Posts
Profile: Vajillas de Ultramar: The Beauty of Imperfection
“We want to create small pieces of art that are simple, but full of soul. Our motivation is to be able to give our customers pieces for their daily lives that make them happy.” María José Díez, an art and design enthusiast, and Natalia López, a dancer and model, founded Vajillas de Ultramar in 2014.…
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5 of the Best Portable Lamps Made in Spain
Portable lamps create an immediate connection between user and object like few other design elements. Not normally intended for task lighting, they give that nice, soft ambient glow that creates an atmosphere. Place it on an outdoor table to create an intimate dining experience. Move indoors and put it on the floor next to a…
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Profile: Ábbatte: Fine Contemporary Spanish Craftsmanship
“We create artistic objects for daily life, made with natural yarns in an artisan way”. Ábbatte creates exclusive textile pieces made with the finest silk, alpaca, cashmere, wool and linen yarns sourced from around the world. Elena Goded Rambaud and her daughter, Camila Lanzas Goded, launched the company in 2013, after careers as a university…
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Journal: A Month in Spain
This is the final installment of my four-part series about my month in Spain in the summer of 2019. August 6-9, 2019 August 6, 2019 My month in Spain is coming to an end. We returned to Madrid from Cala de Finestrat yesterday afternoon and are at the ibis Madrid Centro las Ventas Hotel, where…
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COVID-19 and the Spanish Design Industry
I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. Micheal Jordan As many know, Spain has been one of the countries hardest hit by the…
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Profile: The Artist Felipao: The Vivacity of Colour
“I think that art has a cathartic power and therefore the protagonist of my creations is color. I do not usually use sad colors, I want my work to convey optimism, light, strength and spirit”. Spain for Design interviewed Felipao, the artistic name of Felipe Garcia-Bañon Sanz-Briz. The son and grandson of diplomats, he was…
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Journal: A Month In Spain
July 28-August 5 July 28, 2019 Benidorm About a ten-minute drive from my father-in-law’s home in Cala de Finestrat, Benidorm is a town that is well-known in Spain and in certain circles abroad. Loved by some and loathed by others, it is notorious for mass tourism, cheap eateries, tower blocks clouding the skyline and drunken…
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Book Nook: Three Essential Books about Spanish Design
Design, interior design in particular, is an ever changing field; change for family needs, change for technological needs and change just for change’s sake. Despite some designers’, perhaps futile, attempt to design “timeless” spaces, interiors featured in period or old books written even just ten years ago may appear dated or generic to today’s Instagram-savvy…
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Casa Decor 2020
After temporarily closing its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Casa Decor 2020 reopened. Casa Decor is one of the most important design events in Spain. This year, for its fifty-fifth edition, over 200 exhibitors and 114 Spanish and multinational companies showcase interiors, product design, innovations and trends. With different Madrid locations for each edition,…
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Essential Books about Artisan Traditions, Design and Lifestyle in Spain
The links below may have affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy. Please note this website is a participant in the Indigo Affiliate Program which allows it to earn commissions from Indigo if you make a purchase on indigo.ca after linking through this website. Artisans The books listed here provide an excellent overview of workshops…
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