CON LO Chair Challenge

"Con lo que tengo" is a saying in Spanish that my Cuban mother would say in many different contexts to mean that you've got to use what you've got in this life. My mother, who is a excellent cook, would often use the "con lo que tengo" saying when she would be cooking. A little this, a little that, and a beautiful meal would be prepared out of what seemingly appeared to be nothing. 

We've adopted this idea and we've abbreviated the saying to: CON LO. The "Con Lo" spirit can be applied to all aspects of life -- the idea of taking something that you've got, simply using what's right in front of you to create something wonderful. 

And so, in the spirit of CON LO, we're launching a year long challenge. Each month, we will be releasing a CON LO Chair. These chairs will be re-purposed and re-designed from old chairs and found materials.

Why chairs? We love chairs and the utilitarian nature they represent. We are always finding, collecting, and acquiring unique chairs. We are drawn to the classic bases, modern lines, and old-school colors. There is generally something amiss with these finds -- a ripped seat cushion, a busted leg or a scratched up base. While most people would look past these finds, we see potential to breath new life into these old gems. We are always seeing something in the ones we're drawn to, and have quite a collection.

The CON LO Chair Challenge fuses our love of chairs with the spirit of "con lo." Using materials we have in the shop -- wood, metal, parts, paint, and whatever we have laying around (con lo!!) -- we are going to re-design and re-purpose a chair, a month. The chairs will be posted on the blog and on the site for sale.

Here's to embracing what you've got by making what you have work. Here's to creating something out of "nothing" to create something beautiful and functional. Here's to CON LO!

--Julie and Ben

Chairs ready to be re-purposed for the CON LO Chair Challenge!