Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Halla
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Make it Mid-Century was born out of the desire to (FINALLY!) utilize my degree in Historic Preservation and to spread my love of all things mid-century. I live in a mid-century home and found out (the hard way) that sourcing the right materials for restoring a mid-century home was incredibly difficult. It all started with doors. When I bought my house, it had a very generic, raised-panel door with a semi-circle lite at the top. You can picture it, I’m sure because you’ll see these doors EVERYWHERE. There was nothing wrong with the door except that it looked COMPLETELY out of place. It was a great door for a more classic home but not for a mid-century home. My husband and I searched for a door that would look period-correct but could not find anything, and instead decided to build our own. That small venture made me realize that there were assuredly more people out there having similar issues finding the right materials for mid-century restoration, and Make it Mid-Century was born.
I launched the company with door kits – exterior, interior, and garage door kits, making them all by hand in my woodshop. Then came the research. What other products were coveted by the mid-century restoration marketplace that was difficult (if not impossible) to source? That holy grail? Glitter laminate. Glitter laminate was born in the early 1960s and was made until the early 1990s when manufacturers removed it from their product line. After much trial and error, I reverse-engineered a way to re-make this product, and our line of SparkleLam™ colors quickly became our best seller. To this day, we are still the only existing manufacturer of this product in the country.
The long-term goal for Make it Mid-Century is to become a one-stop shop for all the hard-to-find products people crave for their mid-century restoration projects. We’re launching a solid-color tile line with two custom pastels unique to us: Mamie Pink and Seafoam Green. We’ll also soon be able to color-match small quantities of tile for people who have mid-century bathrooms with a few damaged or missing tiles.
While we’re based in St. Louis, we sell nationwide. Each year, I map all the places we’ve sold products in the past year. We’re down to only three states in the continental United States where we haven’t sold a product. (Looking at you, North Dakota!) As suspected, we sell a lot to California and Florida, but we’ve sold so many places – large cities and small towns – that it makes the business an exciting and fulfilling venture.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s incredible working with my customers – who are just like me and nerd out on all things mid-century. That doesn’t mean starting my own business wasn’t without obstacles! My business is still a one-woman show, meaning I wear ALL the hats in the company. Social media? That’s me. Design? Me. Marketing? Me. Building all of the products that we sell? That’s me, me, me. It can be incredibly overwhelming at times, and there are parts that I like to do (design) much more than others (social media – ugh!) But again, it’s hearing from my customers – and seeing the photographs of their homes that they’ve enhanced with our products. That makes my heart so happy!
Because I wear many hats, every new idea seems to take an inordinate amount of time to launch. However, small, sustained growth is still occurring, and although slow, that pace allows me to give incredibly personal service to my customer base. I’m very proud of that personal service and would hesitate to give it up. I think that’s part of the magic of my business. I think my clients would agree!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Make it Mid-Century provides authentic building materials and DIY kits to restore the beauty of mid-century homes.
What matters most to you? Why?
As a business owner and mid-century enthusiast, I’m always learning. That might include learning (and writing about) the history of mid-century architecture and design, finding new or innovative products for the product line, learning more about what it takes to run the business, or even learning about myself and how I tick. Taking all the information I’ve learned and giving it to my customers makes my business less transactional and more of a relationship, which truly matters to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://makeitmidcentury.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/makeitmidcentury
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/makeitmidcentury
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanhalla/
- Twitter: https://x.com/makeitmcm
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@makeitmid-century8222
