Celebrating 7 years!

We are happy to be celebrating our 7th anniversary! Come by on Sunday the 15th for a free Acme button. Lucky us, our 7th coincides with the Main Street Area promotion "Let Godzilla be Your Guide" window display contest, which I have taken very seriously. This will truly be the most spectacular window ever...

Windows will be unveiled Friday, November 13th and voting runs through Midnight Madness on December 4th. Participating merchants will have Godzilla feet on the sidewalk outside their establishment as well as a small version of the Godzilla seen above in their windows.

Participating business will also be offering an early holiday shopping incentive for the week of 11/13 - 11/19.

Vote for your favorite window at mainstreetannarbor.org We hope that ours is your favorite!

New in Stock!

The Spam Puzzle - the perfect gift and only $7.00!

Acme Hockey is Back in Swing

After winning the championship last year, the team is back in full force. The next game is at Vet's park this Sunday the 8th at 6:10 pm

Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with us!

Ahoy, Mateys! Save 20% off all pirate themed treasure this Friday - Sunday in celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day. Come in on the actual holiday, Saturday, September 19th and talk like a pirate to us for free special pirate booty. Bust me barnicles!

New Flax!

Flax has introduced a new blend perfect for fall - Tencel / Linen. This year round fabric has a certain smooth sophistication...

Poodle Party

This Sunday from 1 - 3, we at Acme will be celebrating Lazlo & Quincy's birthday! Stop by to meet the guests of honor, sign our big card and enjoy some cake. Let's hope for beautiful weather...

New in Stock!

• Boyfriend Training Flash Cards
• Punk Shui - Home Design for Anarchists
• Grow Your Own Crop Circle

Dog Days of Summer Sale

It's our annual sale of 20% off all pet supplies and food during August. The best part? Lazlo & Quincy's birthday party on Sunday, August 23rd from 1-3. Meet and greet with the poodles, sign our big card, share cake for you and your pet, gift with purchase, raffle winners - always a fun time!

Flax Clothing 30% Off

We have our fall deliveries of Flax coming in the third week of August! In the meantime, we have marked ALL in stock Flax down 30% off - YES, even Summer Flax that just came in and t-shirts and leggings.

First Time for the Big Window

So, I was feeling pretty great about our Canned Acme window with the beautiful furniture creating a stunning backdrop for the cans... So much so, that I wanted to keep it up until our Dog Days of Summer pet window. Then the usual vandalism that happened after the bars closed Friday night. It's funny - when ever this happens and we file a police report, the cops always say "Yeah, this happens all the time. There's no way to catch them". ???????

Canned Acme in the mail

Acme donated three cans of special A2skatepark Canned Acme for a raffle prize from the Art Fair booth of the skatepark. One winner wanted her can sent to her and Trevor took it upon himself to address the can and mail it - hilarious! ...And a bargain at only $2.92 to mail.

Custom Furniture by Matt O'Brien

Stop by during Art Fair to see the custom furniture our friend Matt O'Brien has lent us for the Canned Acme window. It's it truly one of a kind!

A2 Homegrown

Our new department on our online store features Acme branded merchandise as well as other local favorites added all the time - check back often for new offerings!

Garage Sale Mania

Join us all four days of Art Fair from 10 - 5 for our annual garage sale out back (yes, in our garage) for all new stuff marked way down to make room for new favorites.

Canned Acme

Get Ready for our most remarkable offering ever - Canned Acme! This mysterious and amusing Acme branded merchandise will be sure to give you a smile. Debuts for Art Fair...

Vespa A2 Totally Rocks!

I took the old Vespa in for some maintenance and got to hang out with the super cool folks at Vespa A2. The place is stuffed full of scooters and scooter related merch including cute wallets and purses, nifty riding jackets and fashionable helmets of all styles. Makes me wish I could start all over buying new stuff...
The ride back to work on my newly revamped ET4 was glorious! Viva la summer!

Vote for us!

Acme Mercantile has been nominated by WDIV's "Best of Detroit" poll in the best gift shop category - show your love by logging on to wdiv.cityvoter.com and search for us by name. We would love a few kind words posted as well, seeing as how we are needy like that sometimes...

Just In!

Finally, the Acme cheese slicer is in!  So cute, how can you resist?

Gift Certificate Giveaway Ends Tuesday!

We have only a few days left  for our Gift Certificate Giveaway -  Receive a $5 gift card good for your next visit for every $25 you spend.  Simple as that!

Laura & Sara's top 10 favorite items in stock right now!

• Taterpot herb garden
• Kusmichoff PrinceVladimir Loose Leaf Tea
• Hot Sox Tube Socks
• High Times Pot Smoker's Handbook
• Borrow My Pen - pack of 7 hilarious fictitious advertising pens
• BlueQ assorted metal water bottles
• Shark Bottle Opener
• Mile High Kit - portable intimacy kit
• Plasma Bulb Night Light
• Sting Ray Make up Bag
  

Upcoming Events Downtown - and how we make them even better!

July proves to be an eventful time for us in the old brownstone - 

• 4th of July we will be open from 9-3.  That covers those of you who are in town for the foot race, the parade or simply blowing off looking for something to do before grilling in the afternoon.  We will be handing out balloons to the kids and have special seasonal celebratory items for sale.
  
• The Rolling sculpture car show is Friday, July 10th from 2-10.  Acme will do a table outside our front door from 4-8 selling an assortment of our usual hot rod show merchandise and there will be a visit from the "Acme Cigarette Girl" who will have special handouts for the crowd.
• Art Fair is Wednesday July 15 - Saturday July 18th.  Acme will be holding our annual garage sale with all new super marked-down merchandise out back from 10 - 5 all Art Fair days.  We are on the food and music court and right on the edge of the Art Fair with easy access, so it is a nice way to experience the fair without much hassle.

There is something for everyone happening downtown right now!  Come out and enjoy your community and continue to keep it vibrant.

Our First Post

Welcome!  

I feel that with the loss of so many locally owned businesses due to the growth of big chain stores over the years, it is imperative that I establish a personal identity for my store as what makes a neighborhood or town unique.  All too often, we end up going from city to city to see the same stores again and again in our travels.  The "Miracle Mile" in Chicago is a good example of this - simply the same stores we have here in the Detroit area with doors on the sidewalk rather than in the mall.  

So, here we are in the worst economy in the nation with the auto industry (which fuels EVERYTHING here) in a precarious situation, making small business owners such as myself worrying about not so much losing a job, but everything we have poured my heart, soul and money into to build something special.  It has been my entire identity for the last 6 1/2 years.

I am lucky enough to be in a town like Ann Arbor, where residents typically have a dedication to what it means to live here - they like the diversity of having an interesting downtown (and surrounding areas) that attracts all sorts of people and offers something for everyone.  Our store is well loved by its loyal customers and we see new faces everyday, so I feel that it is a good possibility that we can weather this economic disaster that has affected all of the nation.

So here is my pitch for making a difference in your local community, then on to the fun stuff! Support your locally owned businesses - they are what makes your community unique.  Can't find what you need?  Ask around.  Have a problem with a local business? Let them know.  We often put a slip of paper in our retail bags thanking customers for their purchase and asking them to let us know if there is anything we can do to make their shopping experience better via email.  The few times people complained, we made changes to better serve our customers and let them know what we did in order to remedy the situation.  And we are glad to do it.

What's coming up next at Acme? 

•  The Downtown A2 Green Fair will be Friday June 5th from 6-9pm, showcasing all manner of environmentally conscious local businesses.
• We are vending at a hot rod show called Billetproof in Davisburg, MI on Saturday, June 6th.  Come by and say hi, while taking a look at all of our Rat Fink stuff, Gearhead Magazine and other related merchandise.
• Father's Day - we have a great selection unusual gifts and cards such as the baseball, golf, fishing and bowling crying towels (seen above), exploding golf balls, Rat Fink themed stuff and Bodum stainless BBQ tools.