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The horse’s name, for the English-speaking, was Chocolate, and it held a special place in the life of Juan Piña, speaking to a past of proud mounts, dusty arenas and family gatherings that celebrated the Mexican cowboy.

“It was a much-loved horse,” Piña said, explaining the presence of its mounted head overlooking a display of rodeo gear and attire at his New Life Furniture store at 1944 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines.

This is a store, with its mix of handcrafted sofas and chairs, nickle-and-silver show saddles and Mexican arts and crafts, that represents Pina’s hope for the future as much as his love of his past and culture.

Juan and Martha Piña were looking for a safe harbor where their children could grow up when they moved to Des Moines from California in 2006.

Juan Piña had been a kitchen manager for a Cheesecake Factory Inc. restaurant in the Los Angeles area. Martha Piña came from four generations of carpenters and furniture makers extending to America from the state of Zacatecas in central Mexico.

Her brother, Jose Mejiea, builds much of the hardwood furniture on the floor at New Life, shipping it from his shop in the Los Angeles area.

Juan Piña also had family in Des Moines, a brother and sister who bragged about the area’s family-friendly atmosphere where their two children could attend school in safety.

It was an area that rewarded hard work and hope.

And it presented a dramatic change.

“From Los Angeles to Des Moines, it’s everything from the weather to the lifestyle,” Piña said.

Before moving, the couple bought the dilapidated building on East Grand Avenue.

They painted the exterior a lively yellow and hauled away refuse accumulated over years of neglect, including engines, transmissions, old washing machines, refrigerators, even restaurant equipment.

“It was trash, let me tell you,” Piña said.

Today it is a tidy patchwork of mahogany and cherry wood, mesquite and pine, all fashioned into stout Mission-style furniture.

Surrounding the furniture are paintings and figurines and red clay pottery collected on trips back to Mexico.

“We pick what we like, and we look for something unique,” Piña said.

He is attracted to artisans working in small shops, and he encourages customers to take a look at photographs of the artisans at work that he snaps on a digital camera and preserves on a computer hard drive.

The red clay pottery is made by a family that leaves their mark as a hand-scratched “jimom” on their wares – plates and bowls and ornaments with finely detailed paintings of wildlife and desert plants and flowers.

“These are people who don’t get paid much for their work,” Piña said. “We buy directly from them.”

The store’s prices seem somewhat low, given the quality of the workmanship.

“With Martha and me and our family, we don’t have much overhead,” Piña said.

Piña’s nephew drives delivery trucks for the store, and at any given time the store is filled as much with the Piñas’ children and their nieces and nephews as it is with customers.

The slow economy is presenting a challenge, but Piña said the store is getting more recognition both within and outside the Hispanic community that he anticipated would make up his initial customer base.

He likes to boast of the growing Hispanic population both in Des Moines and the state.

“It is a challenge right now, but we are seeing growth,” Piña said. “We have a lot of people who drive by several times before they decide to stop.

“They generally don’t buy anything the first time they are here, but then they see the quality and they come back.”

It is with the Hispanic community in mind that the Piñas promote Mexican rodeos.

They have won approval from the city of Des Moines to host events at their Rancho El Carretero near Southeast 30th and Maury streets, and they are waiting approval to host a rodeo later this month at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Jose Piña said that word of the rodeo could spread in the Hispanic community within a day’s notice of receiving the go-ahead from fair officials.

The rodeos are based around team competitions, rather than individual events, and they include grand parades in which children wear bright attire and grown-ups sport the cowboy equivalent of formal wear, including felted sombreros that Juan Piña said are the equivalent of tuxedos.

For Piña, the store with its eclectic mix is all about bringing his culture to farm country. He is optimistic that it will work out.

“It’s growing, and it looks like it’s going to go,” he said.