18 January 2010 was the day we talked about design and Barcelona. As one of the world’s design capitals, it is funny how the city and nation’s history lead to it’s current position. Design among many things were becoiming strong forces within Spain and Catalunya before Franco came in and halted the freedom of design that had been flourishing.
Architects, designers, artists, and intelects had made thier way out of the country as time progressed but once Juan Carlos came in and set Spain on the track for democracy, the world of design changed. Designers found themselves designing for themselves and eachother, and the concept of a well designed or nice product was for the wealthy but the ’70s and ’80s were the turning point when the world of design hit the average person.
Vinçon is a design store/gallery that has been in business since the 1940s. It held to it’s roots – only selling the best – and was invaluable in bringing design to the people in the ’70s. We spent the rainy morning at the store, taking a tour of the store which sits in the hear of the city near La Pedrera (Gaudi’s famous Casa Mila). The tour was an exploration of Vinçon’s history and was given by the guy who has been there every step of the way, Fernando Amat. After the tour, we were sent to check out rug designer Nani Marquina’s store.
Nanimarquina is also located at the heart of the city’s L’Eixample district. We went in, played around in the white gallery of rugs, and then headed up to the top floor where they had a huge version of their logo among sketches. The store let us begin on the other side and we enjoyed the making our mark on Barcelona.
» Photos of Vincon and Nanimarquina
The day brought us back to the studio, which is the newest facility at CIEE. Some pictures are included in today’s images.
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