Voting Begins in Ferndale’s Hallowindow Decorating Contest
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 20, 2020)
Ferndale, MI – The decorations are up and voting is open for Ferndale’s Hallowindow Contest. Businesses in the Downtown area and beyond are in the Halloween spirit, and visitors are welcome to vote on which is their favorite.
So far over 30 businesses throughout the city are participating, including Candle Wick Shoppe, Margaux & Max, J’s Penalty Box, Western Market, Rosie O’Gradys, Blumz…by JRDesigns, Brain Meets Brawn Fitness Solutions, and more.  Voting takes place through the end of October at Survey Monkey.
After months of being closed due to COVID-19, Cheryl Salinas-Tucker and her husband Paul had fun creating a new -and fabulous –  window for ROUGE Makeup and Nail Studio at 2337 Woodward Avenue.
“We have always enjoyed expressing ourselves with window display and this one just screams ROUGE.  We do LOVE Halloween,” Salinas-Tucker said.  The window is a wonderful greeting for visitors driving South on Woodward.  “We think of our little red buildings as the Woodward Ave. / Ferndale ambassadors.  We want people to think ‘that looks cute! This must be a great town to shop in.’ That’s why we like to create inviting displays. Not just to benefit our business, but to impact Ferndale on a whole,” Salinas-Tucker said.
The design is a “Spider Web Lady” painted by Paul, framed by the “curtains” added by Cheryl.  “It was quite a process to paint this design and we love the result,” she said.
ROUGE carries makeup that is safe for skin, and can be a great place for pulling together one’s Trick or Treating face.  “We have really nice alternative makeup items to those little Halloween makeup kits. Those kits usually contain ingredients that are bad for your skin, like mineral oil.  Our pure pigment makeup comes in tons of colors that we can customize for your needs,”  she said.  “We are not performing makeup application at this time (due to the pandemic) but we can certainly help you find exactly what you need to create your look. We have every color under the sun and all kinds of sparkly highlights and fun textures. You can do just about anything with our makeup!”
Hours are limited due to the pandemic, and the business is offering a 10% off sale through the end of October either in-store or on their sister website www.eveorganicsbeauty.com. Learn more about ROUGE at www.rougeorganicbeauty.com.
Modern Natural Baby is another locally-owned store that gets into the decorating spirit.
“What I like best about our window – it’s relevant to COVID, since it’s kids trick or treating from a candy slide!  I also love our handmade Groot costume in the window, even though he’s just sitting there,” said  proprietor Emily Murray.
“Our window is massive and hard to decorate.  We can’t put small items in it, they get lost so we have to be very careful choosing things and being very creative,” she said. Hopefully the window displays help draw customers in.  Modern Natural Baby has a large selection of toys, games, clothes, and a multitude of other things that families may love.
For Halloween specifically there are themed face masks, craft kits, hidden picture puzzles, kids books, and more.  And of course there are adorable witch hats for the little ones for an easy costume idea and an adjustable headband!    Modern Natural Baby is at 200 W Nine Mile Road Suite B. Learn more at https://www.modernnaturalbaby.com/.
Blumz…by JRDesigns has moved to a new space across the street from their former 503 E. 9 Mile location. However, with the old spot now hosting the city’s Free PPE Store for business owners, it gave the perfect opportunity for a spooky window design send-off.
Theirs features several skeletons and a coffin. “I like the fact that the display although predominantly indoors extends itself out through the windows in into the bushes in the front of the building so it makes it very dimensional,” said Jerome Raska, co-owner of Blumz. “Although the display is done a bit tongue and cheek I’m hoping that people think of us when they need flowers for life experiences including the loss of a loved one. As we do beautiful tribute pieces for Memorial & funeral services.”
Across the street their new boutique location at 522 E. 9 Mile, customers can find beautiful fall bouquets as well as a small selection of Halloween and fall decor items. “We have fall floral bouquets that were promoting as hugs and smiles bouquets that you can send to people or deliver yourself to put a smile on someone’s face or give a floral hug in these times when we’re really not supposed to be hugging,” Raska said. More info can be found at Blumz.com.
Downtown Ferndale is hosting the contest, though it’s open to any business to participate.  “Halloween has always brought folks out to Downtown Ferndale, so this year we want to encourage visitors to support local shops in a fun and safe way. I think people will be surprised to find businesses that they didn’t know about both downtown and all around the city! This event gives people a chance to explore all of what Ferndale has to offer,” said DDA Director Lena Stevens. “Don’t forget to tag @downtownferndale in your pictures and follow us for more promotions coming this fall!”
She added the cautions so often heard in these pandemic times, “When visiting Ferndale, please remember to practice safe social distancing measures: wear a mask, remain distanced from others outside your group, and be conscious of those around you.”
For all participating businesses and to vote, visit  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HMZBW8M?fbclid=IwAR13tM2sLxjteysBQfvMp_Wd9ObuDpo8w0zdhDLlnRaE7GNtPh6OZb7g8b0