling to summarize the process of estate liquidation. Many people have an estate sale at home (referred to as on-site). R & S will handle all the details of organizing the sale. However, in many cases, this is not possible and an off-site sale is necessary. With this alternate scenario, R & S will pick up all belongings and transfer them via professional movers to their sale building on Hilton. In some cases, where not many belongings are involved, sales with other clients may be combined.
What can you expect to see at a typical estate sale? Everything and anything! “We have even had vehicles for sale in the past…mostly the ypical items include furniture, clothing, artwork, jewelry, and so you must be prepared for sales to come and go in a single weekend…items do not tend to stick around” Robling warned!
The Purple Peacock 248-439-6290
R&S Resale 248-298-2770
Email: RRSP100@yahoo.com
www.RandSLLC.com
www.Facebook.com/RandSResale
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space that we were in; we will just be able to work better and smarter.” The new storefront is inviting and relaxed with cool, vibrant green walls and thoughtful product arrangements that open into the studio where visitors can get a peek at how their favorite products are created.
through the door becomes family. Today, music was playing, Rodney was hanging with the boarders, the groomers were clipping, and Julie and Megan were on the floor playing with a new friend, a 13-year-old beagle.
Cooper Simmons, who’ve recovered from serious illness, the dog whose owner left and never came back, and our beloved Ham Haberman, who we all wanted to adopt when her owner Jeremy Haberman passed away. Loving dogs is not on the job application, but I’m betting it’s one of Julie and Kelly’s top requirements when they hire staff.

County commissioner at the only time that the Commission had a Democratic majority, according to longtime family friend Danny Reedy. Bernie Lennon also served the Blanchard administration as Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, and also ran the Michigan State Fair.
knew about him (and would be printable). It took a few moments for Mike to come up with an answer because, as he said, “What you see is what you get.” After some thought, he says, “I like a romantic movie now and then.” Also, besides reading the newspaper regularly, he enjoys the work of such novelists as Tom Clancy, John Grisham, and James Patterson.
with common sense and no nonsense.” I asked Craig if he had any really good Mike Lennon stories. “There are plenty of good stories I could share, though not all of them in a family newspaper,” Covey replied. Covey said Mike “could use gruff and salty language sometimes, and more than once a four-letter word escaped his mouth with him not always realizing the microphone was picking it up.” Craig’s favorite Mike Lennon story took place at Como’s. The two were sitting at the patio bar and Mike “remarked how great it was that he was there with hundreds of women. He said, ‘Covey, you and I are the only guys in the whole place.’ I had to point out that it was ‘First Wednesday,’ also known as lesbian night at Como’s.
a huge heart he doesn’t always show, but it’s part of what makes him special.” Coulter “always appreciated Mike’s sense of humor and ability to lighten up serious discussions.” Dave sat beside him on the council, and tells how “many times after I’d get up from the table for some reason I would come back to candy wrappers and other trash in my chair. At first I’d pretend it wasn’t there, but it didn’t take long to learn to always check my chair first.” Most of the things his girlfriend, Sue McCleary, told me were things I had also heard from others. She mentioned that “Mike loved this city (and) everyone loves him,” that “his family lived here forever,” and how it is “their heart.” However, she did mention two things no one else said. She told me that he never spoke from prepared notes, rather, he always spoke off the cuff. He responded to every question from his heart, without notes. And, Sue told me that Mike is so trusted in this city that “everyone (still) calls Mike Lennon when they have issues” they can’t seem to solve. Mike regularly takes calls from Ferndale residents who don’t know where else to turn with their problems.
Navarre opened the first Boston Tea Room in Wyandotte and a second store in Ferndale in 2009. She outgrew the space after five years and moved across the street to a bigger store two years ago. “We opened up a second location on this side of town because we had a lot of clients who, honestly, didn’t want to have to drive all the way downriver. So they kept really encouraging and asking for a shop on this side of town,” Navarre said. She says Ferndale’s downtown atmosphere is a good fit and attracts a lot of business. “We have a lot of people who walk in the shop just because they see all the beautiful crystals, jewelry, or candles in the window, and they may not have any idea that we’re doing tarot card readings or psalm readings behind the curtain, but they’re really intrigued by what they see. So we have a lot of clients that just come in to shop or to browse,” Navarre said.
The Boston Tea Room aims to provide spiritual support and items such as cards, crystals, books, CDs and DVDs to help nurture people on their spiritual journey, no matter their chosen religion. “So if you come from a Catholic upbringing, we have The Boston Tea Room: Helping Guide People on their Spiritual Journey jewelry with the saints on it or little pocket saints that you can carry with you. If you’re exploring the Buddhist path or Buddhist philosophy we have Buddhist mala beads and statues and that kind of thing. If you’re interested in investigating earthcentered, pagan traditions we have books and items for that,” Navarre explained.


When I walked in the front door it had the nature look. There were tree branches hanging from the ceiling and on the walls that gave me the idea of it being a treehouse. The space is warm, inviting, and comfortable, with lots of interesting shapes and colors, and non-toxic, allnatural equipment that attracts attention and invites exploration. I sat down with three of the business owners in this tranquil space and I asked them how this magical place came about.