Certo Shop
Why We Love It | From Cangas do Morrazo, Jose and Rubén opened a small but beautiful space, Certo Shop, in which vintage and current design pieces, carefully selected by them, coexist.
They love to travel and discover through Europe the pieces that they later restore and offer in the store.
A real luxury ready to enjoy in their beautiful space.
Where to find | www.certoshop.es
All pictures are from Certo Shop
How was Certo Shop born?
We start thinking about our project when we visited antique fairs and shops or simply spaces that caught our attention for their concept or shopping experience.
At first it was more of a dream that we discussed as a couple as something that motivated us to continue with our jobs to be able to do it later, but in 2017 we were both unemployed and we decided to make it a reality.
In the summer of that same year, we decided to rent a van and travel to the fairs in the south of France without really knowing what we were going to find.
We both agree that it was the best trip of our lives so far, but what we were doing at the time was still a long way from what we are now.
We began to restore the pieces that we got on that trip without much knowledge but with a lot of dedication and desire to do it well, we set up our online store and gradually learned how to continue shaping it.
Until a little over a year ago we had to combine it with other jobs to be able to support ourselves and it was precisely in the year 2020, shortly before the declaration of the State of Alarm, when we began to think about opening a physical store.
In the new space we wanted to have pieces of crafts, illustrators and brands that would inspire us in general.
With a good number of suppliers already contacted and about to start placing orders, they tell us that we have to stay home indefinitely.
At first, as for everyone, it was a jug of cold water, but we psyched ourselves up, continued working through the online store and took advantage of the time to perfect the project with our sights set on 2021.
We finally managed to open the physical store on May 29 and the truth is that we are sure that without that parenthesis that the pandemic gave us, Certo would not be what it is right now.
Who are you?
Behind Certo we are Jose and Rubén.
Jose studied photography and Rubén textile design.
In any case both of us have had many and very varied jobs since we were very young and we suppose that all of them contribute in some way to what we are doing now.
At Certo we have learned to do everything.
We only have contracted a consultancy that handles tax matters for us and everything else is on our own, using a little of the knowledge and experience that we already had and, above all, of what we have been learning since we started the project.
We select the pieces, restore, upholster, photograph, design and manage the online store, we carry the RRSS and now we also run the physical store.
There has been a lot of trial and error in these five years in which the project itself has become a constant training in everything that we need to move forward.
Now, for a year now, we have also had the collaboration of Miguel and Raquel, a Spanish couple who live in a small town four hours north of London and who are in charge of buying much of the English and Danish furniture for half of 20th century that we have in our catalogue.
Traveling is our inspiration and also meeting other shops and professionals that we admire
JOSE & RUBÉN
What makes you unique?
Certo is a very personal project because we love everything we offer.
There are many things that freak us out and they are not for pricing policy issues or because it is logistically complicated, but what is there is because we like it and deeply respect the work behind it.
We don’t believe either the “height of originality” because what we sell is available to “everyone”, but we do believe that the selection is unique.
And it is because the different pieces of vintage furniture and decoration that we personally select and restore and those of our craft brands or supplier illustrators build that, a very unique and appetizing combination.
There are many stores with concepts similar to ours, we have not invented anything, but the cool thing about this type of store is that we believe that it is impossible for there to be one the same as the other.
People are also often quite surprised that we have opened in a small town like Cangas, perhaps that also gives it a different point from other stores of this type that are in larger cities.
How do you define Certo Shop in a few words?
Certo is a space where vintage and current design pieces coexist that inspire us and that we enjoy selecting and showing to our clients.
How is the Atlantic culture reflected in your work?
We are from Compostela and Cangas.
We were clear from the beginning that the store had to be in Cangas.
The Atlantic culture is part of who we are and from the door of our store we see the Ría every day.
On Tuesday and Friday mornings we listen to the hustle and bustle of the market and on weekends when we close at lunchtime, it is rare that we do not drop by to have a Lodeiros vermouth and a few rations in the places that surround us.
The truth is that today we only understand Certo in this environment.
