Bureau of Urban Living
460 West Canfield Street
Detroit, MI 48201
313-833-9336
Hours: Tues-Sat 11-7
www.bureauliving.com

Only a year old, and Midtown’s Bureau of Urban Living is everything you could ever want in a modern home accessory shop. But what really makes this shop special, is the love of community instilled in its owners.

Bureau is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Claire Nelson (pictured here) & Francis Grunow. Grunow, a native Detroiter, is the Executive Director of Preservation Wayne, and one of the founders of Detroit Synergy. Nelson, who is from the Chicago area, is a graphic designer and co-founder of Open City. They launched Bureau to fill what they saw as a major void in Detroit’s retail landscape.

“It was kind of evident that we didn’t have many shops downtown that catered to people that were living and moving here and living downtown, ” says Nelson, in an interview with The D in Decor. “I moved here from NY in 2002, I lived in Brooklyn last and I just loved little shops in Brooklyn through out NY and in Chicago.”

More after the jump….
Nelson wasn’t just inspired by modern design. “The inspiration was kind of like, a modern general store for people in the city, where they can get gifts for their home”, she says. “And also to share general information about what’s happening. I want to see more spaces where you can walk in and find more information about events in the city, Like real estate for instance, people looking for places to live come once in a while”.

Bureau features national brands like the eco-friendly Mrs Meyers Clean Day, but also carries local brands like City Bird.

“City Bird is one of the labels that we carry, the brand by Emily and Andy Linn,” says Nelson, “They are a brother and sister team who are really passionate about the City. They make all of the stuff that has Detroit maps on it. And they keep making new stuff, they hand make it all, their great!”

Nelson has a vision for the future of Bureau and the City of Detroit.

“My biggest goal is to get more retail in our neighborhood”, she says. “So we can start developing a real retail district, were people can walk and park. (I want to) listen to our customers to see what they want. I would love to to make the place larger at one point. But for now it’s a good scale, we just need to drive more people in and make more people aware of what’s going on. ”

Congratulations Bureau of Urban Living, for creating such a wonderful modern home oasis! When you stop by sometime soon, which I know you will, tell them The D in Decor sent you!

Click here to read my full interview with Claire Nelson, as well as see bonus photos of inside the shop.

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