Mary Liz Curtin

Every other year, the Business Women's Network of the Royal Oak Chamber hosts the Athena Awards banquet. The purpose of this event is to honor people who:

*Demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative.....

By Saverio Mancina
Published January 02, 2011| WomenEntrepreneur.com

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/01/02/store-thats-fun-visit/#ixzz1A0zOCWu8Independent retail is tough anywhere, but opening a 15,000-square-foot store just outside Detroit was considered downright foolish when Mary Liz Curtin and her husband, Stephen Scannell, launched their business in a small suburb of Detroit on April 1, 2006.
Leon & Lulu is a lifestyle store in Clawson, just outside of Detroit, selling furniture, accessories, clothing and unique gifts in a friendly and fun atmosphere. Located in the historic Ambassador Roller Rink,Leon & Lulu provides a unique shopping experience. Leon & Lulu is serious about good design, fabulous service and great pricing -- but it has a sense of humor about everything else.
Clawson, Mich., is hardly a retail hot spot. As Curtin and Scannell searched for a building large enough for a furniture store and within their reach financially, they decided the old adage "location, location, location" would be better updated to "parking, parking, parking." So they looked for a place that would be easily accessible to anyone in the metropolitan Detroit area and had both proprietary and municipal parking. When they found a roller skating rink for sale, with fabulous floors, 15,000 square feet of space, and a long and happy history, they knew they had found the right place for Leon & Lulu. (The store was named for their now-deceased pets, the cat Leon Redbone Jones and Rottweiler Lucille (Lulu) McGillicuddy)

Gifts & Decorative Accessories just announced the finalists in its 2009 Retailer Excellence Awards competition. Leon & Lulu will be one of the honorees celebrated at the Gifts & Decorative Accessories’ 58th annual Retailer Excellence Awards Gala, which will be held at New York’s Marriott Marquis overlooking Times Square on Sunday evening, August 16, 2009.
Read the full article here.

COMPANY C, D431
Monday, April 27, 3:00 PM. A 15th Anniversary Party and Grand Opening Celebration of their new showroom. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres; gifts for attendees and a drawing to win a 6’x9’ rug of choice. Guest speaker: Mary Liz Curtin, author of “A Shopkeepers Manual” and co-owner of Leon & Lulu, will give a presentation on “Retailing in Full Color.” Presentation at 3:00 PM, Celebation at 4:00 PM.