Feature
Made of Sundays is not just another sticker on the wall
Finnish company Made of Sundays wants to cheer up homes and offices with colours and shapes made of ecological materials. Stick it up and wear a smile!
If you ask Thomas Leppä, co-founder of Made of Sundays, studying abroad is a great idea. His two exchange periods in Austria and Canada shaped his future in various ways, not least because in Austria he met his now-wife, Spaniard Alba Bordes Sola.
They’re also business partners. However, the romance started a lot before Made of Sundays saw daylight; Bordes Sola had already made the move to Finland when the idea came about.
“Alba went on a work trip to the UK and brought back wall decals of Space Invaders,” Leppä recalls. “They were pretty much spot-on the kind of stuff we like: simple, colourful and cheerful.”
The couple started looking for more patterns and options to add some colour to their home. It turned out that a lot of the alternatives were just cheesy texts, and the materials were of low quality, falling off the wall in a month or two.
The idea came up: what if we made better and nicer ones ourselves?
“For years, it was something we just talked about half-seriously,” Leppä says. “It was only when Alba wanted to quit her then-day job that we figured we really should give it a proper go.”
Of the many business ideas the couple had been pondering over, Made of Sundays felt the best. The company was founded five years ago, and Leppä says it’s something that went from half a joke to a full-on business in 2017.
Thinking outside the box of plastic
Instead of the tacky ’Live, Laugh, Love’ decals and posters, Made of Sundays focuses on cheerful and colourful patterns and images. Leppä says that the goal is to let people decorate their homes in an easy and affordable way – that isn’t permanent. The decals being removable means that if the habitant ever gets bored of the style, the decals can be taken down and moved from one room or house to another if needed.
Made of Sundays also wants to keep its production as eco-friendly as possible. Leppä notes that all materials are chosen based on their environmental impact and durability, and he believes that Made of Sundays is if not the only, at least one of the few companies in the world producing wall decals from paper.
“We always try to get creative and think outside the box when it comes to new materials,” Leppä tells. “Of course, not buying anything at all is the most ecological choice, but when it comes to decorating a home, our decals are a much better choice than PVC plastic or paint.”
No rush – for a good reason
Made of Sundays is run by its owners in Helsinki, and Bordes Sola’s sister has a little local operation in Spain. In general, most things from designs and drawings to packing and shipping are on the couple’s shoulders.
The vast majority of sales come through the webshop and other online platforms, such as Etsy. Leppä points out that due to the vast and varied offering, it would be difficult for resellers to order just the right amount or just the right size. Hence, the company is moving into new markets through its online presence and social media.
Most orders come in from Finland, North America, the UK, Benelux and France. Another interesting region is Australia, where Leppä sees plenty of potential if only distribution was a little less of a hassle than it is now.
Despite plentiful plans for reaching out to new markets, right now the focus is on expanding the product portfolio and creating new designs and concepts. As soon as that’s done, scalability is the next step.
Leppä and his spouse are pretty busy with other stuff, too.
“For now, our baby takes up a lot of our time,” Leppä says, “so we’re not particularly rushing anything at the minute.”