Where to find good quality equipal?

Any ideas? thanks!

Take a drive to Zaqualco de Torres, it is on the free road to Colima. Zaqualco is noted for its fine Equipal.

Some of the nicest equipale you will ever see can be found at the Adobe in Tlaquepaque: http://www.adobemarthafigueroa.com.mx/index.php?sk=catalogo&cat=1
Certainly not inexpensive but their equipale is made in their own factory and the quality shows.

There is also a shop in Tonala take a left at the main light onto Ave. Tonala and it will be on your left. Some of their details approach those of the Adobe products and they are definitely a step above the norm.

Marty's suggestion is also excellent!

Minervajt wrote:Any ideas? thanks!

Right now we have a high quality equipale maker at the Chili Cook Off. Spend 20 pesos and save a long drive.

Make sure you coat the wood that the chairs are made of with two coats of Pentaprisa or Pentadragon to keep the termites from munching away. Termites love untreated wood.

DaveP wrote:

Minervajt wrote:Any ideas? thanks!

Right now we have a high quality equipale maker at the Chili Cook Off. Spend 20 pesos and save a long drive.

I'm not much of an equipale fan, but that stuff at the Cookoff is really impressive. And, yes, I have been to the town - Zacualco de Torres? - before. It's kind of fun to poke around the town and into the shops where it's made, but a trip to the Cookoff would be a really efficient way to see high quality equipale.

There are many good shops where you can buy equipal. Try online shopping for this, there are many good sites where you can buy instead of any shop. I think this is a good way to save our time as well as money.

well I would agree with that if I were in the US but Ajiic is an hour from the place where all the makers come from , I would skip the internet and go and check out the manufacturers directly. Some stores in Tlaquepaque and Tonala have good ones and the Chili cook off and the Maestos de Arte also have great ones.
You cannot check the quality on the internet.

what exactly is "good quality"? i prefer the traditional style and the guy across from soriana in chapala makes that. a chair is $450p. we had an old one that needed the pigskin replaced-$350 with a 3 day turn around.
they are quite comfortable and we have 2 and a love seat on our patio.
the grass ain't always greener.

Pedro wrote:what exactly is "good quality"? i prefer the traditional style and the guy across from soriana in chapala makes that. a chair is $450p. we had an old one that needed the pigskin replaced-$350 with a 3 day turn around.
they are quite comfortable and we have 2 and a love seat on our patio.
the grass ain't always greener.

Agree with you Pedro on this guy, as he has made all of my equipal, or his family which are next to Junky Munky.
He can be a little sloooow, sometimes

When one has never shopped anywhere other than WallyWorld, it is virtually impossible to understand what quality, materials and design are all about! WallyWorld, K-Mart, Dollar General and similar type stores are experts at defining the "lack of thought process" to be exclusively based upon price.

I managed to find some nice quality bar stools in Tonala. It's worth a try.

CheenaGringo wrote:When one has never shopped anywhere other than WallyWorld, it is virtually impossible to understand what quality, materials and design are all about! WallyWorld, K-Mart, Dollar General and similar type stores are experts at defining the "lack of thought process" to be exclusively based upon price.

i never knew these stores carried equipale furniture. as to understanding what quality design and materials are,i believe most of us on here know that. my question was rhetorical. traditional equipale is made from wood and pigskin. that's why ya can't buy a proper pork hock or ham with skin on where ever they make equipale or chicharones here in mexico.

Pedro wrote:

CheenaGringo wrote:When one has never shopped anywhere other than WallyWorld, it is virtually impossible to understand what quality, materials and design are all about! WallyWorld, K-Mart, Dollar General and similar type stores are experts at defining the "lack of thought process" to be exclusively based upon price.

i never knew these stores carried equipale furniture. as to understanding what quality design and materials are,i believe most of us on here know that. my question was rhetorical. traditional equipale is made from wood and pigskin. that's why ya can't buy a proper pork hock or ham with skin on where ever they make equipale or chicharones here in mexico.

My barstools are made from wrought iron and pigskin. The quality is excellent, and the price was right.

Brigitte has it right. I went to Zocoalco to check them out and the town is loaded with furniture builders. Good prices, better than here, and you can choose styles I have not seen here in Chapala, some quite beautiful. Many more options available there and they are willing to negotiate, which I haven't found here. About the same drive time as Tonala without the furious traffic issues. See the country!

I am selling a table and 6 chairs if interested

We found high quality well cushioned equipal furniture at the Feria des Artes two years ago. The fair will be back in Chapala this fall. Highly recommend it. BTW - my hubby calls the regular equipal furniture "achy pal" -- the cushioning on our stuff makes it nice to sit in for long Domino games etc.

holdrja wrote:We found high quality well cushioned equipal furniture at the Feria des Artes two years ago.  The fair will be back in Chapala this fall.  Highly recommend it.  BTW - my hubby calls the regular equipal furniture "achy pal" -- the cushioning on our stuff makes it nice to sit in for long Domino games etc.

we have 2 "ordinary" traditional chairs and a love seat which are well upholstered on the seat and are extremely comfortable.
one was redone because the leather split, by the guy across from soriana for $350p and is still comfortable.

Good quality and comfortable equipales can be found locally, the people here who make them are all from Zacoalco however if you are looking for fancier or different designs, different type of leather or skins and so on you need to go to Zacoalco, Tonala or Tlaquepaque.
A very good maker from Zacoalco is coming to the Feria de Los Maestros this year again. The Feria will take place at the Yacht club betweeen Nov 15 and 17.

We bought our equipale from the vendor who was at the Chili Cookoff, but several months before. They are located in Zacoalco and have a cooperative with some other vendors there. The town has dozens of little tallers, and you can drive around to look at many of them. Most are tiny and have a very limited selection. The cooperative that makes the stuff shown at the Cookoff is deep within the bowels of the village, and their "showroom" with samples won't be found by wandering. You can call - the contact is Ramon Hernandez Moreno - and he will meet you at the outskirts of town to lead you to their manufacturing area and showroom.

The manufacturing "tour" is very informative. They will show and explain the process, the quality they use in places you don't see, and let you examine the various materials you can get the furniture made from (pig, cow, and other materials, with different quality and softness levels in the leathers). Then you can go to the showroom where they have examples of various chair/sofa types, so you can test to see which fits you best. There's a surprising difference - we hated some and found them uncomfortable, while others were just right. Order the style you like with your choice of material and finish. They will deliver to you Lakeside for just the price of gas.

Even if you don't end up buying there, it's a nice day trip and good way to learn about how Equipale furniture is made, with your own personal tour guide.

Ramon's phone numbers: landline 01-326-423-1010, cell 045-333-137-1543. He speaks very good English. When you drive to Zacoalco, go past the first entrance into town and you'll come to a "main" entrance with large archway. There's an OXXO (I think) right at the entrance, on the highway. That's a good place to meet Ramon - he originally tried to catch us along the highway, but we missed each other.

The cooperative apparently ships their furniture world-wide, including to hotels and restaurants. They sell at a showroom in Puerto Vallarta, with prices substantially higher than if you work with them directly. We were very happy with the quality of what they made for us, and it was completed and delivered on time. They even made a couple of custom side tables for us from a sketch. I give them a thumbs-up.

Heather