League Shop enjoys decades of serving brides, gift seekers
Grosse Pointe Farms — Over the years, Pat Brinker has shared in the excitement of many a glowing bride, whom she delightfully welcomed to her shop to pick the most fitting flatware, the prettiest china pattern and the most striking stationary.
She’s listened to their proposal tales and then glanced at wedding photographs, only to begin the cycle again, decades later, when the daughter she first met snuggled up in a stroller comes in to create her own registry.
“We’re seeing another generation grow up before our eyes. I enjoy working with young brides and seeing how much they have grown in their sophistication and still like nice things,” said Brinker, owner of The League Shop on the Hill in Grosse Pointe Farms.
For 37 years, she has donned an array of colorful hats: pupil, purchaser, decorator and trend follower, hostess and helper. In 1971, Brinker’s first — and former — husband, Henry Reynolds, talked her into opening a gift shop, which more than 50 years ago was part of the Junior League of Detroit Little Shop, a women’s exchange.
“He was a teacher, but he always wanted to be in retail. He thought we could run it together,” remembered Brinker, also a former educator. Both taught at Barnes School.
The couple rented a small store on Kercheval with a large display window, filling the main floor with gifts and the top floor — reached by climbing a circular staircase — with kitchen accessories and stationery. Then they hired the former store manager to teach them the ins and outs of retail.
“The first year was overwhelming,” said Brinker. “One of the challenges was to get people back in the store to see what we had and to serve them. I learned what people liked, what styles and how much to buy — and not everything the salesman showed me. I had to learn to be selective.”
