This is a huge museum with so many items. Cars, trains, planes, buses, steam engines, furniture &…read moremore. My favorite thing to see in this museum was the ACTUAL bus that Rosa Parks rode in & was able to sit in the spot she sat in. We saw some of the cars that the presidents drove in. So many different innovations.

I'm a bit surprised it has taken me this long to review this museum; it is one of my favorite…read moreplaces in Michigan. I also bring out-of-town guests here, sharing the numerous exhibits with pride. American innovation is the focus of this museum, and the number of exhibits clearly demonstrates the cleverness and ingenuity of Americans. Of course, in Michigan, hundreds of vehicles were on display - from stable coaches, to the first Fords (and other nameplates), to the race cars of today. However, innovation was not limited to "things on wheels". Today, I saw the futuristic Dymaxion home designed by Buckminster Fuller. It was conceived for factory production (after WWII) and included modern kitchen appliances such as a dishwasher. What impressed me was how he designed a system to collect and then recycle rainwater for non-potable uses (washing clothes). Other home-related innovations, outside of the Dymaxion home, were home entertainment. There was also a display of chairs - I honestly don't know how they relate to innovation. I was here specifically to see the Da Vinci exhibit, the inventions from his codex, imagined in wood. Some displays (but not all) allowed guests to take a hands-on approach. It is incredible to see not only the diversity of his thinking but also how it has influenced products today. After seeing just a fraction of his thinking, I am inspired to continue reading Walter Isaacson's biography, which I really should have completed before coming here. Another exhibit of note is Mathematica, an interactive math display designed by Charles and Ray Eames (yes, those Eames). I love math, so I loved their explanation of "random walk", probability/ bell curve, and even the multiplication tables. This time, I did not spend that much time on the aircrafts nor the train - I got to save something for my next visit. Based on the throngs of people here today, I am not the only one who enjoys seeing the treasures at this museum.

My visit to PuppetArt was the first in a series of circumstantial events that made me learn to love…read moreDetroit. A Chi-town friend asked me if I'd like to go to see a Russian puppet show. It's not like there are Russian puppet theatres in every city, so we had to go all the way to Detroit. I said yes, of course. This was back in 2009, some ten Detroit vacations ago. Honestly I'm really not that into puppets, even Russian ones, but I can attest that the show I saw was remarkable in its ability to captivate and soothe a house full of hyperactive children. This is a low-key spot, and they have sort of a puppet museum in the lobby. It really seems like the perfect place to bring kids. I had less luck paying attention from my seat, sandwiched between a four year old in front and his mother in back. "I GOT A EYE VIEW," the mother whispered through her teeth and at her child. "KEEP QUIET OR I'LL HIT YOU WITH MY STICK!" For the next 45 minutes, all I could think about was how I'd better behave.

Have you seen the show "Dream Tigers" at the PuppetArt Theater??? We have! It has AWESOME…read morepuppets. They teach you about the 4 puppet families before the show starts. We were shocked that real people were in the puppet show. We thought it would be ONLY puppets. We really liked the character Nino. He was so funny, like an "animal trapped in a boy body"! The show was funny, but a little bit scary sometimes. It was EPIC. The witch scared us but we were okay. You need to go see it too! - Detroit 1st Graders (who went there on a field trip)

I did some last minute shopping Fantastic selection and…read moreservice. A fun place to shop. Stop by and check it out soon

The front part of the store is basically a tchotchke shop. It's fine if you need a last minute…read moregreeting card or small gag gift. If you're looking for actual good personal stationery (not invitations), forget it. The only notebooks in here are the same low-end rebranded Chinese stuff you find at big box stores like Barnes & Noble or overrated Moleskine crap that's everywhere. If you want "the good stuff" like Tomoe River, Rhodia, Midori, Mnemosyne, Clairefontaine, etc. paper and notebooks you'll have to just buy it online because they don't carry it.

I arranged for a workshop with my bestie for her birthday. Pewabic apparently has a history with my…read morefamily, as I'm sure it does many Michiganders and Detroiters alike, and I was quite excited initially. This experience exceeded my wildest imagination. Walking into the workshop room was a mini-tour in and of itself- sort of a behind-the-scenes which I delighted in. The workshop was small enough in attendance to have a cozy room and intimate instruction, and big enough to see an array of artistic expression. It was also so much fun to banter and be inspired by other attendees. The instructor was friendly, clear, helpful, and seemed to enjoy leading this workshop. I will say next go-around I'll not be so delicate with my glaze application. I also discovered some personal sensory issues with the tile texture and glaze removal tools. (*ick). Aside from these minor nuances, I cannot wait to return in the spring for new tile and color ways. $50/person was totally reasonable for the whole evening. Highly recommend and will do again.

Nate and I were in the area recently so we stopped in to this historic store/workshop…read more Unfortunately we weren't able to do a tour, but I would love to in the future (book online ahead of time). The upstairs gallery was closed when we were there, so we just browsed the shop, which is full of all sorts of beautiful ceramic items like tiles, vases, art, and more. I liked seeing all the different pieces but nothing really shouted out to me. The animal tiles were probably my favorite. I also liked the house number tiles. They also had other non-ceramic items for sale, like earrings, puzzles, calendars, cards, etc. It is a nice place to find gifts! They also do classes and workshops, which sound fun! This isn't a spot that I need to visit every time I'm in the area, but it was fun to finally check out.

I recently had the chance to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts. The museum is a great balance…read morebetween being expansive and still manageable. You can easily spend a few hours here without feeling overwhelmed. What stood out most was the diversity of the collection. From classic European paintings to modern and contemporary works, there's something for every kind of art lover. The layout of the museum is intuitive, and I appreciated how easy it was to move between galleries without getting lost. Staff were friendly and helpful without being intrusive, and the overall atmosphere felt relaxed rather than stuffy. Overall, I'd highly recommend the Detroit Institute of Arts to anyone visiting Detroit or even locals who haven't been in a while. It's a thoughtfully curated, enriching experience that feels both accessible and inspiring.

As a lifelong dilettante of the arts, I have long held the DIA in the highest esteem. I revere the…read morecathedral hush of the galleries, the grandeur of lunching beneath the vaulted glass of the Kresge Court, the solemn historical weight of Rivera's murals, and the operatic extravagance of The Officer of the Hussars, whose horse appears perpetually moments from stealing the entire painting. I am, in short, a woman of superb taste. And then, of course, there are The Nut Gatherers. Now, it is a little-known fact that William-Adolphe Bouguereau's renowned oil painting, The Nut Gatherers, was originally conceived with adult women as its subjects. I happen to know this for a fact because, for a very brief and professionally ill-advised moment, I was one of those women. Allow me to share my personal contretemps. This was during the period in which I was actively exploring new employment opportunities following my regrettable trist with Greenfield Village, a chapter that may or may not have included an order of protection against a certain biotch ex-coworker from the tinsmith shop whose pathological lying was rivaled only by her raging case of oral herpes (see my previous review for further details). The job description for "nut gatherer" was as Delphic as they come, not to mention entirely en français. It promised "live modeling for a classical composition," "physical stamina," and "comfort with prolonged, natural poses." Experience preferred. Discretion required. Wardrobe, it noted coyly, would be "minimal and historically faithful." "Nut gatherer" was not a title I was accustomed to, but I assumed this was simply the romance of translation at work. Surely this was the literal phrasing from the French. Besides, the industry has always found new and creative ways to sanitize its nomenclature: exotic dancer, adult entertainer, webcam model, etc. My curriculum vitae was already extensively "fluffy," shall we say, so I entered the interview supremely confident in my qualifications. I reclined slightly on the wide leather casting couch, crossed one leg with intention, and cleared my throat in preparation for what I assumed would be a frank but professional discussion. Although I studied French for many years, I confess that my fluency had deteriorated into a cocktail of menu-deciphering, shampoo-label translation, and occasional Québécois profanity shouted at ice rinks. Still, I came prepared with questions. How many nuts require gathering? What is the varietal? Are they fleshy? What is the circumference of said nuts? Will I be gathering one at a time or two at a time? Will they be husked or au naturel? Should I be prepared for any crème de noisette clean-up? There was a pause. A long one. Then a polite but visibly alarmed gentleman slid a portfolio across the table. Inside were charcoal studies of hands, baskets, fabric folds, and several extremely wholesome agricultural diagrams. No bodies. No boudoir. No anything remotely resembling what I had been preparing to offer. It was at this moment, I regret to inform you, that I attempted to clarify my enthusiasm. The precise phrasing is not something I will be memorializing in print, but I will say this: it began as an inquiry about whether "full commitment to the role" was encouraged, an anxious sense that I was in danger of losing the part for not adequately demonstrating my range, and ended with a sentence that began with, "Here, it's easier if I just show you..." immediately followed by an all-out yet borderline desperate demonstration of "flexibility." The silence that followed was immediate, total, and devastating. I was escorted out with the efficiency typically reserved for museum patrons who touch the artwork. My termination was not so much delivered as performed, in the hushed, mortified tone one uses when explaining to someone that they have catastrophically misunderstood the assignment. In the end, the artist decided to use children instead of adults for the final painting. The finished work was revered by the masses. Let me tell you some other things that are revered by the masses: Marvel origin stories, compulsory monogamy, "Live, Laugh, Love" decor, and Bud Light. In my learned opinion, the end result was saccharine, jejune even, no more original than a palimpsest and twice as eager to be liked, the visual equivalent of a museum gift shop postcard that reassures rather than challenges. In other words: not fucking sexy. At all. And yet...le sigh. I will still return to the DIA. I will still linger beneath Rivera's murals. I will still lunch in the Kresge Court like a minor European despot fallen on Midwestern times. I will still bring out-of-towners and speak in reverent tones about brushwork and composition, because even when it rejects me, this institution remains magnificent.