Home decor and more

A local star is born

Cari Cucksey, a local entrepreneur and estate sale liquidator, will showcase her skills on a new TV reality series, "Cash & Cari," debuting at 10 p.m. Monday on HGTV. The veteran antiques maven, who owns RePurpose Estate Services and a new retail antiques and consignment shop, RePurpose, in Novi, will star in 26 episodes, helping families catalog their belongings and prepare to sell them. Tension mounts as she and her team comb through her clients' basements, attics and garages in search of hidden treasures to restore or flip for profit. Find out more about the show  (type in Cash & Cari).

New approach for The Heritage Co. II

Salvage queen Marisa Gaggino has launched an "experiment in retail" by having her shop, The Heritage Co. II in Royal Oak, open only by chance or appointment. She'll also stage occasional special events and seasonal sales. Notice will be posted online, and she'll also send direct e-mails (sign up at heritageco2@gmail.com). The two-day events will showcase new collections of salvage items she finds on her travels and shopping trips to Spain, New York City and elsewhere around the United States. "I'd like to emphasize I am not closing," says Gaggino, whose business has grown to include clients from the movie industry and interior design community, both residential and commercial. "For those of us working hard to keep the door open to small business in Michigan, we have had to be creative about how we compete with the online shopping, big-box stores with cheap imports, and the ongoing economic woes in Detroit."

Two sales in one

Through Jan. 9, Fenton Home Furnishings is hosting its New Year's Smith Brothers Factory Authorized Sale of Amish-made furniture and its own annual year-end clearance sale. Pictured is a king-size bed from Lexington Homebrands' Longcove collection, clearance-priced at $1,295 (floor model, as is), down from $2,995. For more information on the sales and store locations in Fenton, Waterford and Lapeer

Spend time with Pure Michigan

Turns out many Homestyle readers are interested in spending the year with the 2011, full-color Pure Michigan calendar we wrote about last week but don't have computers to order it online . Here's how to get one the old-fashioned way: Call the toll-free number, (877) 342-4321, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, or send a check for $14.95 (plus $3 shipping per calendar for U.S. residents) to: TMP Company, ATTN: Pure Michigan Store-Holly Ringle, 5404 Wayne Road, Battle Creek, MI 49037. The 12-by-12-inch calendar features stunning, four-season outdoor scenes of Michigan.