It's time for an intermission for Make it Mid-Century. I've been working on this company (pretty much) non-stop for eight years, and I need a breather. There's so much to do that I just can't get done while still fulfilling orders - there is absolutely not enough time in the day! I can't get new products up and running on the website, I've completely neglected social media since the first of the year, and there are things that are wasting away - blogs and our catalog, to name two.

I'm turning off ordering for the time being. If you have an order in process, I am still working on your order, and I'll get it out to you as it is completed. Once I catch up with orders, I'll then have time to catch up on everything else AND take a little time off. My first child is graduating from college in May (I can't believe he's that old already), and I want to have time to enjoy that and enjoy him before he's gone and off on his own adventures.

Being a business owner is rough. There are delightful customers, and there are difficult ones. Pricing is a never-ending balancing act, and the cost of materials has increased so much in the past year that there is no margin left. Somehow I still need to make my products affordable enough that you still want to purchase them. I have new equipment that I have not even had time to set up, let alone learn to use, so I'll take some time for education, too. Last, there are ideas that I cannot even entertain at the moment because there is not any time to do so. You might say, "Susan, why don't you hire help"? Well, I would love to do that, but there are complications, the biggest of which is that the business cannot afford an employee. I have not even, in eight years, paid myself a salary, instead rolling any profits back into new equipment and the development of new products. I told you it was rough!

I also have personal projects that are neglected. Remember that Lavanette? Still untouched in my basement. The dollhouse? Still a pipe dream. It would be great to find a little time to work on those things, plus projects around my house (like the mud pit that is my backyard).

In the meantime, I'll continue to write the monthly newsletters and answer emails (but a little bit more slowly than normal). Thanks for helping me build what I have today and letting me share it with you - Make it Mid-Century wouldn't be where it is without you.