Espadrilles, Barcelona, comfort, footwear, art, enjoyment, culture, tradition, fashion, creativity, life…
What is this section about?
Since we considered renewing our brand identity, there were values that we knew were immovable, although we reviewed everything to rethink our future. In this process we remembered materials, ideas, designs, desires and experiences to recover and share.
For a long time, we had been trying to find a way to let the information and know-how of La Manual Alpargatera reach our customers and friends from all over. And now, we can do it, online and in our own way, by transferring everything we have been doing for so many years in our store/workshop in the gothic quarter of Barcelona through our web site. Thus, it was necessary that an important part of the new website would act as a ground for these seeds of knowledge and to let them grow by sharing them. But finding a pre-existing format that fits us is not easy, so we will build it on the way and adapt it to your comments, opinions and suggestions. We chose the blog format although it is not perfect for us and we do not intend to use it as a standard blog. It will not be subjected to a specific topic, frequency or format. We will go further with everything we have at hand, adapting and improving to get as far as possible in this project.
Therefore, in this section we will talk about both, espadrilles and footwear, ecology as well as tradition, innovation, culture and fashion, especially in relation to our sector and brand, but also about trends, Barcelona, us and everything around us. And we will do it in our own way, in the style of BCN, enjoying the comfort of tailor-made things, those designed to be pleasant, well made and interesting enough to enjoy making and using them. Just like our espadrilles, it is our belief that the more we enjoy making them, the more the receiver will enjoy them.
There will be own and third-party reports, some eminently visual and others more technical but always with the same aim: to be interesting. As I said, we do not intend to have a fixed frequency, nor to focus on a single style or theme, so there may not be updates for a while, as well as we may have more than one report ready at a time. There might be long or short reports, designed to enjoy or to consult, meant as a reference or simply made for the pleasure of sharing something that we like to tell, show or consult you…
At the moment we have a few entries on various topics in preparation, starting with a clarification on the real materials our espadrilles are made with (esparto, hemp, jute, cotton…) and the reasons that motivated us to write the report. These reasons also inspired us to go on with a series of articles about crafts, mainly related to our own craftsmanship, but sometimes related to others too.
Then we have the three-part series about the path that jute follows, from the source of the fibre to the finished espadrille that we enjoy walking with. This article will encourage us to discover the beauty around us and enjoy it creatively through small stops (these time photographic ones, but could be of other kind) to appreciate what is normally invisible due to the burden of everyday’s life. Other features will explain how to take care of your espadrilles or curious facts about some model, stories from Barcelona, about “MadeInBCN”, other crafts, businesses and authentic trades that survive or are no longer there, or new things that we don’t even know yet…
Although we start with editorials and articles signed by me, with photos taken mostly by me, it is NOT a personal blog, and therefore this will be reflected on them but without hiding the personality of the authors, just with the same authentic approach adopted when we make our espadrilles.
And for all this, we ask you to send us your comments either by email to [email protected] or by interacting with our Instagram account @lamanualalpargatera. At the moment it is not an option to receive replies on the blog itself, we have ruled it out due to technical issues, so we created a special mailbox for comments, suggestions and questions, apart from encouraging you to interact on our Instagram. We’ll listen (read ?) your comments and questions, and improve this section until it’s interesting, pleasant or fun enough for everyone to feel comfortable and enjoy. In the style of La Manual Alpargatera.
