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20 gift ideas inspired by Valencian design
The best selection to continue celebrating art and design this Christmas
Christmas is here, a very special year is coming to an end… And World Design Capital Valencia 2022 is also saying farewell by highlighting a selection of the best local designs, sustainable pieces that combine tradition and modernity.
The emphasis is on classic icons, accompanied by products in which sustainability makes its mark, in the hope that design will reach every corner. 20 proposals in strict alphabetical order:
1. DNA Ceramics
In the setting of the bid by the capital project during 2022 to promote handmade pottery as an innovative satellite of the industry, we shine the spotlight on the work of Adriana Cabello, Ana Illueca, Laura Maldonado and Magari Things.
Adriana Cabello: customized projects with enormous sensitivity and skill, alternating ceramics and painting.
Ana Illueca: the potter who has led the DNA Ceramics project presents “Relationships”, a series of jugs with an apparently immovable character but which, when placed in relationship with others, mutate, play and take on different shapes to become emotional and alive. A metaphor of the link between each and every one of the potters present in the dissemination project.
Laura Maldonado: artist, product designer and architect. Her work is the result of an exploration and experimentation with material, via emotion and sensorial experience. She specializes in designer tableware for the catering sector and her unique pieces adapt to all kinds of materials: from ceramics to wood, via metal, stone and resin.
Magari Things: unique pieces for daily use and decoration. Creations closely linked to the environment in which they are produced – the Mediterranean shore, near Jávea – and based on the interrelationship between air, water and fire.
2. Allca Rugs
Rugs, yes, but with added value. They combine traditional skills with a new approach to detail and bear appealing patterns of gradient colours thanks to digital printing. With a marked ecological conscience, they are made from handwoven recycled and recyclable polyester.
3. Atypical Valencia
The architect and illustrator Virginia Lorente is behind this brand, which aims to improve the perception of the Valencian environment. Her particular style makes some of the city’s most emblematic buildings shine in portraits on a collection of printed elements: The Central Market or that of Colón, the Abastos Swimming Pool, the Cervera building and the Rialto Theatre among others.
The firm’s two establishments form part of the Design Map. Here we find products such as the Nolla Puzzle, which enables you to create your own mosaic inspired by the historic floors with the same name.
4. Candela en Rama
The studio-shop Candela en Rama is a space with its own soul, where Mediterranean craftsmanship is present in every corner. A place that invites us to explore the world of contemporary jewellery.
5. Closca
Since its outset the aim of Closca has been to provide a touch of style, design and good taste for its urbanite customers. An aim which it has fulfilled via its helmets and bottles, made for “ambassadors of change”.
6. El Almacén de Patraix
Sergio Mendoza, alma mater of El Almacén, has opted in his space for products that are so difficult to find that it is harder to obtain them than if they were illegal. A painstaking selection, commenced during the Covid-19 pandemic with the aim of placing the best delicacies within reach of the consumer.
7. Fulanito y Menganita
A florist that in turn covers anything related to flowers and nature. And which is based on local trade and the slow rhythm shared by the other spaces belonging to “outsiders” Sandra García and Sergio Mendoza.
8. Gnomo
In this colourful corner of Russafa we can find all kinds of essential objects for contemporary life: from a ring to a shelf, from plants to fans. Eclectic and selective, their good humour is transferred to social media and provides the solutions to life: whether you need a good gift or a dose of vital optimism.
9. Inma Bermúdez: FollowMe lamp
Portable and rechargeable, FollowMe is a table lamp that can be placed anywhere. A portable lighting pioneer manufactured by Marset, it is one of the most recognized objects to come from the prodigious creative mind of Inma Bermúdez, National Design Award 2022.
11. Javier Mariscal: Duplex stool
Pure modernity from the eighties, Duplex forms part of collections such as those of the Vitra Design Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museu del Disseny of Barcelona, as well as being Mariscal’s passport for entry into the Memphis Group.
A contemporary classic, overflowing with personality and optimism thanks to its palette of primary colours, it can be acquired from Javier’s website which also includes a catalogue of prints of his most famous characters, the Garriris and Cobi, and scenes of daily life with his particular personal stamp.
12. La Siesta
Tradition as an inspiration for something extremely innovative. La Siesta stems from the merger between the shape of a plastic water bottle and an earthenware “botijo”, combining the best of both significant products. A true icon of Mediterranean spirit, reassessed with a great deal of humour by its creators, Alberto Martínez, Raky Martínez and Héctor Serrano, and currently produced by Diabla.
13. Lavernia & Cienfuegos: chocolates
As experts in branding and packaging, the studio Lavernia & Cienfuegos has collaborated with different chocolate firms over the years. From Utopick Cacao to Chocolate Pancracio, a whole universe that leads us to sample an artisan product, enjoying every proposal inside and out.
14. LZF Lamps
The brand that has convinced us of the use of wood as a lighting material was rewarded with the National Design Award in 2020 and its creations are recognized around the world. Committed to sustainability and good taste, the firm works with new and leading designers and has an extensive catalogue with different types of lamps for any ambience.
These include Mini Chou, designed by Yonoh Studio: a flexible and portable lamp for modern life. Small and robust, it is handmade from natural wood veneer, and is available in six different colours, with a black metal base and handle.
Omma, designed by Eli Gutiérrez, is an ingenious lamp available in different types: a ceiling lamp (with two, three and four leaves), table lamp (with one or two leaves), standard lamp (with a single leaf) and wall lamp (with a single leaf). Versatile and inspired by nature, it adapts to any space.
15. Magazines designed and fed with contents from Valencia
SOLO talks about coffee culture, but this six-monthly magazine goes much further. An approach to lifestyle and design from a different viewpoint, with quality contents for the same experts and consumers who people its pages. The latest edition is that of December.
Illustration, typography, branding, packaging… Quality graphic design and much more in one of the top publications in Spain, Gràffica is a benchmark in the sector. Issue number 27 presents a list of protagonists, big names in creativity that everybody should know. Essential.
16. Rubio
The Rubio universe knows nothing about aging. More than 60 years of enjoyment in the publishing world, transmitting its knowhow, are reflected in the shop located in the Eixample neighbourhood of Valencia, which represents a nostalgic trip to the summers of our childhood but also delights children thanks to products that overflow with fun and colour.
As a new element for this festive season, Rubio invites us in its modern lettering classics to practice with new calligraphies, such as Curioos.
17. Graphic route
The exhibition “Graphic route. Designing the sound of Valencia” (at the IVAM) was one of the great milestones of the first half of Valencia’s year as World Design Capital 2022. The book-catalogue brings together the best of this indissoluble union between posters and graphic art and the underground subculture of the eighties. A way to bring back this universe, putting it into context and giving it a value that has so far been neglected.
Elisa Ayala, Paco Bascuñán, Quique Company, Sento Llobell, Ramón Marcos, Edu Marín, Pablo Mira, Paco Roca, Armando Silvestre… are just a few of the artists who fill its pages, responsible to a great extent for giving an image to those cravings for freedom and the eternal night.
18. Second Act, by Actiu
Sustainability is one of the pillars that support every project by Actiu, and this is one of the most special. A collection of personal items made from materials discarded by the factory, given a new opportunity by Coba Complements with the creation of first-class artisan products.
19. Vicent Martínez: Senzu fan
The traditional fan seen from the viewpoint of one of the maestros of Valencian design, who shows his skill by recovering one of the objects that marked his childhood. Simple and functional, Senzu is made from smoked oak, olivato ash or sapele, laser cut to obtain maximum precision. “A magical object,” as its creator says.
20. Vondom
Vondom is avant-garde design for indoors and outdoors, made with passion and the utmost quality. At the end of the day life is, as they say, “for living, enjoying and surrounding ourselves with beauty.” And with the best design, of course.
From their extensive catalogue, we highlight the Marquis table lamp, designed by Estudi{H}ac and inspired by a cut diamond, able to generate magical ambiences with its faceted design.