Off one of the quiet streets that lead away from the commotion on Passeig del Borne, calmly displaying it’s pastel aquamarine detailed façade, is Barcelona’s newest cupcake joint, Florentine.
Florentine Cupcakes & Cookies has been open for a few short weeks, since the beginning of December 2010. The small space breathes a certain Provençal chic, understated with just a hint of cheeky, home-made glamour peeking out. The street window is uncluttered so as to give the perfect view of the cupcake vitrine, filled with the different types of sweet things.
Florentine offers more traditional flavour combinations such as vanilla and chocolate and then goes out on a creative limb to concoct mouth-watering surprises such as salidou: a rich, salty butter experience packed into a cupcake. Positively lip-smacking. The other aspect of the small space that catches the eyes is the variety of crafted kitchenwares, such as glasses, aprons and place-mats to name just a few. I suppose my only complaint is that there is no place to sit down for a few minutes to fully savour the Florentine cupcakes and cookies! Yet another reason to spend time in Borne…
Address: Calle Calders 3
Telephone: 93 268 2847
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday 10:00 to 20:00
Friday and Saturday 10:00 to 22:00
Sunday 11:00 to 20:00 Cupcake ranking: Tied with Cup&Cake
Vintage furniture heaven now exists in Barcelona. Since September 2010, there is a small space dedicated to restoring beautiful pieces of furniture, with every nook and cranny filled with little knick-knacks begging to be taken home.
Fusta’m, on the eponymous Joaquim Costa Street, is the brainchild of the restorer Lídia Matos and the carpenter Oriol Viñas. At street-level, the beautiful showroom is filled with lovingly restored vintage pieces. Downstairs the workshop, where the pair work their magic. The space used to be a shoe shop with a basement convent.
To be able to visit Fusta’m, it is necessary to have an iron-will, as the moment you step foot inside the shop, your brain starts screaming at you, wanting to bring everything home. The walls have been left untreated; the patchy cement lends the perfect backdrop to the glittering mirrors, clocks, deer-heads and other hanging paraphernalia. There are coloured glass cups and vases, intricate cut-glass and china galore.
The selection is lust-worthy, delicious, awe-inspiring. Items range from the ’30s through to the ’70s and all have their particular place within the store. Several animal-skin throw-rugs are dotted around the perfect, classic tiled floor and the atmosphere is magical. This is a placed filled with wonder, elegance and fabulous taste. The air is contained, breath baited to see which item will be selected next. I’m going to start saving my pretty pennies to get my hands on some of the lovely furniture.
Many of you have finished with the holiday festivities, but here in Spain, we still have the Three Kings waiting to arrive. So Happy Reyes to everyone!
If there is one book that you should read while studying fashion or if you are just curious about fashion, then this is the book. The Fashion Conspiracy written by Nicholas Coleridge is “the dazzling inside story of the glamorous world of international high fashion”. Interviewing more than 400 people in 14 different countries, Coleridge shines the light on many of fashion’s secrets. I really don’t understand how the fashion pack let this man get this book published as the truth becomes very apparent: the gritty reality of all we hold dear in our glittering fashion domain.
Coleridge’s writing is upbeat, self-deprecating, insightful and at times gossipy. The book flows by, dealing with areas such as New York and it’s stellar rise to fashion fame to Tokyo and how things are so different from the western world, sweatshops to London’s fashion malaise and Paris all the way to the Middle East. There is a short photo section; a who’s who of shiny, rich people side-by-side the biggest designers. Some things are completely shocking. Immensely enjoyable, I can not recommend this book enough and I just wish Nicholas Coleridge would write an update to this glorious book, as the initial publication was in 1988.
I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year for 2011. I hope that all of your dreams will come true. Sometimes it can take a bit of hard work but don’t let that stop you from shining bright!
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