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| Tonyi Tamaki visits the REC, Igualada |
Yesterday, The Grandma was totally crazy with Black Friday. This morning, she has been studying a new lesson of her Elementary Language Practice manual (Grammar 22). This afternoon, she has been waiting for the arrival of her orders and she has been thinking in another international event that has a closer relation with fashion and sales: the REC in Igualada. The Grandma had the opportunity to visit Igualada during the last REC with the great company of Claire Fontaine and Tonyi Tamaki.
Rec.0 Experimental Stores is a new concept in retail. It involves the temporary transformation of an old industrial district, Rec, in Igualada. Twice a year, and for four days only, the former factories and tanneries are transformed into pop up fashion stores where leading brands sell their stock and samples at one-off prices.
Igualada is also famous thanks to its textile museums, its beautiful buildings, its great team of hockey and its European Balloon Festival.
More information: Will or Going to?
Igualada is a municipality of the province of Barcelona in Catalonia. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia river, and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of the Anoia comarca, a rich agricultural and wine-producing district.
The city consists of an old town, originated in the 11th century, with narrow and irregular streets, including the remains of a fortress and ramparts, plus a new surrounding town with regular and spacious streets and many fine houses. The city is 65 kilometres west from Barcelona and 20 kilometres west from the famous mountain and monastery of Montserrat.
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| Claire Fontaine visits the REC, Igualada |
The Igualada Leather Museum, Museu de la Pell d'Igualada in Catalan, was created in 1954 and was the third in Europe. The collections are displayed in two nearby buildings in Igualada: the Cal Boyer building, a former cotton textile factory from the late 19th century, and the Cal Granotes building, an 18th-century tannery.
Cal Granotes displays two floors of a typical tannery: the ground floor, where the leather preparation and tanning was done, and the upper floor, where the leather was dried hanging from bars.
In the early 18th century, the tanning workers from Igualada decided to leave the enclosure of the medieval walls and established new industries along a water pipe or irrigation ditch named El Rec, already mentioned in 12th century documents and previously used by mills. The ditch has a length of 3049 meters and collects the Anoia river water from a lock.
More information: REC0
The Leather Museum, at the Cal Boyer building, headquarter of the museum, constitutes the cornerstone of the museum approach. Due to its characteristics and structure it is a unique and pioneering museum, one of the top three in Europe of its kind.
There are three exhibition areas: leather in history, a world of leather, and industrialization. The first one, leather in history, presents aspects of the production, use and cultural significance of leather in the Mediterranean civilization, from the distant past to recent times, including prehistory, the tanning of hides, leather in ancient Greece and ancient Rome worlds, parchments, bookbinding, shell cordovan use, guadamecil painted or gilded embossed leather, an ancient leather crafting technique, and two traditional professions such as shoemakers and horse tack makers.
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| Having dinner in the REC, Igualada |
The second area, A world of leather presents issues related to the leather: sport, war, travel, nomads, leather sounds and music, images, and tactile temptations. In the corresponding videos, it presents five interactive modules illustrating some of the properties of the leather: touch, sound, durability, impermeability and the drill.
The third area, Industrialization, presents recent technical developments in the manufacturing of leather. It is the natural continuation of a historic route that starts at the old tannery of Cal Granotes, and therefore the end of the route through the museum.
It comprises three stages: tanning in Igualada in 1890, which is the successor of the Cal Granotes craft tanning method, the first generation of machines, and finally the industrial phase of leather, with the definitive introduction of mechanization in tanning. It displays the processes of production, with the replacement of old processes of fertilization in holes by modern barrels, and the passage of a rudimentary system of work, supported by individual ability and manual effort, to advanced machining using electricity.
More information: Museu de la Pell d'Igualada (Catalan Version)
The Cal Granotes tannery exhibition is a pioneer in its genre. It is located 100 meters away from Cal Boyer and was open to the public in December 1990 in the middle of El Rec, a very old neighborhood spread along a ditch that provided, and still provides, the required water to dozens of tanneries.
The Cal Granotes 18th century tannery building was restored, and now displays the same tanning processes which were used in the past. The building preserves its original layout to show three totally manual and traditional systems of ox and cow leather tanning for making shoe soles: leather sewing, old Moroccan system and modern Moroccan system.
Cal Granotes displays two floors of a typical tannery: the ground floor, where the leather preparation and tanning was done, and the upper floor, where the leather was dried hanging from bars. Most of the production was intended to elaborate shoe soles. It could also be used for clothing: leather horse harness for animals and horse-drawn carriages; backs and seats of chairs, and some time later for manufacturing belts for steam driven factories.
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| Visiting Igualada, Anoia |
In the early 18th century, the tanning workers from Igualada decided to leave the enclosure of the medieval walls and established new industries along a water pipe or irrigation ditch named El Rec, already mentioned in 12th century documents and previously used by mills. The ditch has a length of 3049 meters and collects the Anoia river water from a lock.
The Igualada Muleteer's Museum-Antoni Ros Collection, in Catalan language Museu del Traginer-Col·lecció Antoni Ros, is another museum located in Igualada. It displays the evolution of transport using mules, horses and other animals, and the different relationships between several trades that paved the way for the profession of muleteer, including the carter, cooper, saddler, tanner, wicker weaver, farrier, veterinarian, stablehand, woodcutter and wood hauler, harness maker and blacksmith. It is distributed into three main thematic areas: professions, saddles and bridles, and carriages.
The museum displays 39 carriages and carts and a total of 2.175 items, most of them part of the collection created by Antoni Ros i Vilarrubias
(1942–1994). The museum is located near the old city center, at an old
farmhouse from the 18th century, which was purchased in the 1970s by the
Ros family, a family closely linked to the Antic Gremi de Traginers d'Igualada muleteer association.
It is distributed into three main thematic areas: Oficis/Occupations, Selles i Guarniments/Saddles and Bridles, and Carros i Carruatges/Carts and Carriages. The Traginer d'Igualada foundation was created in 1994 in Igualada with the objective of creating the Muleteer's Museum.
The Ros family, owner of the collection created by Antoni Ros i Vilarrubias, was in charge of the foundation, and contacted a team of professionals that prepared the Museum project. The museum was permanently open on September 24, 2005, and became part of the museum network managed by the Diputació de Barcelona.
The Basilica of Santa Maria is the most important historical building of Igualada. The first settlement of Igualada
is dated around year 1000, in the location were the current church lies
today, which was at that time a crossing of 2 routes which were linking
Barcelona with Aragon, and north of Catalonia with its south.
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| The Grandma visits the Asil del Sant Crist, Igualada |
Santa Maria church origin is from the 11th century, but the current building is mainly from the 17th century. During the Spanish Civil War it was converted into a market, and was restored after the war, under the guidance of the architect Cèsar Martinell. In 1949 Santa Maria obtained the title of Minor Basilica granted by the pope Pius XII.
The Asil del Sant Crist is one of the most special buildings in Igualada and serves as a nursing home of elder people. Construction started in year 1931 thanks to a donation from Magdalena, Dolors and Concepció Castells and finished in 1941 after the Spanish Civil War. It was designed by Joan Rubió i Bellver, pupil of Antoni Gaudí, in late modernisme style, mixed with influences from the traditional Catalan architecture.
The local industries, mainly developed since 1880, include the manufacture of cotton, linen, wool, ribbons, cloth, chocolate, soap, brandies, leather, cards and nails.
Igualada has a long tradition of tanning and textile industries. The competition from low cost countries which produce inexpensive textile products and the stricter environmental laws applied on tanneries have had a serious impact in the local economy. Despite that, there are several well-known textile companies that keep their headquarters in Igualada, including Buff, Sita Murt and Punto Blanco.
More information: Anoia Turisme
Igualada Hoquei Club is a roller hockey club. The Pavelló Poliesportiu Les Comes, with a capacity of 3,000 seats, currently serves as its pavilion.
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| Igualada Hockey Club |
The club was founded in 1950. It played in the top nacional category from 1955 to 1964, 1969 to 1973, and from 1984 to nowadays.
The team enjoyed its golden era through the 1990s, winning six European Leagues, five European Supercups, five Spanish championships and four national cups between 1989 and 1999.
CN Igualada's women's rink hockey team, which would become Igualada HC's women's section in 2008, also won seven Spanish championships between 1993 and 2000.
This women's club would split from Igualada HC in 2013 for creating a new Igualada Femení CHP.
More information: Igualada HC (Catalan Version)
Igualada is also home to Ultramagic, a manufacturer of hot air balloons, based at the Igualada-Òdena airfield. It is the second largest in the world. The company produces from 80 to 120 balloons per year, with 80% of them exported to Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Japan.
The company can produce massive balloons, such as the N-500 that accommodates up to 27 persons in the basket. Ultramagic has also produced many balloons with special shapes, as well as cold air inflatables.
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| Enjoying the European Balloon Festival |
Ultramagic is one of the organizers of the European Balloon Festival, the largest hot air balloon festival in South Europe, held in Igualada since 1997 in the month of July, that includes competitions, exhibitions and a night glow. The festival gathers around 60 balloonists from Europe, and other countries such as Israel, India, Japan, Brazil and Argentina. The European Balloon Festival is one of the largest hot air balloon festivals in Europe. It takes place every year during the first fortnight of July in Igualada.
The festival lasts four days, Thursday to Sunday, and attracts thousands of spectators. It includes a hot air balloon competition and recreational exhibitions such as a night glow and fireworks.
The flights take place early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when weather conditions are the optimal ones. It also offers visitors the opportunity to fly on a balloon, by booking a flight in advance.
The festival is organized by the Igualada City Council, with technical support from the company Ultramagic, and Kon-Tiki Balloon Flights, a company specialized in balloon flights.
More information: European Balloon Festival
Every time that I wanted to give up, if I saw an interesting textile,
print what ever, suddenly I would see a collection.
Anna Sui
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