Leather shopping in Barcelona

This spring, when I first got the idea of making leather tags with initials on I began searching on internet for shops that would ship tools to Norway. To my surprise, the tools were not as highly priced as I first had imagined. However, once I added the shipping, which was much more pricy than I could ever imagine, I postponed the whole project.

Then some time before leaving for my mum alone vacation in September I began searching for leather shops in Barcelona. After hours of searching on the net, I found a shop that looked promising, wrote down the address and crossed my fingers that they would have what I needed.

I reserved an entire day just to find the place, which was unnecessary since it’s quite easy to find once you have the address. After a walk through the city there it was. A beautiful old store, with tall heavy doors, dark wooden furniture, marked by wear and tear during I don’t know how many decades.

It looks old, smells old and I can just imagine how this shop must have thrived in it’s glorious days, when most people still made their own belts, bags, coin holders, purses and everything else beautiful that can be made out of leather.

Just as I entered the shop I tried to take a photo of a row of old suitcase locks, which I shouldn’t have done… Because seconds after, a petite lady with short hair and strict eyes behind thin glasses came out of nowhere and told me that it was strictly forbidden to take photos (she looked like the kind of lady you would want to be very obedient to). And right that moment I saw the sign that said “No photography!” Yay, for making good first impressions!

Fortunately, the same lady asked me if she could be of any help, and she could. After I explained what I wanted to make she found several different tools for me to choose from. She also showed me the different types of leathers they had.

My favourite discovery was a big box of leather scraps in all kinds of colours sold by the weight. I chose my tools and as she weighed the leather, I asked the leather shop lady if she would please let me take a photo while she was weighing the leather. To my luck, she tilted her head to one side, broke out in a big smile and said in a patiently and forgiving voice, “OK then, go ahead, and take your photo” (“Venga, vaaale, haz tu foto”). So there you have it, the hands of the leather shop lady, which was a cute softy after all. She made my day.

In case you want to visit, the address of this beautiful leather and tools shop in Barcelona is:

Comercial de Guarnicionería SL
Passeig de Picasso 14
08003 Barcelona