Abigail Haden is preparing to open her home interiors studio on Franklin Street, bringing years of experience and a passion for community back to her hometown of Michigan City. We sat down with Abigail to discuss her journey from growing up here to building a successful design practice in Michigan, and what brought her home to open her dream studio.
Tell us about your connection to Michigan City. I understand you’re originally from here?
“My husband and I are both from here; we grew up here and both attended Marquette. We actually got married at Trinity Church, which is right across the street from my studio, so every day I’m looking at where we got married. It’s like an awesome “made in Michigan City” story.
We moved away before we got married. I went to Purdue for interior design, and he went to Rose-Hulman for engineering. We lived in Indianapolis, then moved up to Michigan when he worked in the auto industry. Honestly, we never thought we were coming back.”
What changed your mind about returning?
“We ended up buying a house in Beachwalk because it was close to his parents, and his mom was ill at the time. We rented it out when we weren’t there, but we found ourselves at Beachwalk every weekend. We wanted to be there versus being in the other lake community we lived in in Michigan, which is crazy.
When my daughter graduated from high school in 2023, we decided to just move home. My husband said something that really stuck with me: “The right thing for us to do is go back to Michigan City. Our whole lives, all the good stuff’s always gone to New Buffalo, and we need to be rooted in Michigan City. If we’re coming back, we’re actually coming back.” That became my mantra.”
What drew you specifically to this space on Franklin Street?
“Initially, I rented a tiny 400-500 square foot space in the 601 building just to have a spot to land while I was still driving back and forth to Kalamazoo to serve my clients there. But I knew I wanted to be more present in Michigan City.
Janet from the Lubeznik Center actually connected me with Chris, who owns this building. We hadn’t met before, but as soon as I came over to meet him, he immediately said he’d love to rent the space to me. He got my vision, and we just clicked. I love that we can work in conjunction with each other since he’s a woodworker who’s been restoring the Barker mansion. He believes so much in the renaissance of Michigan City.”
Can you share your background in interior design?
“I went to Purdue for interior design, then moved to Indianapolis, where I worked in Meridian Kessler with beautiful old brick and limestone houses. I worked for different designers, then went out on my own in 2000, working at a retail store that sold furnishings. I learned about retail and buying by going to markets in Atlanta.
When my daughter was born and my husband’s job moved us to Ann Arbor, I tried to do design there, but it was challenging. It’s very transient because of the college, everybody’s moving in and out, so nobody cares what their house looks like.”
How did you end up thriving in Michigan?
“When we moved to Kalamazoo, I was initially discouraged, but I convinced my husband to buy a fixer-upper on Gull Lake. It’s this incredible glacier-made lake with sand at the bottom that makes the water look like the Caribbean – you can see straight through it.
I met a mom at school who told me there were no interior designers in the area, and that most people had to bring designers from Grand Rapids, 45 minutes to an hour away. I started with one little client, then two, and became the designer on Gull Lake. I had no idea what I was walking into – there’s so much industry and money in Kalamazoo.
I had a shop in Richland, where Gull Lake is, then moved to downtown Kalamazoo, where I had a studio on the eighth floor of Kalamazoo’s first skyscraper. It was this beautiful old Art Deco building, though getting sofas up those small elevators was quite the challenge!”
What brought you back to Michigan City specifically?
“We came back during the pandemic in July 2020 for my birthday. Michigan was completely closed, so we came over the border to Indiana and walked through Beachwalk. My husband said, “There’s a worldwide pandemic going on, and these families, these people, it’s like nothing’s wrong in the world. Everybody is just happy, walking to the beach, kids running around, riding bikes. It’s a completely different world here.”
It was probably weeks later that we had an offer on a house. The universe told us we needed to come home and be here.”
What excites you about Michigan City’s history and future?
Learning about our history has been amazing. I had no idea that John Barker invented the assembly line 20 years before Henry Ford.
We have so much history, Barker, Ball Mason jars. A mason jar is a noun that everybody knows, whether you’re in Manhattan ordering a punch that comes in a Ball Mason jar or on the other side of the country canning preserves. And I live in Beachwalk, which was actually a sand mine for Ball Mason. The history is wild.”
What are your goals for Abigail Hayden Interior Design?
“If I could even inspire someone in the community with design inspiration and style, I would be so happy. Right now, I’m by appointment only, but I want to be open on First Fridays to help bring that back.
I have everything from a $12 candle to an $800 lamp, so there’s something for everybody. Eventually, if this goes really well, I’d love to have retail hours with someone working the retail space in front while I focus on design in the back.”
How important is the business community’s support in Michigan City?
“It’s incredible. If you talk to any business owner in Michigan City, we’re all rooting for each other and collectively working toward the same thing. Nobody has more skin in the game than small business owners, and nobody supports the community more.
Look at what Rose is doing with JoyRide! She wants to support all the business owners and talk about everybody’s business. The Michigan City Chamber has been amazing too, especially with Kurt as the new president, bringing fresh energy. When I told him I was opening here, he immediately asked if we could do a ribbon cutting.”
What do you hope people know about your vision for the studio?
“My husband and I came back here because we want to be part of the momentum of Michigan City. I’m in the building industry, so I love that there’s such a renaissance and renewal happening.”
Any final thoughts about being back home?
“I just look forward to being part of the change. When we moved back, I started volunteering at the Lubeznik Center because they actually supported me when I was young. They were the Blank Center before, and I used to go there for art classes. It’s full circle.
We’ve got an incredible art scene here that just needs to thrive a little bit more. The pandemic put a halt on everybody nationwide, but we’re past that now. During those years, Michigan City was laying the groundwork, and now we’re ready to take off.
I want this studio to be part of that momentum by bringing good design to Michigan City, where it should be, inspiring the community, and supporting the renaissance that’s happening here.”
Abigail Hayden Interior Design is located on Franklin Street in Michigan City. Abigail is available by appointment and plans to participate in First Friday events. For more information, contact Abigail through her studio or connect with her through the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce.
