Suhm-thing, Stem & Stone planning to close

By Lisa Brody

Two popular downtown Birmingham boutiques, Suhm-thing and Stem & Stone, both owned by David Zawicki and Michael Collins, will close their doors for the final time on Christmas Eve, after the buildings they are in were acquired by a new landlord.

“Due to a recent sale of the building, we lost our lease for both stores,” Zawicki said.

He said that they will be merging the Birmingham Suhm-thing store “with our Traverse City store, so we'll still have a presence, and we'll be closing Stem & Stone.”

Suhm-thing, located at 138 W. Maple Road, first opened 13.5 years ago, offering a selection of unique gifts, accessories and items of décor. Prior to opening Suhm-thing, Zawicki and Collins owned and operated Oliver's Trendz in the same location, which opened in April 2005.

The Traverse City Suhm-thing is located at 153 E. Front Street.

Stem & Stone opened almost six years ago at 122 W. Maple Road, offering fresh indoor greenery, succulents and terrariums, planters, statuary, plant know-how and workshops.

Zawicki said people have been coming into the store lamenting the closures of more locally-owned and operated affordable shops. However, with the building's sale, lack of a lease and rental rate increases, he noted it was not viable to continue in Birmingham.

Zawicki said selected items at Suhm-thing are up to 50 percent off; at Stem & Stone, a selection of storewide items are currently 20 percent off.

Both stores will close at the end of business Saturday, December 24.