Article Title: "La Bodega" Brings Vintage Furniture to Main Street

Edition: May 2002
Category: General Interest
Author: Hadley Lewis and Jake Brown
Article:

Despite their different backgrounds, husband-and-wife owners of the newly-opened La Bodega furniture store on Main Street share a passion for fine furniture.

Maria Quintana grew up in Sudbury, Mass., and recalls being exposed to that area's sense of history. And Lalo Quintana, who is from Mexico City, had been a stage manager for a large entertainment firm in Mexico. He's mixed it up with big entertainment names, like Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Kiss, and The Rolling Stones.

Today, the Montpelier couple works as a team restoring, repairing and selling home furnishings including cabinets, desks, tables, chairs and mirrors. She tends to be the marketing person. He's the hands-on craftsman. They both believe believe in the virtues of old, well-designed and well-built furniture.

"Lalo loves restoring something and turning it into a work of art," Maria said. "We'd prefer to see people not going to Ames, for example, and spending $300 on new furniture that may or may not last. We'd like to see them come in here and spend that or maybe a little more but get something that will last another 100 years."

La Bodega stocks and takes on consignment a variety of "vintage" household furnishings, and with rare exceptions the furniture sells for less than $500.

The couple met in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico when they were both on vacation.

Maria was living in San Miguel de Allende, about four hours northwest of Mexico in the desert.

"I got off the bus in Puerta Vallarta and it was love at second sight, she said, noting she met Lalo through a mutual friend.

They got married and in 1998 moved to Vermont.

Lalo is a self-described "hard-core" mountain biker and Maria likes to play the violin and "be silly with the kids."

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