In 19 years the Achatz Pie Co. has gone from family kitchen to farmer's market to over 100 grocery stores, including Whole Foods. But co-founder and co-owner Wendy Achatz is more than just an all-natural sweet treat peddler, she's an enthusiastic cheerleader for Michigan-made products.

Chocolate Salted Caramel cupcakes. French toast and bacon cupcakes. Are you salivating like Homer Simpson yet? Royal Oak's Taste Love Cupcakes (TLC) was just another Metro Detroit cupcakery ...until it proved it wasn't. Now it's a "Cupcake Wars" champion. And the hungry masses are coming.

The recent arrest of an individual for pelting the ice with an octopus during the Red Wings playoffs clashes with Detroit's joie de vivre but doesn't mean time-out. It's Stanley Cup week, and entrepreneur-attorney-philanthropist Denise Ilitch delivers the sports talk.

Brazil native Antonio Lück, portfolio manager at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, has lived in the Detroit area for under four years, yet has built a chain of friendships and activities that many would take a lifetime to amass. This week he writes on how a collaboration between a Brazil university and WSU brought him to Detroit's shores, the seeding of the Detroit Young Professionals volunteer and leadership group, and entrepreneurial gusto in the city.

Spur Studios is yet another example of Ypsilanti's DIY philosophy of collective innovation and artistic community building. Attracting a confederation of artists, designers, and musicians, James Marks of VG Kids has turned an empty building into a successful hive of inspiration and creativity.

Quick, we say: Frankfurters, men's fashion, and locally made mustard. What's the first thing that comes to mind? Should be Charley Marcuse. A true Metro Detroit original, this singing hotdog vendor at Tiger Stadium (and budding entrepreneur) embodies the indomitably funky spirit of our region. The mustard's tasty too!