2020 Gift Guide: Made-in-Spain Gift Ideas

Twill White Baby Alpaca Blanket Image courtesy of Abbatte

These ten made-in-Spain items are picks for my 2020 gift guide for the holiday season. Accessories, lighting, and furniture from well-known brands and small workshops, there is something for everyone, including that hard-to-shop-for someone. Buy one or combine them for a great gift basket. There is even a basket on the list. A handcrafted vegetable…

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Book Nook: Lorenzo Castillo

LORENZO CASTILLO BOOK COVER

“Without this training in the decorative arts I would not have become the designer and interior designer I am today. It is perhaps what differentiates me from others and characterizes my style. It is said that Picasso believed that one could not be modern without having been classic before. I believe that I could not…

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Book Nook: Isabel López-Quesada at Home

-Isabel-Lopez-Quesada-

“Neither minimalist or maximalist, I suppose I belong in some undefined category in between”. Isabel López-Quesada Isabel López-Quesada at Home: Isabel López-Quesada (Author), Amy Astley (@amyastley) (Foreword), Miguel Flores-Vianna (Photographer). Published by Vendome Press. I admit to being one of those design addicts with curiosity, perhaps voyeuristic, about the personal spaces of my favourite designers.…

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Book Nook: Luis Bustamante: New Perspectives

LUIS BUSTAMANTE_COVER

“A huge percentage of me is aesthetic per se while the other part is about introspection, solitude, madness, everything that art involves.” Luis Bustamante Ana Domínguez Siemens (Author), Gabriela Garza (Author), Zelika García (Author). Publisher: This Side Up. Luis Bustamante is one of the most celebrated interior designers from Spain. His studio has developed projects…

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Book Nook: Ibiza Bohemia

Ibiza Bohemia

Ibiza Bohemia Maya Boyd (Text), Renu Kashyap (Producer), Published by Assouline (June 2017) Every once in a while, one comes across a coffee table book so engaging that it not only feeds us with knowledge and induces us to linger at the images, but it also encourages us to immerse ourselves in a place. Ibiza:…

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Book Nook: Three Essential Books about Artisan Traditions in Spain

HANDMADE SPAIN BOOK

Devotees of local crafts fairs seek them out not only for pleasure but as a respite from shops selling massed-produced items made elsewhere. They provide an opportunity to purchase one of a kind pieces, support local businesses, which in turn may contribute to retaining or reviving age-old traditions that may otherwise disappear. Crafts are often…

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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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Book Nook: Three Essential Travel Guidebooks About Spain

Eyewitness Travel Spain

Although many travelers search for the most current information about their destinations on the web, I believe that travel guidebooks still have their place as valuable resources. They save hours of research by providing readers with a one-stop overview of information about side trips, tips on saving money, accommodation and excursions that the reader may…

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