Dos Gallos Custom Round Walnut Wood Dining Table With Stacked Pyramid Pedestal

What began as a couples’ antique hunting adventure across the Guatemalan countryside has since become Los Angeles–based studio Dos Gallos — a treasure trove of 18th- and 19th-century furniture, accessories and ceramics steeped in Spanish, Latin American, European and Japanese history.

The story of Dos Gallos (the name is a nod to Guatemala’s most popular beer, Gallo) began in 1993 when founders Gail and Charles Boswell took a stroll past a Santa Monica antique store on one of their first dates. Altman fell in love with a Guatemalan wood table and couldn’t stop thinking about it. A few weeks later, the pair left for Guatemala, scouring the country’s rural villages for antiques and collectibles.

After amassing a considerable haul, Altman and Boswell secured a container and shipped their finds back to their L.A. home. They held a backyard sale for friends and acquaintances, and within a week, they sold everything. 

Shortly after that, Altman and Boswell opened the Dos Gallos Studio, situated in a 1920s former makeup factory near Hollywood, where it still operates today. Although the shop is filled with antique furniture and other curiosities sourced from Central America, Asia and Europe, Dos Gallos also specializes in creating bench-made, hand-finished wood cabinets, buffets, credenzas, dining room tables, center tables and other pieces in modern and rustic styles.

Interior designers, architects and collectors highly seek Dos Gallos’ furniture. Their pieces have also featured in major publications throughout Europe and the United States, including Elle Décor, LUXE, InStyle, Traditional Home and the Los Angeles Times Magazine.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of Dos Gallos case pieces, storage cabinets and tables.

Based in Los Angeles, Dos Gallos Studio is a labor of love, brought about by Gail and Charles Boswell. Using materials like walnut, mahogany, bronze, railroad spikes, rattan and driftwood, the studio finely crafts a wide array of timeless tables, armoires, chairs and bedroom sets. Additionally, their Dos Gallos gallery holds a collection of one-of-a-kind, antique, vintage and folk art and design pieces from around the world, with a special emphasis on Guatalman works.

Back in the early 1990s, while on an afternoon stroll with Charles, Gail saw an antique table from Guatemala in a shop window. Altman, who ran her own antiques store at the time, had an immediate appreciation for the piece’s craftsmanship and became obsessed with Guatemalan art and furniture.

The duo flew to the Central American country, rented a pickup truck and began to search for authentic objects. Charles relates, "We would go to small villages in the countryside and ask them if they have anything they want to sell." Over the course of their journey, they amassed a trove of rare pottery, rustic wooden furniture, metal chocolate pots and other uncommon goods.

The Boswells shipped the treasures home, and opened Dos Gallos in 1993. The gallery flourished, as notable interior designers and architects like Martyn Lawrence-Bullard and Marc Appleton often purchased rare artwork and furniture to adorn the spaces they designed. As Dos Gallos’ popularity grew, the partners introduced Japanese antiques into the collection.

Clients began to request custom-built furniture to accompany the well-aged works they picked up at the gallery. So, the Boswells started producing chairs, benches and many other types of furniture and collectibles in modern or rustic silhouettes, often inspired by their favorite Latin American and European pieces. Their warehouse is also their office, and a showroom displays the eclectic array of unusual objects they've collected alongside their own creations.

On 1stDibs, find seating, storage pieces and tables by Dos Gallos Studio.