SINGULARES MAGAZINE #5 JUNE - JULY 2013
INTERIOR DESIGN AND LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
#5
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ALMACENES POVEDA www.almacenespoveda.com
LOS MATERIALES CREAN ESPACIOS DE BELLEZA. Revestimientos · Pavimento · Sanitarios · Grifería · Radiadores · Cocinas
También nos encontrarás en:
Cañada Toledana, nº3 . 28971 (Madrid). Tlf. 91 814 0513 NOMBRE SECCIÓN
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Table of contents 6
EDITORIAL
26
SINGULAR & MASCULINE Interview with Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz
60
13
SINGULARES AT HOME P. 60 Eixample in pure state
STAFF
15
CONTRIBUTORS
16
KALEIDOSCOPE P. 16 Here comes the sun P. 18 Extra-heat P. 20 Summer wishes P. 22 A midsummer night’s lights P. 24 Pasley & acid summer
38
ADVERTORIAL Nitelshop Colectors of very special pieces with history
P. 82 Changing
48
GENIUS LOCI The Chinese Birdwatchers
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96
SINGULARES PREMISES Cala Bandida
140
SHOPPING ROUTE VALENCIA
112
ADVERTORIAL Sleeping and enjoying the Valencian Moon
150 120
2.0 COMMUNITY Ameskeria is imagination
IN PROCESS A-before-and-after of: Casa Decor 2013 Cover image Lilia Koutsoukou
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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AS WE
ARE
We are about to (finally) welcome summer, after a spring that practically was conspicuous by its absence. If we stop to consider it, we realize that half of the year is gone so why not making a decorative balance of this period? We set our house as our intimate universe, where everything is possible, and in there we keep gathering our private treasures, recollections of travels, received inheritances, shopping at street markets until we form an amalgam of objects that defines us.
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Our house identifies us and represents our way of life. Many times we don’t think about it but our home becomes the exact expression of our personality through these singularities that make it unique and different from the rest. It is like a mirror that projects us and in which we could see us as we are. Anyone who wants to know us will do it just by entering our house, seeing its decoration and then, with just a glance they will be able to recognize many things that define us, our character, our occupations or what are our hobbies, even some craze.
Again, from Singulares, we have succeeded finding the spirit of the houses and local we show, reflecting the style and personality of its owners. In them you will find diverse elements, universes that get open to us and that we invite you to discover.
Bel茅n L贸pez Editor in chief
EDITORIAL
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Summer that imbues in our memory, unforgettable moments, objects and places that define our existence for the following seasons until a new solstice arrives.
EDITORIAL
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Lusi Photography lusiphotography.com
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VERANO EDITORIAL
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Add us to your interests’ lists
www.singularesmag.com
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The team.
STAFF
Belén López
Elena Valdés
Fran Soguero
Antioquía Interiorismo
Ministry of Deco
Etxekodeco
Maria Marcet
Natalia Ferrero
Olga Fernández
Tránsito Inicial
BlancoRoto
Mes Caprices Belges
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¡Thanks! ;)
CONTRIBUTORS
Álvaro Leco Fotógrafo
Anaïs Gordils Fotógrafa
Lucía López Fotógrafa
Lilia Koutsoukou Fotógrafa
Ariana Ruglio Traductora y fotógrafa
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BELEN’S FAVOURITES
Here comes
THE SUN
We are ready to welcome summer in style. The countdown is on and that is why we bring you lots of trends full of energy that will refresh our vitality.
Sofa Fritz Hansen
Savannah Story Bust Zebra Anthropologie Christian Lacroix dinnerware potteries Vista Alegre
Tealight Zara Home
Cabinet with drawers La Tienda a la Vuelta de la Esquina 16 | SINGULARESMAG #5
Luanda Missoni carpet DomésticoShop
Sun mirror Vintage and Chic
Necklace Poète
Wood owl La Tienda a la Vuelta de la Esquina
Wall lamp Detana
Galuchat sideoard with steel legs Castelló 120
Clutch Dayaday
Gucci dress Nêt à Porter
Table Objetoloty
High heels sandal Zara
Cushion Balakata
Eames DSW chair replica Icons Corner KALEIDOSCOPE
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ELENA’S FAVOURITES
EXTRA -heat When sunshine dazzles you and white walls blind you, the time to go in water has arrived. What will summer be without deep blue?
Dessert dishes Fine Little Day
Oriental flower print jumpsuit Oysho
Braided rattan bottle Alquián
Ceramic buckets Làpety
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Espadrilles Castañer
Lamp cluster Vintage Lights
Banana fabric Ocott
Bicycle Consignd
Palm tree lamp Modern Furniture
Coco clutch Uterq端e
Dog bed La tienda a la vuelta de la esquina
Hammered Metal stool Zara Home KALEIDOSCOPE
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FRAN’S FAVOURITES
SUMMER WISHES You maybe don’t need them, but until summer holidays arrive you can purchase any of this objects to carry on hot days. The problem is that you won’t be able to just choose one.
Andersen vintage buffet Maisons du Monde
Saint Raphael mobile table Maisons du Monde
Naïf trays Maison Artist Tempat Krupuc boxes Uma Natural
A life less ordinary bo Amazon
Egg chair La Recova
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Lady Décor & Me puff Decor & Me The Shop
Vintage Factory lamp Icons Corner
Botánica, 1967 vintage carpet Alquián Gräddig wall decoration Ikea
Bitossi Vase Alquián
e
e
Aromatic candle Zara Home
Patchwork armchair Uma Natural
Goya tin violets candle box Real Fábrica Española
Bambú business card holder García Madrid
David Delfín wine Pagos de la Sonsierra
ook
Small 60’s pick tables of Formica La Recova KALEIDOSCOPE
Derbi Arena shoe García Madrid SINGULARESMAG #5 | 21
MARIA’S FAVOURITES
A midsummer night’s LIGHTS Elements that define summer days, sun and outdoors music, refreshing drinks and the lights that lighten up our outer evening events.
Victorian tile style wallpaper Ottoyanna
Wood glasses Palens
Water hyacinth storage suitcase Toast
Linen sheets Merci
Pinapple glass Ikea 22 | SINGULARESMAG #5
Cutting boards DomésticoShop
Transparent LED Ikea
Greenhouse with rust effect Maisons du Monde
Stool Sputnik Customized Ukelele Etsy Diamond Lights Eric Thorner
Eames Elephant Vitra
Lamp bulb for nostalgics Vinรงon Lobe crystal for LED light bulb Merci KALEIDOSCOPE
Industrial fan Leroy Merlin SINGULARESMAG #5 | 23
OLGA’S FAVOURITES
&ACID SUMMER
PASLEY
Freshness and daring colours mixed up with relaxing shades to enjoy summer.
Yellow-Kakhi cushion Ottoyanna
Ubub parasol Maisons du Monde Bubble cushion Moniquilla
Litoral towel Textura Overdyed Terai Chair Anthropologie 24 | SINGULARESMAG #5
Bikini Women’s Secret
Heidy bag Textura
Onszelf White Washed Doors Ottoyanna
Crown Yemso
Emmanuelle armchair Maisons du Monde
Cรกmara Polaroid The Impossible
Table Icons Corner
Magazine Ganchitos KALEIDOSCOPE
Color Mix carpet Zara Home SINGULARESMAG #5 | 25
INTERVIEW WITH
BENJAMIN
NORIEGA-ORTIZ (BNO DESIGN) Nowadays Benjamín Noriega-Ortiz is recognized as one of the most stylish and influential interiors designer. His projects capture an unusual sense of light through the use of colour, materials and architecture and also thanks to the unexpected integration of timeless fashion. His sensual and even ethereal work perfectly matches architecture, interior design and decoration. Benjamin has opened the doors of his studio in New York for Singulares Magazine and this is what he has told us.
TEXT: BELÉN LÓPEZ. PHOTOGRAPHY: ANTOINE BOOTZ. MONDRIAN SOHO. MICHAEL LUPPINO.
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SINGULAR & MASCULINE
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Tell us five words that define you. Optimistic, funny, curious, attentive and personal. How were your beginnings and how has been the way since then? After graduating from my second master’s degree in architecture at the Columbia University, in New York,
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I worked as an architect for a few months in the city. When I realized that I liked more interior desgin, as I was able to control both architecture and decoration, I decided to apply in the firm of John Saladino, where I ended up working as director of the Department of Interior for nine years.
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Finally, I founded my design studio in October 1992 and we recently celebrated our 20 anniversary. In these twenty years we have designed projects as different as two residences for Lenny Kravitz, three hotels Mondrian, Cartier and Diptyque stores, both national and international projects (in Puerto Rico, in Paris...), and
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even windows at Barney’s in NY. What is the best lesson you’ve learned? This profession is not only artistic; it’s also a business. You have always to put an eye on bills, confirm that invoices are sent and charged when they have to be. Additionally, as head
of the study, I always need to know what each employee does, so I can predict how long each task will last. What make you fell proudest of all of your career? Each project is really special and has something unique. But, my projects, I always end up using ideas that were previously generated in the design of
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my own residences. I have been very lucky to have, over the years, four apartments and a house in which I have practiced design ideas. Each one is special and, by the way, we are about to write a book based on how my residences have influenced my design.
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Which decision has been the best you have taken? My best professional decision was moving to New York right after finishing my first master and staying after the second one. My best personal decision was shaving my head when I started to lose hair. What or who inspires you? Movies and traveling inspire me in my work, the beach in Puerto Rico and the simple life, inspire my way of seeing life day by day, and at the same time, my partner Steven and his sense of intuitive design guide many of my design decisions.
busier, Phillipe Starck, John Pawson, Velázquez, Cervantes..., the list is long. What remains to be done? I have always wanted to design a place of retreat: a monastery, a church, and a temple… Although I don’t consider myself religious in the slightest, I always finish reading about all kind of religions. It fascinates me to understand the concept behind the belief. When they are well designed, architecture and interior design should evoke feelings spiritual and sublime.
Which trend coming do you think that it’s coming? What do you love most about The trend that is coming and that your job? has been developed during this last I love to design all kinds of interiors, whatever what that you can fill in the decade is the recognition that design space environment. I love to collabo- is not only something exclusive, that rate with the customer, find out what it actually responds to personal desires. Thanks to television programmes he likes, what he needs and how is he going to use the space. It is a very and Internet, we have all learned a bit more about decoration and archinice relationship that lasts for years. tecture. The interiors are much more Tell us a person, alive or dead, that varied and eclectic, but still always allude to a special feeling. The best you like to know. interior design currently provides a I would have like to known Caravasensory and visual magic that helps ggio and Bernini as I am fascinated you remember them forever. by the Baroque period. Additionally, it would not be bad meeting Le Cor-
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Do you see many differences between the design that lives in a city like New York and the one that exists in? And what about Spain? Europe has always been at the forefront of design and this has not changed. Of course, New York receives these influences directly and is always very advanced on the latest trends. Every designer and architect wishes to work or do a project in New York so many ideas are born and developed here. In Spain, as far as I can tell, design is very special and there is not the fear of experimentation that you see here in America. Barcelona has always been at
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the front, but you can always found something wonderful in the rest of the country. Is there any special piece in your home that is specially significant? A pecial gift, a family heritage... Fifteen years ago my partner, artist Steven Wine, owner of ABYU Lighting, created a collage of photos taken on the streets of NY forms representing hearts during our first year together. On the back he wrote, “Only love is eternal.� I am sure that this piece and photos of my family have something special.
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BNO Design bnodesign.com
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NITELSHOP COLLECTORS OF VERY SPECIAL PIECES WITH HISTORY Nitelshop has not long entered the design world and it’s already well known for the quality of its furniture, the design pieces they sell and the 50’s and 60’style that represent them. The boutique is located in Albacete but if you’re not nearby you can find everything in their shop online.
TEXT: OLGA FERNÁNDEZ.
ADVERTORIAL
PHOTOGRAPHY: NITELSHOP.
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Cristina and Roberto are Nitelshop, a couple completely in love with art and design. Roberto spends most of his time working in Nitelshop and Cristina, as her job timetables in tourism are adaptable, can work together with Roberto. 40 | SINGULARESMAG #5
How did Nitelshop began? Due to personal circumstances we decided to go for what we really liked and were passionate for: the world of art and design. We’ve been collecting art and unique pieces and we had a wide number of contacts, friends and artists around the world related to collecting. One fine day we realized that if we were able to collect unique things for us, and having so many and good resources, why not doing it on a broad scale? And the truth is that we’re very happy. Going for the online store is harADVERTORIAL
der in the beginning but with such a job who cares working as much hours as necessary. Besides we’re constantly in contact with customers all over Europe, and we’re living in Albacete so this is a luxury! How would you define your shop? We have always seen Nitelshop from the point of view of the collector that’s why we’re always trying to find really special pieces, with full name, because we love to investigate the history hidden behind every object, furniture, lamp or artwork. SINGULARESMAG #5 | 41
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ADVERTORIAL
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One of our qualities is also that we make a great effort, as the collectors that we are, in finding items one by one all around the world. It is essential for us when we choose an object to know its origin and see that the conservation is good so we can guarantee the satisfaction of our customers, both in the online shop and in the showroom. Nitleshop is in Albacete’s town centre. How many meters squared has the local? And what makes the difference between you and other conventional locals? We decided to open a showroom in Albacete. It’s just in the town centre, in a small pedestrian street called Monjas in the number 6, where we enjoy the rehearsals of the conservatory musicians that are just across the street. The exhibition is about 100 m2 and you can find an assortment of furniture and artwork that you can also find in www.nitelshop.com. We have specially cared all the details on the local and we made everything, because we wanted it to be our shop window, handy as for the clients as for us. Besides we have always a pick up nearby, so we enjoy playing our vinyl from the 50’s and 60’s. We have also intended to keep artwork as a decorative object of our showroom so we want to organize exhibitions of our favourite artists from time to time. 44 | SINGULARESMAG #5
ADVERTORIAL
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How would you define your style? We actually love different styles and, above everything, mixing them, that is why we’re always looking for mid-century designs, furniture from the 50’s and the 60’s from France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Italy, England and the USA. Where do you look and find for furniture? Given our fondness for collecting, for a long time we have been making 46 | SINGULARESMAG #5
contacts in half the world and we now have great friends (also collectors) who assist us in the search for the best pieces. The selection of furniture is one of the most important things for us and we are lucky as we’ve been able to travel and to meet unknown collectors which whom we usually collaborate. A few years ago we possibly met the greatest collector of Verner Panton of the world. His house, entirely decorated by Panton, make such
an impact to us that, since then, we constantly collaborate with him. A special way to describe you… We are like two little ants, a hardworking couple that doesn’t mind working surrounded by beautiful pieces and making people like us happy.
Nitelshop Monjas, 44 · Albacete +34 967 675 856 nitelshop.com
ADVERTORIAL
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THE CHINESE BIRDWATCHERS
We met with The Chinese Birdwatchers to know a little more about them and discover the last things they are working on. For that we visit Catharsis, a coffee-work space where even ideas flow accidentally.
TEXT: BELÉN LÓPEZ.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: ÁLVARO LECO.
GENIUS LOCI
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They have already published their first disc and they are now preparing the second one, which will be released next fall. The Chinese Birdwatchers was born in 2009, at a crossroads in which the brothers Sierra, Jorge (double bass) and Raul (guitars), the American singer Heather Jo’Wel (voice), Iria Armesto (violin) and Nacho Rupérez (vocals and guitars) happening to meet. Its curious name comes from an article published in The Economist, entitled “The loneliness of Chinese birdwatchers”. Their eclectic music, explosive mixtures of poetry, folk, rock and bossa nova, sounds like a road trip through the American wilderness. All with a vintage, antique and melancholic style full of memories and details, as if it was sepia coloured picture. Singulares has already clocked them. Be attentive because these “birders” will give people a lot to talk about.
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GENIUS LOCI
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How did you met and how did the project started? Ours is a story of coincidences, of being in the right place at the right time. On one side Jorge and Nacho met in a music course in which Jorge was the teacher. Nacho showed him the songs he was writing and Jorge really liked them. On the other side, Jorge, Raul and Heather are 52 | SINGULARESMAG #5
family and had already play music together in the past. The latest to jump into the boat was Iria. Jorge and her met one night and talking about the idea, she decided to join the project. We started playing in the house that Jorge had at that time and, little by little, almost without realizing it, the project grew into what it is today. At the beginning we
did not imagine that this was going to grow that much, but at the same time everything has evolved in a very natural way. Have you ever felt like throw in the towel? What is making you go on straight and no loose your energies? We have been extremely lucky. In a GENIUS LOCI
moment so difficult and pessimistic as the current one we have created something very beautiful and that people likes. We haven’t stopped playing and have new projects. Perhaps the most complicated moment was finishing the first disc; it was a completely artisan process, a trial period which, due to various circumstances, lasted more than expected. SINGULARESMAG #5 | 53
At the end we spend more than two years doing and undoing until we finished at an impasse: the result wasn’t exactly that we wanted, but we could not redo it. As in any relationship, it is important to take steps forward and have projects that will grow to prevent the relationship dies of starvation. Once past that obstacle, we have continued to give steps forward and, most importantly, 54 | SINGULARESMAG #5
we still have many challenges to be overcome and dreams to meet. Are you working 100% in the music industry or do you have other occupations? We all have other occupations. The day we can dedicate all of our time to The Chinese Birdwatchers then we could say that we have succeeded! We are really lucky as we all like
what we do. The only complaint is that these occupations take us time to play. You’d be surprised the number of musicians who have multiple jobs. However, it is important to note that music is also a job that requires dedication, not only with the creative part of the process, but also with all the bureaucracy, promotion and production efforts that surround it and that we also have to deal with. GENIUS LOCI
In the end, we are like a small family business. Heather and Nacho write the songs but do you also compose the music? To be rigorous, the songs are from the five members of the group. Not only metaphorically as they are registered like this. It is true that Heather and Raul, on one side, and Nacho on the other side bring the SINGULARESMAG #5 | 55
tracks to the local. But this is only the raw material. Then, together, we shape them up to make them ours. Making a gastronomic analogy: Heather and Nacho brings food and then a team of world-class chefs cook them until they create a unique dish. On the next disc, there is also a novelty: a song originally composed by Heather and Jorge, something which - following the analogy - has given a new flavour to our dishes. How will you define your music? This is the most difficult question to answer ever! We are five people of very different ages and origins, so we have an infinite range of influences. What is clear is that we are a few absolute art-lovers: we like the pretty things and we apply that to the songs, but also to staging, the wardrobe and even our rehearsal local (we have the most tidy and beautiful local in the world!). In our music, there is a common factor, which is the taste for the details. In this sense, we make music in an old-fashioned way: live recorder (playing all at the same time, like the bands used to do it), barely without effects or electronics arrangements and always going for melodic lines.
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With which kind of sound or bands do you identify yourselves? This question is difficult to answer too, for the same reasons that we mentioned earlier, we are five people with different origins and diverse experiences. That is why we can listen from heavy metal to classical music, going through bossa nova, folk and electronic music. What is the last thing you’ve heard that you have loved? Richard Hawley, Blind Pilot (a band from Portland, they’re really good), Rodríguez (main character of the documentary Searching for Sugarman), a French band called Cocoon, the Australian Hiatus Kaiyote, Flight Facilities or Claire de Lune. As you can see it’s really mixed up. Have any of you bought lately a piece of furniture or decoration? If it is so, where? Which is your favourite store? Jorge: “I just move to a new home, so almost everything is new...” Nacho: “My favourite item is a painting of my uncle, Arturo Guerrero (www. arturoguerrero.net), who’s being working as an artist in New York for more than 20 years. In my family we have
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The Chinese Birdwatchers thechinesebirdwatchers.com Catharsis Valverde, 6 · Madrid catharsis.es
always loved art and this was the first piece I had and it’s from my uncle! I have a special affection to him. It represent the silhouette of a woman leaning on her own shoulder and is the first thing I see every day when I wake up.” Iria: “For me all the objects that I have are important. My house is like the window of a shop and all objects have their function and complement each other, so I can not choose.” Raúl y Heather: ““We have two very special items in our house: one is an old minibar that we now use as chest of drawers and that it’s at the entrance. The other is a small beautiful artdeco table, which was also a gift from Jorge. He had it in his old house and every time we visited him we were saying how beautiful it was, and one fine day he offered it to us. In the end, those small details with history are what give personality to a home, don’t you think?”
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What are your plans in an immediate future? The most important thing is the presentation of our second album, scheduled for after the summer. It is already recorded and we are working now on postproduction details. It is wrong that we say it but... It will be a great album! We are very excited and hope you have a good reception and, most importantly, that we can play without stopping. Later, most immediately is the launch of two video clips of our first album. The first is already recorded, and we will begin the second in the coming days. It will be very special and will include several surprises that we can not reveal. In addition, this summer we have several concerts, notably the one of Sonorama. It is our first performance in a national festival so it is a challenge and a great opportunity.
多A 2.0? So it is Singulares Magazine
www.singularesmag.com
EIXAMPLE IN PURE STATE In this house, located in the town centre of Barcelona, jazz and modern architecture coexists.
TEXT: OLGA FERNÁNDEZ.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: ANAÏS GORDILS.
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Impressive the mouldings and the tile floor of this stay. Recovered objects are mixed up with modern furniture as the Ikea sofa or the tables, made of recycled wood.
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Carolina, an event planner from Malaga and half the soul of the blog The Treasures, and Rhys, an Australian jazz musician, live together in a flat that fifty years ago was a textile workshop. The first time you enter in the flat you can’t take your eyes from the huge ceilings filled of mouldings and the constant changes of the pavement, the vast majority in original floor tile. It was on the living room where the mannequins were exposed covered with the creations and, actually, this living room breathes art in every wall: instruments, painting, vinyl LP, record players and old photo cameras.
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Details of antique photo cameras on the stair form furniture.
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The reindeer made of cardboars boxes is a gift from a friend of the couple.
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Most of the furniture is antique and recovered, as the armchair from the 50’s upholstered in blue shades.
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Or the waitress, who keeps all the spirits, that Rhys found in the street.
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Over the armchair we see original paintings from family and friends.
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In the record play area you can see an illustration from Ana Juan.
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The room is hidden behind a huge sliding door: a white ambience that is only break by some details as the cushions or the table lamp from the 50’s. 72 | SINGULARESMAG #5
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The white quilt is original from the India. Supported in the dresser a convenient picture of the hand of Buddha done in sand, original from Indonesia.
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The suit hanger transports us to the 50’s: a masculine style, sober and elegant.
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A small balcony was never so charming.
A few small balconies, filled with hydrangea, shrubs, aromatics, ivy and candles offer a magical decor when you look through their windows.
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NOMBRE SECCIÓN SINGULARES AT HOME
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Old tractor seats where used to create the stools situated in the hall. The mirror was already in the textile workshop that one day was this house.
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The original doors of the house were used to close part of the kitchen.
If we go back towards the entrance, a pair of antique white sliding doors largely camouflages the kitchen.
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The guest room is full of vintage details, like the mirror or the jazz prints.
The guest room maintains the same style with antique pieces like the mirror on the dresser. The bathing area, carried out in cement, highlights the details that decorate it.
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A cosy home, filled with pieces chosen with attention to detail and a successful outcome.
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CHANGING We visit the falt of Mercedes, in Hungary, a unique always-changing space where objects have several lives and life goes on decorating.
TEXT: ELENA VALDÉS.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: LILIA KOUTSOUKOU.
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In the space where the living room and the eat-in-kitchen coexists, Mercedes loves the lamps made with screens frames and the decoration with letters from Nordic inspiration which, moreover, are easy-to-change here and there
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The flat where Mercedes lives is not really a flat. Before the Second World War, the building where it is, in a little village in Hungary, used to house a single family. During the communist period, it vas divided in seventeen small flats with high ceilings and spacious rooms. As Mercedes says, “unfortunately our house wasn’t classified into this category.” In fact, it was a twenty-eight squared meters in ruinous space that was empty for many years with no chances to sell it. Until she came, witnessed his possibilities, and bought it
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for very little money. We may say that her house it’s actually her own creation. Her most important achievement was to get more meters with the installation of the attic. Now, the eat-inkitchen, the hall and the living room coexist in the ground floor while the two rooms, the toilet and the bathroom are in the first floor. Besides, there is a twenty-five squared meters terrace that belongs to the upper floor.
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Decoration is her biggest hobby in the house, as she says, “she has hereditary sensitiveness”. Her mother was a woman with good taste that was passionate of creativity; even if she didn’t had a lot of resources, beautiful objects and furniture always surrounded her. She taught
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her to be unique and daring, to follow her instincts when it came to design and, irrespective of fashions, to fill her house with her own style.
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Her valuable object is a silk carpet, a present from her mother, and the inspiration for combining red and pink. She made the lamp over the chest of drawers from a Tam Tam stool from Magis.
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The room of the little girl changes depending on her needs. Using spray paint she changes the objects and it doesn’t matter if after pink comes yellow in her ranking of favourite colours.
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In fact, her house is always evolving; she loves mixing up trends, as the only way to find truly innovative effects, but always keeping a white base, like a canvas in which she can reflect as many environments as her mind can imagine. The colours of the accessories can vary every week (literally) but the white base is eternal. She ensures that furniture has to be neutral, and that every dressing needed to create our own style can be obtained simply through the acces-
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sories, as they are those who, in the end, reveal the personality of who lives in a house. When we ask her about inspiration, the answer is so wide as her creativity: Internet, magazines, family and above everything, Takacs, her soul mate with whom she shares a column in a Hungarian magazine of design.
As a basis, Ikea furniture, vintage accessories and some classic pieces of 20th century design, like the Panton chairs.
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CALA
BANDIDA Standard bearers of passion: that is what Lucas, Stephan and Víctor are. And also the three partners who have started up a personal and vital project where interior design is called “exterior design” and opens to the sea.
TEXT: ELENA VALDÉS.
SINGULARES PREMISES
PHOTOGRAPHY: LILIA KOUTSOUKOU.
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Terrace furniture has been manufactured to measure in collaboration with Viva la Fusta.
The terrace of Cala Bandida exudes Mediterranean style through and through. Open, directly nailed in the port of Jávea, it’s like a boat aground at sea. Before Víctor, Lucas and Stephan designed their dream, this space was a drift business, which course Stephan decided to change and he did it in a short time. This was the reason why these three partners decided to go on for their project, born from constant references found in places like Las Vegas, Miami or Ibiza. 98 | SINGULARESMAG #5
Stephen and Lucas have made together an Iron Man, a test of overcoming not only physical, but also personal. They share with Victor, DJ and colleague of adventures (with eyes always wide open to capture trends), the need to live intensely. That is precisely the leitmotif of Cala Bandita, a local that looks to the sea and the neighbouring Balearic Islands, who wants to recover the pleasure of breakfast, of living in a chill out terrace and of enjoying the Mediterra-
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The pergola, whose structure is m is complemented by reeds creati
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made from recycled wood of scaffolding, ing shaded areas in the front of the premises.
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nean cuisine with the best fresh fish from the Bay (right next to the fish market)... And the truth is that taking the stairs and approaching the terrace is the only thing that is necessary to wonder whether another kind of
SINGULARES PREMISES
life is possible; if it is not possible to be, as they themselves say, a professional life lover.
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The traditional wicker from the porches and the “riu-rau” ceilings of Javea is updated in the chill out.
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The adaptation project of the restaurant is the work of Interior Designer Jessica Bataille. Among its purposes was, above all, to keep the Mediterranean spirit and make coexist in the same space elements of more traditional Javea. Typical wicker chairs are dressed in colourful prints on the terrace; the cane ceiling, reminiscent of the shadow of the “riu-rau� ceilings, is the perfect roof for long SINGULARES PREMISES
table talks, and opposite to the counter a wall covered with old wooden fruit boxes. Every corner is filled of witty solutions, all fresh and without complications, to reflect the authentic character of the land. At the end, it is clear that the important thing is to enjoy the good things of life.
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The furniture of the living room comes from the study of the Interior Designer Jessica Bataille. Some tables are from Ikea and they have been painted and pickled. On the ground, the mixture of rush mats has been the solution to dress without altering the budget.
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On the ceiling are installed Majorcan windows and antique doors, in a sort of colourist and vital mural.
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Without losing sight of the rural inspiration, represented in the opposite counter wall covere landscapes, as the recalled by the Moroccan lanterns that light up the bar.
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Cala Bandida calabandida.com
ed with fruit boxes, decoration gets inspiration from other further
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SLEEPING AND ENJOYING
THE VALENCIAN
MOON
Lovers of personal details, of hotels as a part of the trip and of living different experiences depending on the place they are about to visit are also lovers of rental apartments. In Valencia they have a home: My Sweet Home.
TEXT: ELENA VALDÉS.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: LILIA KOUTSOUKOU.
ADVERTORIAL
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The classic-style lounge is the meeting point after a day of shopping and sightseeing in the city.
Stendhal Syndrome is the inevitable attraction causing even palpitations at the sight of beauty and that’s exactly what we feel when admiring the hydraulic tiled floors that create a floral mosaic in this modernist apartment in Valencia. We are talking the tourist apartment My Sweet Home located in the heart of the city of Turia. High ceilings decorated with carvings and mouldings compliment
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The original floors of the house are the main protagonists of each stay.
the delicate and evocative pavement. A space that takes us back to the most creative and inspiring years of the decorative arts and that has been here preserved in detail. This apartment for rent is full of details: its owner, Isabelle, makes every effort in making her guest feel completely at ease.
In the previous double page. The terrace of the apartment is sunny, perfect for a breakfast with views.
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The house has five bedrooms and can accommodate up to eight people.
The location of the apartment is one of its strongest points: next to the Central market, near the most authentic and vibrant Valencia, literally, one step away from restaurants, shops and tourist attractions. The apartment, however, is the opposite of the hustle and bustle outside. The silence is perhaps the key, but also it’s very significant having all the comforts, with the privacy of their five bedrooms, that can accommodate up to eight people, makes it perfect for families and small groups.
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The high ceilings make still more shocking this bath, one of the two of the house, decorated in shades of blue.
ADVERTORIAL
In one of the most romantic bedrooms of the House, iron four-poster bed.
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My Sweet Home bbmysweethome.wordpress.com
Isabelle, the owner of My Sweet Home, organizes workshops of traditional Valencian cuisine. With her it is possible to learn first hand the infallible and classic recipes from the land, there is not a better way to enjoy a visit to Valencia. She also collaborates with the association Get Ready dedicated to language immersion in Spanish. These young students are some of the lucky ones who learn from the hand of Isabelle.
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FEMENINO SINGULAR
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A-BEFORE-AND-AFTER OF:
CASA DECOR 2013 We slipped in Casa Decor 2013 to see a-before-and-after of two spaces. Most of you will probably know the result but, what about the before?
TEXT: BELÉN LÓPEZ. PHOTOGRAPHY: ÁLVARO LECO. DECOLOOK.
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IN PROCESS
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GIRASPACE From the beginning they had clear that their proposal would be a bedroom, as they wanted to show us the most up-close part of Artefactum, their ideal of resting. They wanted to make an attractive space to anyone, a comfortable, welcoming and natural place, but also adapted to the new technologies, and there 122 | SINGULARESMAG #5
by Artefactum
was not a better way to do it that projecting a hotel suite, in which the public would be able to enjoy their essence and their ambience. Artefactum wants to transmit sensations and in this project they have played, in addition, with the element of surprise. The space within Casa
Decor, because of its circular shape, required to be creative, not to fall into clichés, and splurge imagination and know how, without stop thinking that this project is something temporary and ephemeral. There is no connection between the different rooms and the single door IN PROCESS
that allows the total vision of space. Hence the application of the element of surprise: close the vision to the spectator to create curiosity, to make him participant of space making him enter called by the curiosity to answer their questions: “What would be there? What is this sound? What is this smell?” SINGULARESMAG #5 | 123
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IN PROCESS
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IN PROCESS
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That is why they “created a space inside another space.� Influenced by the building itself, by its elements and shapes, they broke the curve creating a cube architectural structure that crossed the entrance wall. Through this design, the space was divided in several areas: entrance hall, seating area, bedroom and bathroom. They were sure about the key elements for decoration: natu-
IN PROCESS
ral elements as wood, marble and crystal, the freshness of vegetation, the textures and colours of nature and organic elements. All with their special and personal touch as well as a good illumination and very interesting furniture makes as a result a wonderful project.
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IN PROCESS
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AZUL SIN FIN This project started out with painting. When they saw the columns of the windows they decided to create a pantone scale with the. When moving this idea to the hall and having always in mind the memory of sea waves, they go obviously for a range
IN PROCESS
by Decolook
of blues from where they chose 29 different shades. Once the wall colours were chosen just the floor was left and they decided to go for more colour, the colour of the Sun: they choose an ochre fitted-carpet.
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For the furniture they thought about summer and choose outdoor pieces that were versatile and were also fitting the interiors. They decided to go for Kettal and the new collection that Jasper Morrison has designed for them, a line of subtle rounded furniture.
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IN PROCESS
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And following with the round line, the inside/outside binomial and the explosion of colour they choose the Acapulco chairs, so appealing, so full of life and so light, that they were perfect for a passing area with such a poor space as theirs. Just a touch was left to end the project: the African carpet Lola Coronel, cushions from Cucs and Balakata and the wood sculptures from Oscar Vautherin, always welcoming the visitors.
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IN PROCESS
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The public toilets, in which they have also work, follow the range of colour of the hall. They used a tile that evokes the sea mixed up with an orange vinyl paper from Gancedo
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from where also are the chairs od colours, designed by Tessa Fernรกndez Duran for Chaisier. Two identical sinks from the Durastyle line of Duravit complete this project.
IN PROCESS
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VALENCIA We spend the day shopping in Valencia and doing some errands in the neighbourhood of Russafa. We visit the shops that stamp their essence through the streets of the current vital core of the city and then we have a walk in L’Eixample for ending having a drink in the town centre. But now, what we are interested in is in remembering some addresses we can’t miss.
TEXT: ELENA VALDÉS.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: LILIA KOUTSOUKOU.
SHOPPING ROUTE
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La Conserva Cristina Balboa holds and offers in La Conserva, her little shop in the neighbourhood of Russafa in Valencia, a place were vintage items and 70’ style have the leading role. In there you will mainly find young people in a nice corner that Cristina has created to enjoy a coffee or finding vintage clothing, a unique piece from the 60’s coming from the USA or, maybe, wanting to fall in love with some furniture, lamps, posters or decorative objects that Cristina finds tracking them in demolition
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companies. In its short history (they opened just a year ago) they are already a reference for vintage lovers in Valencia. Cristina will soon run different workshops both for adults and kids. With the back room as a perfect scene she will organize restoration and Feng Shui courses (which she is a passionate for) and will show to the children how to recycle items that they don’t use anymore.
La Conserva Puerto Rico, 22 路 Valencia laconservavalencia.com
SHOPPING ROUTE
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Kauf Vintage In Kauf Vintage you’ll find vintage and second hand clothing, selected items from Berlin, Amsterdam, Bologna and London always following the current trends. But Kauf Vintage is something more. In this space, where a mural from the illustrator Paula Bonet welcomes you, you can attend exhibitions, workshops and, from time to time, concerts. In here you will be able to listen good music as Mireia and Miguel are also eventual DJ’S in Excuse Me?, Nylon Club 144 | SINGULARESMAG #5
or 47. They conceive Kauf Vintage as an idea that is constantly changing and reinventing itself through initiatives like its famous flea markets, where they sell clothes by weight, their sustainable coffee, where clients pay according to what they consider correct or their urban library, in which Mireia and Miguel are the intermediaries between clients that brings books and clients that wants books.
Kauf Vintage C谩diz, 38 路 Valencia kaufvintage.com facebook.com/kaufvintage
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Kenayhome Kenayhome, a space located in the town centre of Valencia is an extension of its online store. It’s a new concept of showroom where you can see in situ all the items they sell and where they will help you so, both in the shop or at home, you’ll be able to end the online shopping. They have 40% permanent discounts, so the quality of their products could be still affordable, and they make easier the shipment, the transportation and the furniture assembly, just in one click.
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Among its proposals, you will find rationalist style furniture and decoration, with a practical vision of spaces and solutions for all the rooms of the house, from the study to the kid’s room, the dinning room, the living room or a main room. All mixed up with a very modern point of view and with really inspiring ambiences. And if this wasn’t enough, in Kenayhome you can find the last creations of Mr.Wonderfull and Olivia Soaps.
Kenayhome Isabel la Cat贸lica, 17 路 Valencia kenayhome.com
SHOPPING ROUTE
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La Maleta de Victoria Victoria landed in Valencia with her suitcase full of preciousness. She was before in Strasbourg where she owned an art stationery shop. After that she went to Italy, where his husband is from, and she bought lots of furniture in an antique shop. But she decided to move to Spain after helping a friend that was setting up a teashop in Malaga and discovering the February sun of the country. As she says: “it was about finding a place where to keep the furniture and be able to work on it. Once I got this local, that actually was a mess I 148 | SINGULARESMAG #5
started restoring it and following the whim I papered it, I discovered the floor… and then I was the owner of a shop.” In her study, you can cover chairs, renovate furniture or create lots of objects as mannequins, sewing boxes, hat stands or albums. In this place full of possibilities you can feel everywhere the experience of Victoria as stage designer and window dresser.
La Maleta de Victoria Buenos Aires, 5 路 Valencia facebook.com/lamaletadevictoria
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AMESKERIA
IS IMAGINATION And also chimera in Basque. Leire Villar is the soul of Ameskeria. Native from Vitoria, she arrived in Barcelona eight years ago to study and she stayed.
TEXT: OLGA FERNÁNDEZ.
2.0 COMMUNITY
PHOTOGRAPHY: LEIRE VILLAR.
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Leire is a multidisciplinary artist: she signs in a quartet named “Bianca Castafiore” and she takes part in actions connected to crochet. Her blog is full of quotidian corners, filled of crochet and of beautiful photos. She started in the world of crochet after discovering Duduà, both a blog and local situated in Gràcia, a neighbourhood of Barcelona, that offers workshops and where the traditional textile techniques have been renewed. There, Leire found out a whole artisan world that she didn’t knew and she decided to start a blog where to share her creations.
2.0 COMMUNITY
Her house is an open space with a kitchen and dinning room that overflows peace, simplicity and naturalness. Open spaces and light everywhere surrounded by catalan style vault ceilings that face a beautiful hydraulic tile floor creating a perfect balance. Leire’s house is full of personality thanks to a mix of furniture that comes from several origins.
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How does an audio engineer become such a passionate of crochet to convert it in a way of life? The truth is that crochet, knitting and cross-stitch are inherent to the memories that I keep of my childhood, as my mother used to spend several hours in these tasks. Back then I learn a little bit with her but my prio154 | SINGULARESMAG #5
rities were others. Since I was a little girl I’ve liked working with my hands. I was always painting, cutting out cardboards and collecting beads to make necklaces. Handcraft is something that gives me self-esteem and sureness: I think it’s really therapeutic. So I guess
provisation… But it’s so hard! I’m just waiting to see where all of this takes me.
it was just a matter of time that everything came back to my life. Where do you find inspiration when it comes to create? Mainly from childhood and nature. Maybe that’s why all my creations are so naïf. I’m trying to break my own rules and give the leading role to im2.0 COMMUNITY
You’re been for a while in “La guerrilla del ganchillo” (The knitting guerrilla), a group of enthusiastic about this craftwork that promote actions in different places. Do you look for locations where actions takes part or are you receiving offers of places to act? Well, actually I joined the guerrilla pretty late so I’m far from being the best representative of the group. Everything started in 2007 with some street actions of Alicia Roselló and Nuria Brunet. One fine day, in 2010, they came to call together more and more people through Duduà and we all started to appear, like in a trickle. Now I’m completely hooked and I’m taking it seriously. SINGULARESMAG #5 | 155
Some of the actions depart as an initiative of the guerrilla itself; others are collaborations in spaces that ask us to act. When this happens, we value the proposal and, if we like it, we leap on it. They always give us liberty to choose our actions. It’s incredible to attend such a guerrilla brainstorming. It’s a party of ideas, the group has a lot of imagination and that’s actually what keeps me so hooked. Your last project is to take part in the digital magazine “Ganchitos”. There is a lack in this technique pattern and most of the information is in English. What kind of patterns do you want to show in the magazine? Our idea is that every issue focuses in a different topic, depending on the season, and we want to cover everything: fashion, accessories, household and decoration items, toys and also some stuff for guys because they’re the great forgotten in this world. Your blog also holds “pieces of life” and your passion for photography, you also capture quotidian scenes… My blog is such a personal space that sometimes it misleads. I talk 156 | SINGULARESMAG #5 #4
about a lot of things because I’m interested in lots of things and also because, as the years goes by, I have changed and grown. This blog is mainly a journal for my own. Sometimes I think that I’m too honest and it scares me. But the truth is that, in the last years, everything that I have offered to the blog has come back increased in return. So here I am, sharing pieces of life with the others
and hoping not revealing too much. How would you define your house style? It’s completely eclectic, a mix of Nordic style and old items from my family, second hand furniture and memories from journeys in other countries… But the framework is already so beautiful that I’m trying to keep it clean so nothing hides the 2.0 COMMUNITY
impressive floor tile and the wonderful high walls… I’m in love with them! Which is your favourite corner of the house? My room. There is light in abundance and a really big bed for my own… An every morning the sun wakes me up between my bed sheets. This is happiness!
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Is there a key object in your house? Something you cannot become detached of? A beautiful drawing from the Iglesia de San Miguel’s tower, a church in Vitoria. I choose it with my father a long time ago for his house but now it’s in mine and will stay for a while.
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Do you buy online? Can you recommend us a shop online where to buy? I buy a lot in online shops. It’s really handy, perfect for a lazy girl like me. But I like shopping in markets and second hand boutiques. I like rummaging among chaos and get surprised finding treasures.
Here you are some links where to buy beautiful things or just get some inspiration. Furniture, household items or bedclothes, whatever you want you just need beautiful things‌
Ameskeria ameskeria.com ganchitosblog.blogspot.com.es/ duduadudua.blogspot.com.es/
nordicthink.com shop.finelittleday.com aixovar.cat
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