Meet Lindsay Barrett | Mid century modern purveyor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsay Barrett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsay, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have always loved vintage everything. My grandfather, or Grand, as we used to call him, had incredible style and an eye for quality. My grandparents house was impeccably styled. Both of us also had parents who liked to find “treasures” and refurbish and resell them. Our interest in furniture started with our personal collection which got a little too big, so we started selling off cool pieces we didn’t have room for in our house. We started our business as a side hustle and within two years it grew into a full-time business. Restoring and rehoming vintage furniture is our passion. Finding pieces that have been overlooked and well-loved to bring joy to new owners is fun and rewarding. We started traveling all over the east coast of the U.S. to find vintage furniture and bring it back to our home town, the ATL! We started to build an awesome community through our Instagram page @classic_mcm_finds and a great following of people that love vintage furniture; specifically MCM furniture or Mid-century Modern furniture.

What should our readers know about your business?
The idea behind my business was to have more flexibility with my schedule and utilize my creativity. Growing up my grandparents had an amazing collection of Mid-Century Modern furniture that I always admired. As a parent of young children, it can be hard to be present in all aspects of life and sometimes we end up not being able to give 100 percent towards everything we would like to. I wanted to do something that we enjoyed and could do as a family. During my college years, I decided to travel abroad and after living several years outside of the U.S. I moved back to Atlanta and started working in corporate America. It was a hard transition; while I enjoyed having weekends off, PTO and an affordable medical plan I was just not satisfied. I wanted more flexibility in my schedule to attend school events and kids’ doctor appointments or just a day to stay home and organize my closet or do some gardening. I wanted to have the opportunity to use my creativity while traveling and meeting new people. Like with most things that are worth doing, there were a few challenges along the way.. I started classic_mcm_finds as a part-time business while I was working my full-time job in midtown Atlanta. Lots of weekends and evenings were spent working on the business. It was my baby! When most people were chilling at the park with their kiddos, we were on the road traveling or cleaning up and delivering furniture to our customers. Learning how to take a break when you can and allowing others to help is very important. Working and helping support other small businesses in our community has been one of my favorite aspects of owning my own business. I hope to give back even more as our business grows!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

It’s hard to pack all of Atlanta’s awesomeness in to one week. I would start in Little Five Points to give my out of town guests a taste of Atlanta’s eclectic side. We would visit Crystal Blue get some some positive vibes and do some window shopping and grab a beer at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club. I would then take them on tour of the Belt Line on electric scooters and scoot by Lady Bird, Pour, and Delbar.

Vintage shopping is essential for a good trip, so my favorite vintage shopping places are Ecologie Vintage in Kennesaw and Rag-O-Rama. I am a huge fan of Atlanta United and try to go to a game as often as possible so going to a game is always on the list. Also catching a Braves game is on my list too.

Friends in town are also a good reason for a trip to the Zoo, doing some jellyfish viewing at the Aquarium, and a trip to Centennial Olympic Park to cool off in the rings.

For food, a trip to Home Grown for breakfast would be essential. At some point a trip to Brockett Pub in Clarkston for wings would make the list. Bringing a picnic to Piedmont Park is also a great lunch option. An eating tour of Buford Highway is also a great way to experience the international flavor of Atlanta’s food scene.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Family has been our biggest support system. Our kiddos have been on so many road trips with us and love to help with the business in their free time. Our daughter is even creating some of our videos for us! We both come from families of entrepreneurs, so we are happy to pass down this family tradition to our kids. Close friends and our Instagram community have given us so much encouragement. I have had the pleasure to work with some amazing female entrepreneurs and have learned so much from this community. Especially, Christina @amostsimplehome and Sheshawn @Sheandco_. Our followers have been super supportive and always send us so much love.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClassicMCMfinds

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/classic_mcm_finds/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-barrett-630259a7/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Classic_MCM_-finds-106597717597404

Image Credits
Christina Amos and Darwin Berman