Mezzanine is inspiration for the day when I can open my own boutique in Detroit. I know Mezzanine from its Ann Arbor days on Main Street when I was a poor college student just salvating at the idea of a owning a piece from that lovely collection. I adored it then and I still adore it now – especially because its owner, Joe Posch, moved his showroom to downtown Detroit from Ann Arbor.
No need to cart off to Chicago or NYC to get your modern furniture fix – it’s in your backyard now thanks to Mezzanine.
The first phase of Mezzanine Detroit is our front showroom of furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. We are carrying most of the great lines we carried in Ann Arbor, along with some fantastic new additions such as Knoll and contemporary Dutch manufacturer Moooi.
Later this summer we will open the second half of the store. The “library” will contain books, magazines and music along with accessories for the office; and what will inevitably end up being called “the back room” will feature a curated selection of modern tabletop.
The history of stuff is important. Mezzanine’s story from birth to now (as described by Joe Posch):
Mezzanine is the product of a chair and a dare.
Back in late 1997 I was in Chicago rummaging around furniture resale shops with my friend Monti Ponce, looking for furniture for my relatively barren living room. She and I were both fans of modern and, well, who doesn’t get a kick out of scrounging around to score a cool piece? I found this great Danish Modern club chair, not a designer chair but proportioned nicely and well-constructed. The problem was the fabric, which was in good condition but a shade of green I was wasn’t loving
Over lunch, Monti and I discussed the various merits of the chair, and whether it was worth reupholstering. At one point I said something like “well, if I reupholster it and later find another chair I like better, maybe I could just sell it.” The proverbial light bulb lit up for both of us at that point, and our conversation evolved into ideas for a shop that had great vintage modern, restored and in fantastic condition, merchandised in a clean, gallery-like setting.
That starting point was a very Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland “Let’s put on a show!” moment. We began tentatively moving forward, almost like it was a dare, each of us expecting the other to say “um, we can’t really do this.” Which, as it turned out, never happened. By summer of ‘98 we’d signed a lease and were preparing the space.
Mezzanine officially opened in November of 1998 on Fourth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor, dealing specifically in mid-century modern design. We specialized in vintage, but also sold reissued designs by Herman Miller, Vitra and the new Heywood-Wakefield Company.
In February of 2000, we were approached by the owner of Atys, a store selling contemporary living accessories on Main Street, about the possibility of our complementary styles sharing his under-utilized space. We did it and it was good. Eights months later career opportunities led him to close Atys. At the same time, my partner Monti decided to pursuer some other passions as well. So I did what any total idiot would do and took Mezzanine as my own, took over the entire Main Street space, and expanded the scope of our merchandise to include the kind of contemporary design Atys was known for.
Three years and two nervous breakdowns later, Mezzanine has evolved into the kind of store I’d always hoped it could be. We have an absolutely beautiful collection of modern design, from classic to contemporary, and we represent some of the world’s top manufacturers.
Walking through the shop, it is easy to get a feel for our aesthetic, and our goal is to capture that same feeling on this website. This is not a one-stop super-shop for all things modern. It is a carefully curated collection that captures the spirit of Mezzanine: clean lines, an emphasis on natural materials, and always at least a glimmer of a sense of humor. I like to think we’ve got one foot in the roots of modern, the other on today’s design.
And since you are dying to know, I bought that Danish Modern club chair, never reupholstered it (the fabric ended up being damn cool) and to this day it sits in my house.
It’s a sweet story, and nothing warms my heart more than young people investing & living in Detroit. There WILL BE good shopping in this damn city if I have to go to my grave doing it.
Easily located online at www.mezzanine.com or at 206 E. Grand River at the corner of Broadway. If you can get to Tiger Stadium then you can find Mezzanine.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Mezzanine!
