I’m the founder of Strawberry Cheers Events and Strawberry Cheeks Antiques where we work to rescue treasures, preserve our past, bring back timeless elegance and add some nostalgic kitsch to our homes and special events.

My love of collecting started at a very young age with my mom and aunts, and it has never stopped. The trill of the hunt started with my Strawberry Shortcake Doll collection. With the arrival of eBay, I slowly worked my way up to collecting the original dolls from the 1980s, mint and never removed from their original boxes. It took me years to accumulate, with one doll still missing. (I refuse to go over a set dollar amount on all my collections; that’s part of the game!)

The dishware and glassware collections came later. My late mother, Yvonne Leslie, was an avid collector and a Mt. Clemens, Michigan historian. Working at the Mt. Clemens’ Crocker House Museum, she started a fundraising luncheon to help offset the restoration costs. We used our best antique china to create simple centerpieces. Now, after 25 years, the event endures: The Yvonne Leslie Pottery Luncheon has grown into a showcase of lavish tablescapes and dinnerware place settings.