Mill Street Customs

Mill Street Customs is a business idea. It’s an idea that has existed somewhere inside of me since I attended college for Interior Design. Of course, back then I called it- Salvage Design, Inc. It was a mandatory assignment in our commercial design class to create a business proposal with a floor plan and color board. Mine was to open a retail shop that repurposed car parts into furniture and lighting. This was back in 2000-2001. Twenty years ago.

While everyone else in my design class was setting up their booths for the big show at the end of the year with pretty accessories, floral arrangements and color boards for soft spaces- mine looked a little different. I had a vintage suitcase and an old radio, model cars like an orange Chevelle and a green Mustang on a bookcase. My color boards showcased a logo designed around the back end of a ’57 Chevy.

I never really thought about owning a store. I spent half my childhood growing up at the “family business” and it wasn’t anything I aspired to do. There are, after all, many other ways to make a living. The reclaimed design industry also seemed to have enough representation.

My career has been satisfying. I’ve spoken about my journey from a landscape designer to a new home consultant to my current role as an estimator/designer for a remodel company. I still maintain great relationships with many trades I have worked with over the years. I do get asked why I haven’t started my own business- why I continue to work for others.

I guess it’s because I know what it takes to run your own business, successfully. And for now I enjoy contributing to a company that is a bit bigger than I myself would ever strive to be. When I settle down (if I settle down) and decide to be all in on my own concept, I will want it to stay small and personal. I will want it to reflect my values and the values my family taught me about hard work. I will want to get my hands dirty. I won’t be starting a business just to own something or make money.

So Mill Street Customs is an idea, a concept. A future for us that we have waiting when we are ready. And in the Meantime we enjoy a property that is about family and tradition. About gatherings and cookouts and all of our hobbies and interests.

You know that Sunday Night Supper we always have? That place we all go because we like to be home together? That’s also how we feel about our Mill Street garage. It’s down the road from where my Dad grew up. It’s a place where we are making new memories. It’s our tie to a town that served as a pretty big back drop for the part of our life that revolved around being born to parents, who were also born to parents, who were business owners.

The business owners of Bonduel.