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About
Chava's vision
For many years Chava bought recycled woods, like the 80 years old wood from the Minnesota baseball stadium, thinking that one day he would be able to use it in constructing furniture from his imagination. Chava’s is « old School ». His fourniture has a rustic flair with diverse influences. He likes to mix the styles and the cultures. He creates everything by hand. He uses raw materials and can shape that wood into anything. Each piece is unique.
Chava…
« Woodwork is part of my DNA », states Chava with a big smile, remembering all the stories he heard during his childhood about his maternal grand-father whom, sadly, he never met. This grandfather used to travel from ranch to ranch in the Sierras around Todos Santos to sell the saddles that he carved. Those saddles were partially made from cactus wood. It's a « cardon », an enormous cactus, which one day took his life while he was cutting it.
At 12 years old, when it was time for Chava to choose a direction at school, Chava chose to study carpentry and did so for 5 years. Decades later, he remembers his maestro Jose Felix Perez with great respect and utmost admiration.
« He taught me everything », says Chava who received the full attention of his teacher because of his thirst for learning at school where he had his own bench and tools. This character trait of curiosity opened a world of opportunities for him.
On his first job, he worked at the Casa Coffman, a Mexican-American construction company established in Todos Santos. « I had access to professional tools that were not very common in Mexico. The Coffmans were so knowledgeable and kind, remembers Chava who learned so much from them. When the company closed its doors, five years had gone by, and Chava, now in his mid-twenties, thought it was time for him to set up his own business with the tools this family gifted him.
Photo Claude VOGEL
... a passionate man
Since his youth, Chava has always been driven by curiosity and dedication. As a child, he got to learn the piano and the accordion, at the “Centro Cultural”. Teachers there let him stay because they saw this young boy wanted to learn so much. Chava succeeded in being a good musician, but carpentry was his calling.
Chava has always been a voracious reader. Nothing is out of his scope of interests: science, arts, crafts, history and more. Everything he sees and learns, he puts into his work.
« I like to keep my eyes opened, explains the craftsman. When I create a piece of furniture, I have a story to tell. I have seen an antiquity in an old house; I have caught a form in a design magazine… I’m inspired by what I see », Chava keeps on saying when asked about his style. I don’t have a specific style. It’s more of a fusion. This one has a Moroccan influence, this other one, the line is Spanish, there the colors are Mexican... », he concludes pointing at different pieces around him in the showroom.
Chava is a passionate man. Everything he does is from his heart. Like his grand-father, he has become a local figure. In 1997, he and his partner Rafael co-founded the Firefighter Brigade in Todos Santos, and he is the captain to this day, with 25 years of service as a volunteer and still counting!
Chava always prioritizes helping others over his own business. At 51, Chava has finally achieved his long-time dream, opening his own furniture store in Todos Santos. It is time for all of us to support his beautiful work.