Achieving at Every Age – Lise And Suzanne From ULLOO 42: Combining Modern Furniture With An Art-Cycled Edge
In a world full of classic and traditional furniture designs, we all need a piece of furniture that will stand out from the rest and represent a story for itself. Lise and Suzanne from ULLOO 42 know this at heart. Their furniture and decor tailors to the needs of every artsy lover – and is destined to become a focal piece in any living room, office space or gallery.
Our first question to Lisa and Suzanne is about the name of their furniture business and where it derives (or comes) from. Contrary to what many may see as spontaneous, the name comes from unique translations of the word home, combined with a number which is very balanced.
As Lise, one of the founders explains:
“Suzanne and I wanted a unique and interesting word for our business that had some connection with the home. We looked into translations for the word home and settled on “ULO” which is an Igbo African dialect. As Suzanne spent part of her childhood in Africa, we liked this parallel.
However, we thought the word would look better and more interesting if we added an L and an O – so it became ULLOO (which can also mean Owl in Hindi). The number 42 is a very balanced number. It has many meanings but the simple one being 4 the structure (legs) which holds up the furniture items such as tables, chairs, sofas etc., and 2 for the 2 of us. Subsequently we found out that it is also “The meaning of Life” in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
The Meetup That Changed Lise And Suzanne’s Lives
The story of Lise and Suzanne is quite interesting. It all began in 2001 when they literally bumped into one another at the Anthropology in Newport Beach, when Suzanne was working as the display artist at the store and Lise was shopping. As they both say, there were many ups and downs in their lives – and situations that they managed to get over together.
“We found out that we had many things in common including both being English. Over the years we met socially but it was not until two sad events that we began our professional collaboration. My husband passed away late 2011 and Suzanne was going through a divorce, we found ourselves alone and I asked Suzanne to help me remodel and totally change the look of my home so we decided it would be easier if Suzanne moved in with me while we worked on the house together. “
After moving in together, they both worked on the design and remodel of their home – which inspired them to create their brand and put all of their creativity to work, creating unique pieces of furniture and evolving to a brand.
“Suzanne and I collaborated on the interior design and remodel of that home and other homes in London and Amsterdam. We found that we worked very well together and had the same aesthetic so when Suzanne suggested in the summer of 2016 that she would like to re-imagine and upcycle some interesting pieces of furniture that she came across in her travels I decided to invest in the idea that became ULLOO 42,” Lise says.
‘Age Is Not A Barrier When You Feel Passionate About What You Want’
Perhaps the most interesting part about Lise and Suzanne’s partnership is the fact that they launched a business whilst in their sixties. This is what, according to them, can encourage a lot of women to test their creativity and put their entrepreneurial spirit to motion.
The unique perspective that both Suzanne and Lise followed, is according to them, the following:
“Suzanne and I do not feel our age, in fact we don’t even think about being in our 60’s. We both have a lot of energy and many interests and we feel life is just beginning. We both have a sense of being in the right place at the right time.”
More importantly, they don’t see any boundaries when it comes to age.
“We are having so much fun with this creative business and meeting so many interesting people along the way, we want to continue as long as we can – into our 80’s or 90’s. After all, age is no barrier to starting a new career or business if you feel passionate about what you want. Have confidence in yourself and keep positive. Many young people have expressed to us that they feel very motivated by the fact that life can be incredibly fulfilling by doing what you love, no matter what age you are. Also women in their 60’ and 70’s and beyond will be encouraged to have confidence in themselves and follow the “just do what you love” ideology.”
While Suzanne is trained as a classical artist, Lise comes from more a business background and has worked in real estate. This combination was ideal from the start – and what led to ULLOO 42’s creative aspect – fulfilling for both of them.
A Final Word
Even though both Lise and Suzanne experienced challenges in their career, they are committed to growing the brand and expanding while exploring more and more possibilities of artistic collaborations and partnerships.
Their end goal is to have their own house where people can come, spend time, browse, shop, have coffee and indulge in the world of art-cycled furniture.
And before that happens, all customers should feel free to check out some of ULLOO 42’s unique, vintage and art-cycled furniture collections by visiting their online shop at https://www.ulloo42.com.
