Northville will soon be Michigan's latest on-screen star, as the reality TV show Cash & Cari, about a local antiques dealer, premieres on HGTV starting Jan. 1.

Plymouth resident Cari Cucksey and her fiancé Vicenzo Iafano own RePurpose, an eclectic antique store in Northville Square in the city's downtown. The couple moved into the space in September, and started filming the cable TV show soon after.

A "Hollywood style premier"

Cash & Cari will feature Michigan locales, with Cucksey going out to estate sales, flea markets, dusty attics and cluttered garages to find hidden or overlooked antique furniture, decorative accessories, collectibles and memorabilia. Northville images will feature prominently, as the TV crew shot many of the local landmarks to create lead-ins and openings for the show.

The program will debut at 2 p.m. Jan. 1, when the Central Michigan University graduate's program airs opposite the Rose Bowl. But Cucksey is launching her own local premiere party when the show begins in its regular Monday time slot at 10 p.m. Jan. 3.

"The public is invited to join us in a Hollywood-style premiere, complete with a red carpet and lights, at the Northville Square location when the show airs on Jan. 3," said Steven Valenti, a spokesman for RePurpose. The store will be open and a few large-screen TVs will show the second episode as it airs, he said.

There will also be a private party for invited special guests and local dignitaries, held in the empty storefront in the enclosed mall area across from RePurpose. Cucksey, Iafano and Valenti went before the Northville Downtown Development Authority at its regular meeting on Tuesday morning to ask the merchant members to donate local items or coupons to create gift bags for the guests.

"We want to make Northville shine," Valenti said.

From a family of collectors

Cucksey, 35, said she learned the antiques trade from her family, especially her grandparents and great-grandparents, while she was growing up in Fenton.

"I've been around antiques my whole life, and I started selling my own when I was 12 years old. Our house was always filled with stuff. I come from a family of collectors."

On one episode of the new show, she goes through a farm house to liquidate items such as musical instruments, a 1975 Honda motorbike and a 1925 Studebaker, and in another home she discovers a rare vintage stove and an antique Jenny Lind bed frame.

Her large store in downtown Northville shows her off-screen tastes, with bright colors and sturdy looking pieces.

"This isn't your ordinary consignment store. We like to be unique and exciting," Cucksey said. She's also the owner of RePurpose Estate Services.

She said she's also proud that she can help show Michigan in a positive light.

"I can't say enough about how welcoming Northville has been to us," Cucksey said. "We're glad we can give back to Michigan, to show the nation that good stuff is happening in this state."