What makes a purchase “worth it”? The answer is different for everybody, so we’re asking some of the coolest, most shopping-savvy people we know—from small-business owners to designers, artists, and actors—to tell us the story behind one of their most prized possessions.
Who?
When Chelsey Luger cofounded Well For Culture in 2014, the modern wellness movement had been underway for quite some time. But there was one community noticeably missing. “There wasn’t any online presence of Indigenous voices in the wellness space,” she says. “We really sought to change that, and I think that we succeeded.” Well For Culture is an Indigenous wellness consultancy and grassroots initiative that’s rooted in cultural and ancestral knowledge.
Born and raised in North Dakota, Chelsey is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I am Lakota on my dad’s side of the family, from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and I’m Anishinaabe, or Ojibwe, from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa on my mom’s side of the family,” she explains. “My husband is from a totally different nation from me. He is in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa community, and my daughters are citizens of that nation as well. So we have an intertribal lineage in this family, and we work with Indigenous communities all over the U.S. and Canada.”
What, where, and when?
Chelsey came across the furniture brand Sixpenny on Instagram while in the market for a second couch. She and her husband wanted something soft and inviting to balance out the tan leather couch already in their living room, and they wanted to stick with earth tones. Although Chelsey fell in love with the love seat’s sleek design, comfort was her top priority when making the purchase about a year ago.
“It’s as cozy as I had hoped it would be,” she says. “I like nice things, but I don’t want to be precious about anything. I want everybody who’s in my home, both kids and adults, to feel comfortable.”
Why?
Chelsey’s design sensibilities are deeply rooted in her Indigenous background and culture. As she further explains, “I’m really influenced by Indigenous design and architecture in the sense that I really appreciate natural materials and earth tones. I love leather, I love linen. I love woven rugs. I love wood. Those are some of the elements that you’ll see throughout my house.”
