Meryl Davis Got Her Bronzed Look in ‘DWTS’ in a ‘Wink’
Small business owner Jean Alter-Johnson says it’s not often that ordinary folks get to “brush” up against an Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star. She got an offer from “Dancing with the Stars” that she couldn’t refuse.
By Beth Dalbey (Patch National Staff) - Updated May 1, 2014 8:37 pm
“Dancing with the Stars” fan and judge favorite Meryl Davis looked tan and healthy when she showed skin in her skimpy salsa dance costume on last Monday’s episode of the ABC reality television show.
Davis, half of the gold-medal ice dancing duo at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, got the bronzed look not by spending hours baking in the California sun, but in a “Wink” – or, rather, at Wink Boutique in Grosse Pointe on Sunday, a day before her live performance from Dance Connection Performing Arts Centre in Los Angeles.
Wink owner Jean Alter-Johnson said she got an email from DWTS officials asking if she could fit Davis in for an airbrush tan when she and her Olympic partner and DWTS rival Charlie White were home in southeast Michigan last weekend to open the Stars on Ice performance at the Joe Louis Sunday afternoon.
Alter-Johnson got the referral from DWTS because her independent shop uses the the airbrush tanning formula and technique most often used by runway and Hollywood stars.
She didn’t have to think twice about accommodating the request, even though it meant opening her shop on a Sunday.
'Local Down-Home Girl'
After all, it’s not often that a small business owner gets to “brush up” against an Olympic gold medalist. In southeast Michigan, Davis and White’s fame on DWTS is one thing, but their prowess on the ice is “the thing,” Alter-Johnson said, her voice swelling with pride.
““People are really excited to have somebody of that caliber in town,” Alter-Johnson said. “She’s more of a gold medal, local, down-home girl who happened to be in the area than a reality TV star.
“That’s the fun part about it,” the shop owner said of the West Bloomfield Township native, who currently lives in Ann Arbor. “She’s the sweetest, nicest person.”
Alter-Johnson’s phone has been ringing ever since.
“Grosse Pointe is a really small community, and people like to promote the locally owned businesses that are in place,” she said. “There just aren’t that many retail business anymore.”
Alter-Johnson opened the boutique a year ago after working in the beauty industry for 30 years. Wink, located at 377 Fisher Road, also also sells handbags, jewelry, men’s cufflinks and offers manicures and pedicures.
The organic, all-natural, paraben-free tanning formula is used on 40 television and movie sets and offers a flawless, natural looking tan. “It’s not all orange looking like the fake tans of yesteryears, or something you’d buy at the drugstore,” she said.
Since she opened the salon a year ago, she’s gotten referrals from many area dermatologists who recommend it as a safer alternative to traditional tanning, Alter-Johson said.
Wink gathering donations for flood victims
Jody McVeigh Editor
Phelan Johnson and Jean Alter-Johnson stand with their own Christmas decorations as an example of things people can donate. Any donation of decorations is accepted. Photos by Renee Landuyt
November 10, 2016
Several streets in Grosse Pointe Park were lined with boxes, bins and bags of discarded personal items, destroyed by rain water and sewage that flooded 250 basements during a Sept. 29 downpour.
In the midst of the loss no doubt were countless holiday decorations — artificial trees and lights, ornaments and other decorations.
While browsing social media, Park resident and business owner Jean Alter-Johnson noticed a trend among moms looking for Christmas decorations. She asked around and realized many people disposed of damaged holiday décor following the floods and were looking for replacement items.
“I wouldn’t want to buy all that stuff again,” she said. “It’s expensive ... The Park got hit hard. People lost everything in the Park.”
Alter-Johnson, who owns Wink at 377 Fisher in Grosse Pointe Farms, decided she could help by organizing a collection of Christmas items at her business.
“We just decided we’re going to collect from people for 10 days before Thanksgiving,” she said. “We’ll pick up, too. If people have donations they want to give, just give us a call and we’ll come and pick it up.”
From ornaments and garland to Christmas platters and artificial trees, Alter-Johnson hopes to see it all.
“We all have way too much,” she said. “This is giving back. It’s what we’re supposed to do.”
The items will be free for the taking the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving — commonly known as Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.
“We’ll have it all in the hall. Come and get whatever you want,” she said. “I don’t want people to feel they’re too proud. I want them to just come in and grab stuff.”
For more information, call Wink at (313) 882-8100.
