Silla Means Chair

A few months ago I popped into JM Dry Goods to admire the Bolivian blankets, handmade tapestries and other worldly things. But what really caught my eye were these chairs. I loved the supple leather and the industrial look of the exposed metal.

I had no idea where these chairs came from, but I assumed somewhere in Mexico, India or Morocco since that's where JM Dry Goods owner Michelle Teague sources a lot of the handcrafted pieces for her shop.

I'd been thinking about these chairs a lot and I sincerely wanted a bucket chair to call my own, but we were saving for a house. So, we've had to put off any really-nice-chair purchases for a little while. 

Then, just last week, I came across a little video produced by Levi's for "Made Here," a collection of handmade goods and apparel, all made in the USA by emerging artists. The featured craftsman, Joey Benton of Silla, talks about the inspiration behind the new line of sandals he's made out of leather leftover from his other projects. And what might those other projects be? Chairs!

Yes. Turns out Silla, based right here in Texas, makes the most amazing leather chairs that I have been ogling for so long. The leather chair mystery has been solved, ladies and gents. What a feeling. 

And here's the Levi's video: