buy local
Stay close to home when choosing your Christmas gifts this year with this selection of products from Barcelona and Catalan companies
CUPCAKE & CO—TAURUS:
For the baker/cake-lover in your circle, this ingenious machine from Catalan domestic goods company Taurus will let you cook seven cupcakes (or magdalenes as they call them in these parts) in just eight minutes. Ideal for that post-Christmas diet. €39.99
KELLY BAG—VAHO:
You’ve doubtless seen some of the messenger bags this company creates using the disused material adverts that the Ajuntament hangs from the city’s lamp-posts. But did you know that the Barcelona-based accessories-maker also do a range of more ladylike styles inspired by French favourites, such as the Kelly and the Baguette. €38
WE CAN’T WAIT FOR BETTER TIMES—HOMESESSION:
Celebrating their six years of hosting art projects in people’s Barcelona homes, Homesession has brought out this gorgeous coffee-table photo book. As well as images from many of its events, it includes essays on the local art scene in English and Castilian. €19.50
2014 CALENDAR–OMNIUM CULTURAL:
If you’re looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous La Caixa calendar to hang in your kitchen, why not get this one created by Catalan cultural association, Omnium. Tying in with the 300th anniversary of the events of September 1714, it highlights some of the traditional trade associations who helped defend Barcelona from the Bourbon troops. €4.50
SOMETHING DIFFERENT—SMILES FOR CHILDREN IN HOSPITAL:
Not a local organisation this, but certainly a great cause. Fundación Theodora funds visits by clowns to children in hospital (including Barcelona’s Vall d’Hebron), as a way to make their stay a little bit more enjoyable. This year for Christmas, it is selling doctor’s sets for parents so they can treat their kids’ pupas while wearing a red nose (€15), a mini box of Lindt chocolates (€3) and a gift box that gives the recipient the chance to nominate a Doctor Sonrisa to visit a child in hospital (€12, pictured).