When Apolonio Montoya and Sam Garcia told their friends and family they were going to open a furniture store in Santa Fe, there was an outcry of disbelief.

" 'You guys are crazy,' is what they told us," Garcia said. " 'This is a tough time. Don't do it.' "

The weak economy wasn't the only problem. There was also the money.

Furniture stores don't have access to floor-plan financing like automobile dealers do. That means
a furniture store owner has to finance the inventory him or herself or find somebody with deep pockets to do so.

Montoya and Garcia, who both were working at Country Dan's Sleep Gallery at the time, decided to go ahead anyway. Both had years of experience in the furniture business and wanted to run their own shop.

They also had an ace in the hole — two, actually. Those would be Steve and Chris Montaño, who own Southwest Financial, a Santa Fe loan agency. The Montaños put up the money to get Sienna's Furniture on its feet.

"They made us an offer we couldn't refuse," Montoya said with a laugh, which included an ownership position in the store, a good salary and profit sharing for both men.

Montoya and Garcia first had to find a space for Sienna's, and that turned out to be the former home of Santa Fe Harley Davidson, 3501 Cerrillos Road, next door to Trailer Ranch, a mobile home and RV park. The store is in a 10,000-square-foot building.

Sienna's Furniture, which will celebrate its first anniversary next month, sells all kinds of bedding and furniture — sofas, easy chairs, dinettes, rugs and more.

Most of the furniture in the store is from Ashley Furniture Industries, a large furniture manufacturer and importer. Other furniture companies include Coaster Fine Furniture and Southerland Quality Bedding.

"We are an Ashley dealer," Montoya said

As for prices, "we can compete with anybody," Montoya said. "We can meet or beat anybody's prices."

And that's even in tough times, as people aren't shopping like they do when the economy is stronger.

"We could be doing a lot better" if the economy were stronger, said Garcia, who has been working in the retail business in Santa Fe since 1977.

But even small sales help, Montoya said. "One sale can make our day."

The two tried to call attention to their store on a recent Saturday by flying some balloons on long lines in front of the store's parking lot, but that didn't last long.

"Some (city of Santa Fe) code- enforcement officers came by and told us we couldn't fly any balloons at all," Garcia said.

The busiest times of the year at Sienna's Furniture are around the holidays, when relatives come to visit, and during tax filing season, when some customers have cash to spend from their tax returns on big-ticket items.

Many customers pay cash for their purchases, and others use their credit cards.

Some make loans from Southwest Financial, which can offer several financial arrangements, including a first-time buyers program for those with good credit. That means they will receive a low interest rate.

Those with poor credit can also obtain loans, but they will have to pay higher rates to do so, Montoya said.