Folk art in terra cotta, found in thrift shops and antique stores.  I am drawn to the farm animals, so my collection lacks a few important characters!

A white background, linens and cottons made in the mediterranean, Portugal, France, and Barcelona, with splashes of familiar colors from the sea, the sun, applied by hand, organic strokes.  Table cloths, place mats, pillow cases.  Open the door, a soft flutter, which one calls to you?  In It. at Cornet i Mas 22 in Sarria.  www.init-bcn.com

Norman made it big as a lawyer in Argentina, tossed it all away for a passion and to work with his hands.  His workshop on Enrico Granades looks unassuming, maybe even half done.  The wooden shoe mold door handle and the creative window displays say maybe not.  I press my face against the window.  The door is locked.  Oh...a shadow moves...He opens the door and welcomes me in.  It's just him, a workbench and tables of one of a kind shoes and boots.  After finding corporate life way too boring, Norman decided to do what he always wanted to do...he went to cobbler's mecca -- Florence.  There, found the best maestro and learned bit by bit.  Then took his passion, centuries old techniques, and a good eye to Barcelona.  With tools handed down through more than four generations of Spanish cobblers, each time he picks up a tool he has a helping hand.  Every pair of shoes is a complete original (starting at 1,500 Euros!), totally custom designed and fit and never made again for anyone else ever again.  After 90 tools-worth and 200 hours of craftsmanship and passion.  Emocion from a friendly Buddist who wears sneakers on his own feet.

Modernista.  Signature Barcelona.  Absolutely gorgeous.  And noble too.  My friend Benedicte is a Hollywood wardrobe stylist turned urban archeologist.  Now she hunts and rescues antique floor tiles from construction site dumpsters, puts them through a museum-style restoration, then art directs them into really amazing tables.  Or simple wall memories.  And all kinds of other things.  Way too pretty to leave behind.  www.mesabonita.es  And, check this out, the store Sadur in Sarriá makes elegant wallets, purses and shoes out of leather embossed with Barcelona’s modernista sidewalk tile designs.  You walked on it, now you can wear it!