An artisan jewelery shop in a jewel of modernism in Pamplona

Historical buildings

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The artists Maite Marco and Blanca Castro open a creative space in the old Blasco de Mercaderes pharmacy

Updated on 12/27/2021 at 15:23 One of the only modernist buildings in Pamplona, ​​the old Blasco pharmacy on Mercaderes street, is back in business. The firm Lamai, of the painters and artisans Maite Marco Muro and Blanca Castro Cano, have opened a store that is also an exhibition hall. In addition, they plan to move her workshop, which is currently in Madrid, to this location. Maite Marco, from Tafalesa, admits that this establishment was her "object of desire" for some time because she comes in handy to expose the her gender. Lamai offers earrings, brooches, rings and other jewelry items handcrafted and hand painted in great detail. These artists use an original and novel technique created by Blanca Castro herself that gives the silver and resin pieces a glazed ceramic appearance but, unlike porcelain, does not break. These small works of art already shine in the windows of the old pharmacy. Maite Marco is known in Pamplona because she has been participating in the Christmas craft fair in the Plaza del Castillo for a decade. She there she wore a selection of jewelry, painted in oil, watercolor or India ink. Having its own premises, this year she has not participated. Number 21 Mercaderes Street was built at the end of the 19th century by Ángel Goicoechea. On its ground floor, the Ondarra brothers opened a pharmacy in 1906, which is currently one of the few examples of modernism that are preserved in Pamplona. For this reason it is protected by the Municipal Catalog of Pamplona. The facade is made up of three lowered arches on which there are panels of modernist paintings. The interior houses four marquetry tables (Pharmacy, Botany, Chemistry and Medicine) and modernist furniture in very good condition. The polychrome wooden ceiling and the tulip lamp are of great interest. The pavement is made of tiles with an original design from Catalan workshops. The establishment functioned as the Blasco pharmacy until 1994. Between 1997 and 2004 it was a fashion and accessory store, Tundra, which later moved to Plaza del Castillo. Since Tentacelia opened, dedicated to confectionery for celiacs, it closed in 2019. Since then it has been empty. "It is an architectural jewel, a marvel of modernism," says Maite Marco, who neither wants nor can make any kind of reform as it is protected. Yes, she can retouch the back room and the warehouse, which are worthless. Their idea is to turn both spaces into "an artistic and cultural meeting place", as a showroom for other artists and for the organization of workshops. At the moment, for the inauguration they have the individual exhibition of the Asturian artist Luis Parades, Finalist of the Awards National Crafts 2020), which has just exhibited in Strasbourg. Parades works with glass from a poetic and dreamlike perspective. Lamai also hosts a selection of national artisan firms from Portugal, such as glass from Rosa Mendez, alder wood from Silvereira or cellulose acetate from Gran Gayoso.Marte Marco was also a finalist, in 2011, for the national craft awards. This graduate in Fine Arts founded Lamai 15 years ago, in reference to the affectionate nickname of her friends, "La Maite". For a decade, this firm has been part of the main European professional fairs dedicated to crafts and creative jewellery: from Bisutex in Madrid, to Bijohrca or Ateliers D'Art de France in Paris, or Homi in Milan. LABELS Comments

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